business planning

Time Management: The Key To A Better Work-Life Balance

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Home Working
notebook on a tablesurface with a black alarm clock next to it

Over the last few years businesses have worked tirelessly to stay afloat, and so it is no surprise that so many of us are now struggling to separate our work and home life. We often find it difficult to ‘switch off ‘and relax once getting home – and while our businesses may be growing, it comes at the cost of our personal well-being. While a work-life balance doesn’t literally have to be spilt 50/50, for both areas to thrive – harmony must exist between the two.

Your time away from work is integral to maintaining a productive routine and avoiding burnout. Whilst striking a balance can sometimes seem like an impossible task, it becomes much more accessible once improving your time management. Here are our top tips for achieving a better work life balance:

Establish your priorities

Often the most challenging task is determining what needs to be done first. Understanding your agenda and establishing a priority system for your tasks is crucial for maintaining harmony. A physical list of all your tasks can go a long way- helping to visualise and establish an appropriate approach. Divide your duties into categories such as ‘urgent’ and ‘less urgent’, and don’t be afraid to include non work-related tasks. It is important to be able to look at the bigger picture and prioritise, cut down or rule things out completely. Remember that no task is more important than your wellbeing. Pencil in some time for yourself!

Schedule and plan

Prioritising your tasks often goes hand in hand with planning and scheduling. It allows you to designate a time frame, thus making it easier to see how much time you’re spending and where. There are many business tools that can help you along the way. From online schedulers, digital diaries to time logs – there are plenty of resources that help improve your time efficiency and awareness. Look at your calendar and make sure you have enough leeway between each duty. Back-to-back tasks without a minute to spare are not practical and often end up creeping into overtime. Spread out your assignments and balance out the heavier workloads with some easier tasks in-between. This will help you complete your work duties to a higher standard while leaving enough time for you to wind down.

Know when to outsource/delegate

It may seem like powering through workloads and completing everything yourself is the way to go. However, there is always someone else out there who could do that task quicker and more efficiently – allowing you to get on with more pressing matters. Delegating and outsourcing is not only more time efficient but also ensures that everything is finished before the deadline, without increasing your working hours in the process. It is the perfect solution for every business owner struggling to find enough hours in the day and the most effective way of achieving that work-life balance.

Knowing your strengths and setting expectations

Before you begin working toward a goal, decide whether it’s something you can achieve now or whether there are additional preliminary steps you should take to become better prepared. Using micro-productivity may help – it works by dividing large parts of the task into smaller, easier pieces. Setting milestones as you complete parts of the task will give you the chance to evaluate and readjust if needed. Setting an end date/ deadline helps by giving you an extra push towards a goal. If you don’t complete the task by deadline, the timeframe might have been unrealistic – be wary of unexpected roadblocks. Making your tasks more manageable allows for more consistent work times and thus a more balanced routine.

If you’d like to find out more about time management or other tips for achieving a better work-life balance, we would love to help! We offer various back-office services, tailored to suit a range of business needs. Get in touch:

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

12 Days Of Tipmas Day 7: Do An End Of Year Review And Plan For The Future

MOMENTUM Business Support 12 Days Of Tipmas 2021, Uncategorized
Woman looking through paperwork on a bed

How can we measure if our business is doing well? After all, there is no metric for success. The answer is an end of year review- the process of which allows business owners the chance to evaluate annual progress, expenditures as well as general performance. Doing so gives them the chance to review previous targets, define future goals, as well as establish new strategies all while documenting the process.

A review’s main benefit is the ability to accordingly plan for the future. Once the overall performance is evaluated, it is easier to determine what has worked well and what needs further improvements. It also allows you to compare previous reviews, giving you a better understanding of your business’ growth as well as providing owners the opportunity to spot forming patterns.

Finally, many businesses also chose to include employee assessments in their end of year reviews, evaluating the team’s performance. While the process can seem nerve racking for many, it is actually a beneficial tool for all team members- promoting communication and providing an opportunity to recognise hard work and dedication.

Here are our top tips for an end of year review and future planning:

  • Note down everything
  • Keep things dated and organised
  • Look for patterns and anomalies
  • Define expectations and goals
  • Recognise success and achievements
  • Always keep criticism constructive
  • Be patient- allow time for growth
  • Communicate with your team
  • Be ambitious but set achievable targets  

12 Days Of Tipmas Day 5: Don’t Burn Out-Look After Yourself

MOMENTUM Business Support 12 Days Of Tipmas 2021
Working space with a keyboard, tea cup, plant and snack bowl

It can be easy to get lost within the workloads, schedules and to do lists, but it’s important to remember that you and your wellbeing always comes first. Afterall, how can we expect to put in a hundred percent if we’re not feeling a hundred percent ourselves.

The quality of our work often reflects our personal lives, in fact studies have proven that happier people are more productive and work harder than those who are unhappy and low on morale, further highlighting the importance of looking after yourself and your employees. However, it is also equally important to look after your physical wellbeing, as healthy people frequently rank higher in happiness and mental health studies.

Here are our Top tips for looking after yourself:

  • Create a routine and plan ahead
  • Spend time with your loved ones
  • Develop a healthy sleeping pattern
  • Take short but regular breaks from work
  • Stay hydrated, drink plenty of water throughout the day
  • Implement exercise into your day (make it fun e.g., sports)
  • Eat a balanced diet but don’t be afraid to treat yourself every now and then

If you’d like to find out more about looking after yourself and the benefits it holds in the workplace, check out our previous blogs or send us an email! We would love to answer any questions and provide you with additional support. Get in touch:

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com T: 01903 688789.

Small Business Planning Tips for 2019

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support
A wall covered in multicoloured post it notes with tips and positive messages

With 2018 coming to a close, it’s time to start reflecting and thinking about the new year ahead. The (generally) quieter period between Christmas and New Year is a great time to take a couple of hours to re-motivate yourself and plan for 2019 success. Here’s my top tips to help you along the way:

Reflect

Before you can work out how to move forward, you need to take the time to think about the last 12 months. Consider the best bits and the worst bits. Ask yourself;

  • What has worked really well, what are the key successes?
  • What hasn’t worked or needs to change?

Simple questions, but they should generate quite a list of answers. Think of your: staff; customers; product or service; marketing; time management; environmental impact; social responsibility etc. etc. You can then use these answers to start focussing on what you need to do to develop your business in 2019.

Focus

 When you first started your company, you had a plan, an inspirational moment where you knew what you wanted to create. Go back to that point and ask yourself;

  • What was my original plan?
  • What were my main goals?

Thinking about your life and circumstances now, consider;

  • Have your original business plans or goals changed?
  • Are you on track to achieve what you set out to?

The answers here might be completely different, or the same or similar to your ‘reflect’ questions. You’re going to use all of this thought-provoking information to start working on your plan for next year.

Plan

Using the answers to the above ‘reflect’ and ‘focus’ questions, you can start to develop a plan for the year ahead. You can identify what you need to change for the better and what can stay the same, and as a result create new goals.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, I really like using post-it notes! Use one post-it for each answer to each question. Then, on a large table, floor, spare wall or other big space, start to arrange them into collections;

  • Areas you’re happy with – can stay the same
  • Things that need to change or that you want to develop
  • Points that need to be improved
  • Things you don’t like or that just don’t or work!

Once you’ve done that, you can visualise where you need to spend your time and start to get a plan in place for doing so…

Numbers

You can’t make a real plan without sorting the numbers. Once you’ve identified what elements of your business you need and want to work on in the new year, you need to ask yourself some key questions for each idea/ goal (and be realistic with the answers!).

  • How much time will it take?
  • How much will it cost and what budget do I (actually) have?
  • When do I want to or need to have it done by?

It might not look like it, but your plan is really starting to come together now. Make sure you are capturing it in the best way for you. Write it down, use an online document, spreadsheet or project planning software, anything – just make sure you’ve captured it all and have notes to remind and tell you what you’re doing and the key ‘numbers’ associated with each goal or task.

Engage

Now you have your up to date and new goals defined and you know how much time and money you need to complete them, you can start to think about who you need to engage with to really make your plan a success. If you have staff, the best way to get them engaged is to get them involved. Share your company vision and ideas and include them. Share tasks and work together towards your objectives.

Any changes or improvements will impact your customers. Some more significantly than others, so it’s worth considering a bit of customer research or insight, where relevant. It will be useful for you and they will appreciate being a valued influence in anything new.

The key to any success is communication! Seek help and advice, share your ideas, research, network and keep learning.

make it happen..

Finally, once you’ve pulled it all together, you can prioritise the goals and tasks in your annual plan and get started!

Remember to hold yourself accountable and review your plan regularly – at least every 3 months. Consider getting an ‘accountability buddy’ or mentor who can help you stay on track.

If you’d like any support or just want someone to chat through your thoughts with, please get in touch, I’d be happy to help.

– Mikki