Business Advice for Startups: 5 Time Management Tips for Surviving the Holidays

The winter season can offer business owners lots of chances to close down operations to spend the holidays with family and friends. But how does a hungry business entrepreneur actually break away from work long enough to enjoy quality time with loved ones? Time management is the secret sauce in all successful business owners’ lives. When you properly manage your time, you are able to always be a step ahead of the game and prepare your business for nearly anything that comes your way.

In this week’s business advice for startups, we are bringing you five of the best time management skills used by high powering CEO’s around the world.  

Time Management Tips For The Holiday Season  

1. Step Away From the Snooze Button

It doesn’t matter if you turn to Inc., Forbes or The Wall Street Journal, their business advice for entrepreneurs to reach success involves getting an early start to your day. Try waking up just an hour earlier than your normal wakeup time. Use that hour to accomplish a task that always has you stressed out. Take those extra sixty minutes and read your emails; catch up on the news; prepare for your daily schedule; exercise; or maybe just take that time to meditate in silence and get focused.

If you switch your wakeup time from 7:00 am to 6:00 am, you will have five more hours in your work week to accomplish your productivity goals. Train yourself to wake up two hours earlier and enjoy ten free hours in your work week.    

Click here to look at twelve successful tech executives that wake up super early and see what they choose to do with that extra morning time.

2. Keep a Detailed Schedule and Be Strict

Time is money and as a new business owner, you have to be strict with your time. It is easy to get distracted if you don’t map out a daily agenda and stick to it. Some of the most successful professionals in the world keep a highly active daily schedule and account for their day in as little as fifteen minute intervals.

Write your deadlines and weekly project goals in the form of appointments and schedule specific time to work on each task. When you do not allow distractions or counterproductive work to creep into your workday, you will get more done. Period.    

3. Outsource Specific Job Duties

You may be asking at this point, “How can my new business afford to outsource work or hire employees?” We understand that you are a new business owner and may have little capital to work with. Hey, we first opened our doors in 1986 with one telephone and one virtual receptionist. We definitely understand startups working on a shoestring budget.

When trying to find room in your budget remember; as a business owner, you have a heavy responsibility that demands you stay on top of multiple areas within your business. In order to give every aspect of your business the attention it deserves, you have to invest in yourself and in the growth of your business.  

We addressed this budget-friendly business advice for startups in a recent article, “Coffee companies like Starbucks charge, on average, $5.50 for a 24 oz cup of flavored coffee. We challenge startup business owners to skip about 4 large coffee purchases a month and switch your investment from expensive caffeine to 24 hour telephone support.”

Skip the over-priced coffee or other short-term indulgences and trade it in for a chance to have your business telephones answered when your competitors are closed for the holidays.

4. Organize Your Workspace and Increase Productivity 

Say you want to get from Point A to Point B in the fastest possible time. Would you choose to take a direct path from Point A to Point B? Or, would you rather select a maze like path, with unexpected twists and unnecessary turns to reach Point B?

We are hoping you chose the obvious answer to get from Point A to Point B using the easiest, most direct route. This is a small example of how clutter, unorganized papers and other dirty desk downfalls can become obstacles to you being productive. When your desk is cluttered, your mind can be cluttered and can actually cut into your productivity time and true capabilities.

Get some great ideas from an article by Lifehack that gives you twenty-one tips to organize your office and get more done. There are great suggestions on how you can give your whole office an overhaul or start small with quick cleanups.  

5. Prioritize Projects and Deadlines Before Holiday Break 

In order to fully enjoy your holiday break with your family and friends, take a moment to create a detailed to do list. Separate your projects in order of importance and urgency. Be honest with yourself and know that you can’t complete every single task before leaving the office for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s long weekends.

Choose the highest priority projects and add them to your schedule to complete before leaving the office for a three+ day weekend. Give yourself permission to allow tasks that are not time-sensitive to wait for your return from the holiday break.

When you create highly detailed priority lists you are giving yourself permission to truly take off for the holiday.     

Happy Holidays From Our Virtual Receptionist Team! 

Our business advice for startups run weekly so be sure to come back frequently to see what new tips and tricks we have to help you grow your business. A Courteous Communications was a startup business just likes yours, back in 1986 when first opening our doors in Orlando, Florida. We know what it’s like and our 24 hour call center is here to help you in any way we can.

Want to know how you can hire our team to answer your lines this holiday season for as little as $19.95 per month? Start the conversation; give us a call today at 1-800-785-6161 to speak with an accountant specialist to discuss your business needs.