On a typical work day, you as a small business owner rarely get the time to even grab a decent lunch. You are just rushing around trying to meet deadlines or working on projects or just trying to ensure that everything in your company is running in a seamless manner. It’s a rare occasion when things run a little slow; but if and when that happens, what exactly is it that you do? Do you just start chatting with friends via social media sites or do you play games on your PC/laptop?
Some Effective Pointers
While many people consider a downtime to be a breather from their crazy routine, it’s not really necessary to while away that time in useless things; that time can easily be used in a more productive manner. Here are a few ideas about how you can use downtime at work in a more productive way:
#1 Organise your desk
Under normal circumstances, you may rarely ever find the time to organise your desk in the manner you want. When you’re busy, you don’t really want or start sorting all the things in your drawer or on your desk. Eventually, this space starts getting cluttered to a point where it can become a stress point; though most people don’t realise this at all. Take the downtime as an opportunity to sift through all the things that are accumulated there and clear out all the clutter and simply discard the things you don’t need.
#2 Get down to sifting through all your emails
It can truly be a nightmare to see heap loads of emails in your inbox, every time you turn around. Emails have a tendency to pile up and before you know it, there could be a large number of them that you haven’t yet dealt with. In the free time that has been thrust upon you, start wading through all the mails and either action, delete or delegate. Having a clean inbox can help reduce your stress levels.
#3 Call people who matter
When you are busy dealing with everyday office work, you tend to put off communicating with many people that matter to you. This is the time to make that call your mother or catch-up with your friend etc.
#4 Chalk out some plans
Some people are extremely meticulous and particular about the manner in which they spend their day and they tend to have everything planned down to the last detail. This may seem like quite an extreme habit, but the fact is, these very people tend to be extremely productive and manage to get a lot of work done within a very specific amount of time.
In this free time you have on your hands, it’s a good idea to sit down and plan your days and draw out a road map- this will helps set the pace and you will find that you are able to get things done more efficiently.
#5 Contemplate on how you spend your time
You could use this time to identify whether you have been managing your days in the right manner. Are you able to get through your work day without getting stressed and are you able to get sufficient rest. This analysis will help you identify where you have been wasting time & then find ways to change that.
Learn something new
You can also use this time to learn something new. Upgrade your skills or knowledge or simply learn something you had been putting off for a very long time. We at MaxMyProfit are passionate about our job of coaching business owners to explore different ways of expanding and improving their business.
If you want any more information about our services, programs, events and podcasts etc., do visit our website. You can also connect with us via this online form or speak with us at this number – (02) 8808 5500
About the Author
Ben Fewtrell is a sought-after Business Coach, Keynote Speaker and trainer who has featured in Virgin’s Inflight Magazine and Entertainment Portal, SKY Business and “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed”. He is also the host of the popular Business Brain Food Podcast where he interviews leading experts on anything and everything business.
