Time Management Tips for Small Business Owners that Work with your Brain

You are a busy business owner, and I’m guessing that you also have other facets of your life too.

You might have a family, life and house responsibilities to manage, and I know you have a social life and personal pursuits (at least, you want to have these!).  But how do you fit it all in?

When we have a lot of things to juggle, overwhelm can creep in and have us questioning how others “do it all”, and when life gets really stressful, things can fall through the cracks.

As a former neuropsychologist, I love to teach people about their brain so they can optimise their time and ditch the overwhelm.  Here are four brain-friendly time management strategies that will have you feeling on top of things in no time, so that you can spend your week on meaningful work, quality play, and restful sleep.

Support Your Working Memory

What is working memory?  It’s that part of your brain that holds all the information that you’re thinking and hearing and seeing.  It’s holding all the things in the forefront of your mind – and it can only hold a very small amount of information!  Keep this mental space clear by writing things down.  But not in one long to-do list though.  Try allocating all tasks to a particular time and day, and estimate the duration.  Once everything has a time, you’ll be able to see what you actually have time for, and what has to be put off or delegated.  

Optimise Your Focus

In this era where everything can be a distraction, work with your attentional system to make sure you are focusing really well.  Your brain can only do one thing at a time – it can’t multitask!  When you try and do two things at once, you are actually switching your attention back and forth, which means that you take longer overall, you make more mistakes, and you feel exhausted.  Try and only do one thing at a time.  Your brain can also get really distracted by visual clutter, and by things that you’re listening to, so try and clear your space and only listen to input without words (think instrumental music, and not regular songs or people talking).

Find Time in Your Day or Week Where You Can Get Into Flow

Flow state is where you are doing deep work, you feel challenged, and you are at peak concentration.  It usually happens when you are doing enjoyable work, and time seems to stand still or flow by really fast.  If you are interrupting yourself with regular meetings, or using something like a timer to work in short blocks, you are missing out on an amazing experience of productivity. Set aside a larger chunk of time where you’re less likely to be interrupted, and allocate one creative or idea-generating project for this time.  Not only will you get a lot done, but you’ll feel great too!

Address Procrastination

Your brain procrastinates because there is some pain somewhere.  Ask yourself, where is the pain? What am I avoiding?  Get really specific.  Then reframe this.  Can you find a meaningful reason as to why you should in fact do that task?  Find your ‘why’, and then commit to doing the task at a particular time.

When you can work with your brain to improve productivity, you’re hustling less and feeling so much more relaxed.  Not to mention you’re making time for other important areas of your life, so you can live a sustainable lifestyle and craft the life of your dreams.