The ABCs of Saving Time + Increasing Productivity
As a mom entrepreneur you’re so busy with cooking, cleaning, kids and of course, running your business - that it feels like you’ll never get to the bottom of your to-do list.To be productive and balanced, you need a method to your madness.Fortunately there are some unique time saving techniques that can add more time to your day.
The ABCs of Saving Time and Increasing Productivity
Automation:
Automation is great for those recurring monthly, weekly and daily tasks on your to-do list. You know, like paying bills, updating your social networks with blog posts and depositing money into the bank. I’ve been able to automate all my bills by having them charged directly to my credit card, leaving me with just one check to write each month. Third party applications like Hootsuite are wonderful for automating your social networks.For those tasks that can't be automated, consider hiring a virtual assistant. Virtual Assistants can answer emails, upload blog posts, edit documents, arrange appointments, send out your monthly newsletter and so much more.
Batching:
Ever since I read Tim Ferriss’s book, The 4 Hour Work Week I’ve been fascinated with the idea of batching. In his book Tim talks about "batching" tasks like doing laundry, checking email and making phone calls. For example: he only does laundry once a month, saving him time to focus on other activities he enjoys more.Of course batching laundry once a month is not realistic for most moms, but I have found other ways to apply batching techniques to my life. Tasks like running errands once a week, house cleaning once a month, cooking in bulk and then freezing portions have helped me save loads of time.
Crowd Sourcing:
Have you ever heard of the saying, “two heads are better than one”? That is the idea behind crowd sourcing - using a collective intelligence to deliver faster and more efficient results.Many bloggers and business owners use this technique when blogging. They will put out a query for a specific question and then get a variety of business owners to reply to the question with their own unique answer. The end result is a blog post with a variety of tips from a wide range of respondents – thus saving the blog owner time by not having to write a whole blog post from scratch. There is also the mutually beneficial aspect of greater exposure for both parties.Crowd sourcing can be used in a variety of ways to save time, such as collaborating on a project, getting valuable feedback and securing financial funding.By integrating these "ABCs" into your daily and weekly routine, you will save time and increase productivity. Now doesn't that sound good?
What time saving techniques do you use to add more time to your day?