Small business: Make time management a priority

By JAMIE HERZLICH

bizeditor@newsday.com

4:06 PM EDT, March 21, 2008

Feeling stressed -- like there aren't enough hours in the day to get your work done?

It's possible you're not making the most of your time.

Many entrepreneurs wind up behind the eight ball because they aren't very good at managing time effectively, experts say.

"Entrepreneurs are often wearing many hats," explains Andrea Feinberg, president of Coaching Insight Llc, a small-business and marketing consultancy in Port Jefferson Station. "They become accustomed to doing everything, and that becomes a growing monster."

So it's important to understand you can't do everything yourself, and the key to effective time management is distinguishing between what's important and what's not.

"Many people concentrate on ant stomping when they should concentrate on elephant hunting," explains Peter Turla, president of The National Management Institute, a time-management consulting company in Flower Mound, Texas. "When you focus on stomping ants, you confuse activity with accomplishment. You're going for the small, insignificant tasks that are easy to do."

This creates the illusion you're accomplishing a lot, he explains, when you're actually getting further behind. Instead, you need to figure out which tasks will reap the biggest payoff in your overall long-term objectives, says Turla.

Try to capture all your commitments in a "sort of external bucket," suggests productivity expert David Allen, chairman of Ojai, Calif.-based The David Allen Co. and author of "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity." Too often, he says, people try to keep all those details in their heads.

Start by making a to-do list of what needs to be accomplished. Next, clarify what action needs to take place to accomplish those tasks, says Allen, who also authored "Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life."

For instance, he says: If you write down that Mom doesn't like her nursing home, you'd then clarify the actions needed to deal with that, and keep your notes in a safe place.

Allen organizes his lists in a Palm handheld, breaking down tasks into categories such as projects, phone calls, errands, etc., so he can keep a handle on what needs to be done.

Just pick a system that works for you and stick to it.

Martin Gringer, a principal at the Garden City law firm of Franklin, Gringer & Cohen Pc, likes to write down his tasks for the day on a pad.

"It keeps me from forgetting what I need to do," says Gringer, who's always on the go between client meetings, court appearances, arbitrations and other responsibilities." The day can start at any time or end at any time."

He checks off tasks as he completes them and tries to delegate tasks that don't need his personal attention.

"At some point, you have to really look at how much your time is really worth and farm out tasks that don't make you money or could be done by somebody else," explains Linda Berke, president of Taylor Performance Solutions in Melville, which offers time-management training.

For instance, you might consider using your CPA more, she says. And plan ahead when possible so you don't fall behind. Berke recommends tackling a little bit of a project each day so it doesn't get away from you.

It also pays to stay on top of your clutter.

"Clean out your 'in' box every month so it doesn't take 10 minutes to find an e-mail," Berke suggests. "If you find it's taking you awhile to find something, then it's time to take a day and clean out your office."

Yes, you might lose a day, but in the long run you'll find it will save you time.

So get a move on.

The clock's ticking.

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