Now that you know how to prioritize tasks and have your schedule set up, you’re probably starting to feel less overwhelmed. You’ve already begun to take back control of your day, which is the first step to eliminating overwhelm.

Planning for the long-term is one thing, but you also need to make sure that each day runs smoothly. Having a clear plan is essential, but you then have to stick to it. You can’t get lost in the day-to-day turmoil of responding to other people’s demands.

In the four lessons in this module, you’ll learn techniques to run your everyday operations smoothly and efficiently, avoid time wasters, and deal with the continual flow of email and the lure of social media in a strategic way.

Lesson 1: Set Limits and Boundaries

Identify Time-Wasting Tasks

Look back at your time audit and take note of which activities took a lot of time. Unless it’s a long client meeting, anything over 90 minutes can be considered long.

Ask yourself why this task took so long and if the time taken was in proportion to the results gained. For example, if you spent a total of 90 minutes on social media every day, did you get the results you wanted?

We all tend to think that we use our time efficiently, but this isn’t always the case. Especially when you work from home, there’s always something else to do, e.g. feed the cat, empty the dishwasher, walk the dog, etc.

You do need some downtime during the day. Even entrepreneurs need their “watercooler moments” but if you find that chatting to a friend on social media or playing online Scrabble is taking up a lot of your time each day, rein yourself in. 

Given the data you collected in your time audit and what you know about yourself, answer these questions:

• How can I save time in future?
• What can I cut out completely from my working day?
• How can I reduce time spent on time-consuming activities?
• How could I save 30 minutes a day from my current time expenditure?

Just saving 30 minutes a day, six days a week means that over a year you can get back nearly a whole month of time. Small changes can really add up.

Establish Boundaries

Sometimes other people suck up your time. They might be a difficult customer, a prospect who can’t make up their mind to buy or not, or a fellow business owner in need of your advice. But if they’re taking up a disproportionate amount of your time, then you need to set limits with these people.

Look back at your time audit to see if anyone like this appeared during your week. If not, then think back to see if you’ve come across people like this before.

Ask yourself, “Is it always the same person who takes up the most time?”

You will continue to feel overwhelmed if you allow this person, or people like them, to control how you spend your time. To keep this from happening, you have to establish boundaries with them.

Tactics for Boundary Setting

1. Be clear and honest with people like this. If you pretend or make excuses, you’ll end up feeling frustrated with yourself. Learn to say ‘no’ without feeling guilty. You aren’t rejecting them personally, but you’re refusing their request.

2. Imagine you have a time-consuming customer who calls you with a ‘crisis’ or ‘complaint’ every day. First, use the Urgent/Important matrix to decide if you really have to drop everything and deal with this now. If not, say ‘no’ politely but firmly.

3. Get used to using phrases like these :

“No, I can’t give you an hour right now. I only have 30 minutes today.”

“No, that’s not possible. I can talk to you for 10 minutes now and then we can arrange a call later in the week. Would that work for you?”

“I’m concerned that you often call me with a crisis. Perhaps we need to talk further about this. I can’t do it now, but are you free for an hour at 4 this afternoon?”

4. Set expectations with customers before signing your contract with them so they know what to expect from you. For example, set out:

• How soon you will answer emails
• When they can contact you – times and days of the week
• How long each call with you is

If you are the person wasting your own time, then you need to set boundaries for yourself. Be strict about how you spend your time. For example:

• No more than 30 minutes per day on social media
• Answer emails only once a day
• Don’t allow general phone calls to go over 60 minutes
• Stick to your time blocks

What boundaries will work for you?