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Time flies. In running a business, this means that every moment is at a premium. The longer it takes to finish a task or come to a decision, the less time is left to pursue other things. Competitors could get ahead, or profits sag due to the slow pace of operations. Being quicker saves time – so more activities can be completed, leaving the competition to eat your dust as profits rise. That’s called efficiency, a definite priority for startup owners and entrepreneurs, especially leaner operations that can leverage it to outpace larger rivals. We at Virtual BizNest know this quite well and can offer the following strategies to save time:  

Plan ahead

How do you work? Do you figure out what you are going to do when you’ve entered your office and checked your emails? In that case, you’re poorly utilizing the first hour (or two) of your day. If you planned ahead, determined what you aimed to do before you’ve gotten to your desk, then you’ve streamlined your personal process and picked up the pace. You’re being more efficient.  

Prioritize

Similarly, it’s important to focus on the important tasks rather than being distracted by a bunch of lower-priority matters. What is the definition of “important” tasks? They’re not necessarily the “urgent” ones that need to be done A.S.A.P. And “prioritizing” doesn’t necessarily mean “has to be finished immediately.” Confused? What’s most important to a business’ success include planning, dealmaking, learning and developing skills and networking. Obviously these can’t be rushed – but one can place importance in them, value them above other tasks, while taking the proper amount of time to achieve them.  

Finish the unimportant quickly

On that note, don’t get bogged down on the little things. They can be rushed, even if you or your people won’t do an excellent job at it. That email, update on social media or blog article doesn’t have to be perfectly composed – you’re not aiming for the Pulitzer. Just get it over with! So you can focus on the tasks that you can do outstandingly!  

Delegate tasks that aren’t your forte

Give yourself more time to focus and fulfill the tasks you are great at. This will maximize your returns. To do this, have your subordinates or Virtual Assistant handle matters you’re not quite as proficient with. If they can do it better than you, then that’s even better! Trust them. By doing this, you can have an assembly line-like process where each person does a set of roles they’re best at rather than trying to do everything at once. This will speed things up considerably!  

Shorter turnarounds and time tables

If you’re truly good at something, you can do it well and quick. So if you’ve set up time tables and have a fixed turnaround period to make things efficient, try to push even harder. Finish tasks in even shorter periods. With a bit of pressure you’ll see how good you are at getting things done – and having more time left to do other stuff. On the other hand, without any deadlines you may start getting complacent and taking longer to complete things.  

Have a fixed closing or finishing time

On that note, setting a time to finish up and head home will really help with your productivity. Why? Because overtiming or staying in the office isn’t actually efficient – it means you’re taking longer to complete tasks because you know you can. So try to get the day’s job done before closing time, pretend you’re going on vacation the next day. You’ll see your pace go much faster!  

Consider Virtual Assistants

All these tips point towards hiring a Virtual Assistant. With a VA you’ll have aide who can help plan out the day before you’ve even entered the office. They can separate the wheat from the chaff, the priorities from the unimportant work. You can delegate tasks whether it’s the VA’s specializations or if tedious roles that still have to be done (like posting ads and listings). A VA can set timetables and help with meeting deadlines. And watch over your business after you’ve called it a day. All while remaining more affordable than an in-house employee.     -John Li