Having a small business is a wonderful opportunity to become a boss of your own company. Regardless of the size of the business, it is a fulfillment for somebody to call the business their own. However, owning your own business is a big responsibility, and thus giving you more workload that you even need to extend beyond your deadlines.
The following are just a few tips on how to manage your workload to avoid cramming and nervous breakdown due to heavy tasks:
Get a personal assistant
Hire somebody who you can trust to help you out with some tasks. There are some little tasks that you may tend to ignore, but if these little tasks keep piling up, it will eat alive. If you have a personal assistant, somebody will take charge of these little tasks and they can remind you of what things must be done in order to avoid piling up of workloads.
Outsource
If you are really struggling with your workload, outsourcing may be the best option for you. When you are already outsourcing, that is a good sign that your business is budding. More workloads means more activities for your business. That means, your business is doing well. Outsourcing may be a burden as you need to shell out cash for this, but it could also be a big help to your business.
Prioritize your customers
Amidst the workload, you must always ensure that you meet your customer’s expectations. If you were not able to deliver the goods at the deadline, because of your workload, take time to call them and give a good explanation why you were not able to meet their expectations. Do not compromise your customers because of workload. Papers can wait, but customers cannot.
Take opportunities when you are not busy
By opportunity we mean, taking time to establish a contingency plan. We tend to be relaxed when things are quiet. Although it is not bad to sometimes play around and take time to relax, if quiet time arises and you are at work, that’s the best time to establish a contingency plan. This is the time where you can brief your people, have a good talk with them and clean your processes up. When you hit the busy season when workloads start piling up, you already know what to do. Use your time wisely and plan ahead.
Constant work is a must
Work when you are busy, work when you are not busy. Do not leave all your stuff behind if you find out there’s no work to be done. You must catch up with your clients and update your schedule. Pay attention to little things that you tend to ignore when you are busy.
One more idea to add to the list:
– Find ways to be more efficient!
One change to think about is trying one of the really great billing/bookkeeping/prospecting/etc webapps. These can be a huge timesaver for companies still doing things the old way. And no big investment is required.
Did you mention developing systems? Having a plan and setting your tasks and priorities based on that plan can go a long way toward reducing busyness.
Virtual assistants can drastically reduce workload without burdening you with the overhead expenses of hiring a full-time employee. Should you hire a virtual assistant for your small business needs? Here are some points to help you decide: http://mybusinessassistantblogs.com/?p=124
Amanda
This is an excellent list that should help small business owners cope with the workload. From my personal experience in running several businesses in the past I can attest to this. They don’t call small business owners “Chief Everything Officer” for nothing.
I just wrote a series of articles on time management for small business owners that you and your readers might find useful. You can find them here – http://www.angelbusinessadvisors.com/blog/tag/time-management/