Rising entrepreneur in Baton Rouge, J.D. Perry, and visionary of Moss Point Financial knows full well that time management skills are invaluable as an entrepreneur. The more you get out of your hours, the more productive you and your startup will be.
Below, J.D. Perry of Baton Rouge reviews ten tips that should help you get the most out of every day at the office:
- Get the Right Habits in Place Early
Habits and practice let you do things more efficiently. Since you do these things naturally, your mind is free to rest or focus on other tasks. The earlier you develop good habits, the better you’ll be at maximizing your time.
- Study What You Do in a Week
Before you can fully manage your time, you must understand what you’re doing with it. Spend a week taking note of everything you do and how much time you spend doing it. You would be surprised at what eats up your hours, and what you can adjust so you can devote more time to startup critical tasks.
- Spend Every Morning Preparing for the Day Mentally and Physically
It’s easy to have your day fall apart when you’re not ready for it – so don’t let that be the case. Spend some time each morning just preparing for what’s to come, mentally and physically. A bit of exercise and meditation can go a long way toward preparation.
- Section Off Email into Its Own Time Slot
There’s always going to be some email you need to respond to. If you’re not careful, you can easily spend most of the day just checking and replying to messages. This puts you on the back foot and makes you more reactionary, which can easily leave you unable to pursue essential tasks.
Section off parts of your day exclusively for email and only check them then. Don’t worry about being a little late on some replies. Emails are not meant for time-critical topics – if the issue were that important, they would have used instant messaging or called you to get an immediate response.
- Pump Yourself Up When You’re Feeling Down
Not every day as an entrepreneur is going to be rewarding or even exciting. You might hit a string of days when you’re just grinding away towards the next objective, and that’s OK. That’s part of running a startup. However, that doesn’t mean you can auto-pilot your way through those hours. Find inspiration in a video or music that you enjoy, so you can give it your best, even when the task is dull.
- Don’t Hesitate to Take Breaks
Pushing yourself to the limit might be necessary at times as an entrepreneur. However, that’s not necessary most of the time. In fact, continually working without breaks will negatively impact your performance. You’ll get tired, fatigued, and at worst, ill. Taking frequent breaks is encouraged. Not only will it let you rest and help stave off burnout, but it can also give you time to regain any perspective you may have lost.
- Spend Part of Your Evenings Preparing for the Coming Day
Nothing impairs time management more than not knowing what you want to do. Solve that problem by making sure that you wake up knowing what the day’s objectives are. Spend part of each evening creating a schedule and a to-do list for the coming day. While those plans will likely change as the situation develops, it will at least give you a framework to work with.
- Set Goals Properly
One of the worst things you can do as an entrepreneur is to set goals incorrectly. Having an idea of what you what to accomplish is a start, but is far from the only thing you need to do. You need to make sure that not only is the goal achievable and realistic, but that it is specific and tangible as well. If it is vague, impossible, or cannot be tracked, it’s not a good goal.
- Do the Tough Thing First
The problem with setting aside your most difficult tasks for later is that they’ll still be taking up space in your head. Every task you do brings you closer to them, which can sometimes affect your productivity. You might end up doing things more slowly to keep from getting to that annoying job. Don’t delay the tough stuff. Get them done as soon as possible. It’ll give you a sense of accomplishment, while simultaneously freeing up your brain for more important things.
- Turn Off Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool, but if not properly managed, it can also serve as a terrible distraction. Left alone, it’ll keep sending you notifications until you pay attention to it. This can throw you off your rhythm and eat up a lot of your time. So unless you’re running the startup’s social media account, you should turn off those notifications during work hours.
These tips are far from the only ones you can utilize as an entrepreneur to manage your time, but they will get you off on the right foot. Whenever you’re confused, ask yourself whether or not something you’re doing on office hours is pushing the startup’s agenda forward. If it is, it’s worth your time, and it’s worth doing properly.
About J.D. Perry
J.D. Perry of Baton Rouge, LA has the reputation of a tenacious and enthusiastic executive in the financial services industry. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of JP Global Capital Management and founder of ViaCap Partners, the parent company of Moss Point Financial. Mr. Perry brings over 20 years of experience in top management positions, with a proven track record of administering billions of dollars in investable assets.
