Save time and £100 by reading this!

I was just leaving our monthly breakfast meeting this morning when Alison reminded me that I was due to put pen to paper again for the newsletter – in fact the whole printing operation was just waiting for me.

What to write then this month – Audit, Tax or Accounts to send you to sleep? Then it came to me – a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) if you like – we are all so busy chasing our tails in this fast food, fast living life, that we ignore the usage of our most important resource – TIME.

Well indeed none of us have enough time these days and you find it goes quicker the older you get. However it is a fact that truly successful entrepreneurs make most usage of the time at their disposal.

So not speaking as a successful entrepreneur but as a time bound accountant here are my various tips to help control your time.

Burkey’s Rule 1
There is never enough time.
Entrepreneurs learn to get what they want working with what they have got.

You can read plenty of books dealing with time management but really that might just be a waste of time – so here we go:

Tame the Telephone, Email and Postage

For example, don’t answer emails on an individual basis.  Use an hour in the afternoon to deal with them all at once.

Likewise phone calls can be ranged into times when a batch of calls can be dealt with, or even have a telephone answering service (The Ashley Business Centre, Hitchin).

Usually a few hours does not mean life and death – you may then be able to work uninterrupted.

Post – open it twice a week rather than every day.  It is very rare that we have stuff in the post that needs to be dealt with immediately.

Our most effective time of day is in the morning, yet we often waste this resource on dealing with these three mundane areas!

Minimise Meetings

 
I don’t know how many times I have wasted half days on meetings that were a waste of time.

Make sure a meeting is really necessary before you hold it.  Always have a clear agenda and even hold them standing up!  You find people will not hang around unnecessarily
 

Make and Use Lists

 
I know as I get older I need to write things down.

Do a list the night before to plan what you intend to do the next day ‘A To Do’ list.  You can organise this by month, week or day and prioritise by A, B or C.  You will be surprised to see often the C items just go away.

Maybe a list of people to call – so phone calls are not random.  A set time, and day can then make it more like a planned event and have more significance.

Lastly a page to jot down who you need to talk to in the organisation over the next week.

Your mothers shopping list used to serve her well – so use of lists will make your time far more effective.

Try to Link Everything You Do to Your Goals

 
Just think about this.  It is very hard to do but if you can do just 30% that is directly towards your Goals then you have done well.  This whole concept would demand a thesis in itself but just think of the basic issue and it will move you forward.

Reminder Files

 
Either 30 or 90 of these depending on how far ahead you want to plan. 

You may receive something that you want to deal with or be reminded of twenty days later.  Just drop them in the file and they will appear later.

It is not hi-tech stuff but highly effective and it really helps me in my business life.

Block Your Time

 
I don’t mean to be totally inaccessible but when you want to get something specific done – block out you time.  If necessary move into an empty office with out a phone to remain undisturbed.

This will help you get stuff done effectively and reduce stress levels.

Minimise Unplanned Activities

We will always have some of these distractions in our working day but if we actively try to reduce these it will help us fulfil what we set out to do each day.

I know because I can be so easily distracted and it is usually good fun!

So there we go – some basic tips – none of them rocket science – but even if you just use one or two of them you will find your time is used to a far greater effect.

Finally – by the time you read this the Paper Tax Return deadline of 31^st October will have been reached.  If you have not made this do not panic as you can still file online until 31^st January 2010.  We are more than happy to help you with this at Ashleys.  Also as we are in ‘Tax Season’ – I am happy to donate a free hour of my Tax Managers time (worth £100) to go through any aspects of tax concerns you may have – be it Income, Inheritance, Capital Gains, or VAT – Now there’s an early Christmas present for you!

If interested call me on 01462 422555 and I shall arrange if for you.

Until next time – go well

Brian