The average 40 year old man has just 180,000 waking hours left to live.
Don’t spend that time doing accounts!
That might sound a little bit "doom and gloom", but bear with me! Have you ever marvelled at how much work you can get done the week before you go on holiday? Imagine if you applied that principle every day. The countdown to an event does wonders to focus the mind and really make you realise which jobs are important and which can wait.
Now obviously, as an accountancy firm, we're going to say that having your accounts in order is important, but it really is! However, is it the most important thing for you to be doing, or could you be out there, doing what you do best, while someone else takes care of the accounts?
The same rule applies to other areas of your business (and personal) life. Here are some top tips for making the most of the time you have!
Prioritise your workload.
Write a priority action list at the end of each day, ready for tomorrow.
See the job through – don’t start, put it down and come back to it as it wastes time getting started again.
Delegate wherever possible. Especially unimportant jobs.
Hold efficient meetings. Consider if they are needed at all? Holding meetings standing up or on the phone will shorten them and avoid wasted chitchat.
Say “NO” if you’re not the right person to ask.
Put time aside when colleagues know you’re not to be interrupted each day.
Use call logging sheets, not scraps of paper, to record phone calls.
Distinguish between urgent and non-urgent interruptions. Something that is important isn’t always urgent.
You'll be amazed at how adopting just a couple of those principles will make a difference to how much you get done in a day, and eventually, to your profits!
So, if you don't fancy spending your remaining hours fretting over VAT returns, why not get a quote from Mazuma!
