The hours of the day are a great leveller in the enterprise space. After all, the working day is the same length whether your organisation has five employees or 5,000. Consequently, the real differentiator is how those hours at the grindstone are used.
For small business owners, keeping productivity at the right level can really be the barometer of success or failure. Therefore, getting the most from the working day and staying on top of time management is a must.
Treat time like a commodity
While Science Alert recently noted that companies in Sweden are experimenting with a six hour work day in efforts to stimulate efficiency, the vast majority still centre their efforts on the standard nine to five.
Here in New Zealand, the government-backed business.govt.nz explained that it's best practice to treat time like a commodity. Ultimately, it's important to track just how long it takes the business to carry out a particular process. In doing this, you may be able to identify inefficiencies and start to find ways to solve them.
Use technology, but be wary
Technology has helped speed up a whole raft of business tasks. For example, keeping track of financial incomings and outgoings is much easier when using small business software such as CashManager from Accomplish.
Moreover, an article from E.ON, and published by the Guardian, suggested that technology can even help business owners manage their time when on the move. For example, staying online with a mobile or laptop when travelling to and from the office - or even when in transit to meetings - can ensure that the working day is being maximised.
However, business.govt.nz explained that there are downsides to increasing connectivity, as it can occasionally encourage procrastination and ultimately lead to wasted time in the digital space.
Time management may seem like a relatively rudimentary skill in today's fast-paced business world. However, its importance in levelling the playing field between small organisations and huge conglomerates should not be overlooked.