There are not enough hours in the day. How much have you heard someone say this? What would we do if we had more time in the day? Would we get more done and be more productive? If you have poor management skills already, more minutes in the day would be just that. The sky is the limit when you couple good scheduling with full days.

We all have 24 hours each day—how will we use them to move forward?

Good Habits

It is an important habit to develop, and it’s crucial as an entrepreneur. If you’re considering starting a business or find yourself not getting things done, looking into improving organization could be a great place to start. When I transitioned from employee to business owner, managing my work was one area that I had to shift most.

I now have more pressure to utilize each hour of the day to be as productive as possible. I also gained the freedom to structure each workday the way I desire. I must fit all the business’ duties into the workday, which is rarely eight hours anymore.

However, I get to make sure that everything outside of business is getting taken care of. I get to make my schedule to create a life that includes moments spent doing meaningful things. It seems that I have more time in the day when effective scheduling is in play.

I have to create my schedule and follow it with even more commitment now that I don’t have someone else’s plan to mirror. I use some tools to help me do this, and it’s key to remember that something that works for one person may not work for another. We all have diversified values, goals, and motivations.

It’s essential to determine the end goal and which areas most deserve your energy. Think about a perfect day from the moment you wake up until you close your eyes for bed. What does that look like? What do you do, and who are you with? Now you can begin with the end in mind. You can allocate your time—24 hours we all have—to areas that will facilitate the life you strive to build.

Tools on Hand

A simple calendar is something that’s helped me. I plan out my days, even down to each hour. Along with my workday, I also put in my children’s afterschool activities, planned family days, the allotted moments for extra projects, reminders of fiscal quarters, and due dates.

I also use alarms to set reminders for the day. Getting good sleep is crucial to me, so I use an alarm when I should be getting ready for bed. I schedule higher-priced jobs to meet the daily sales goals and have the ability to make these appointments when my children have important events.

I allocate periods for certain activities. The responsibilities of running a business and a household allow for flexibility depending on current happenings. I reserve blocks to work on new projects happening in the company; marketing and bookkeeping. Using my calendar and alarms help keep my days in order. It also shows how productive I can be because without a plan, I can find something more manageable and unimportant to do instead. If you haven’t studied the four quadrants from Steven Covey, I highly recommend you do if you’re looking for efficiency.

We can be more efficient and productive when we can manage the things that we do and our relationship with time.