
I know that for a lot of people when we want to get ourselves organised or we’re starting something fresh or we’ve just finished a project, you can start to feel overwhelmed.
After a little bit of a break, there’s often a mountain of stuff to come back to, you’ve got an inbox full of emails.
You’ve got all of these people lining up at the door, hopefully, who want to speak to you or do business with you.
So, what are some simple things that you can do right now to manage your time and energy?

1. Schedule time for breaks to manage your energy.
Make sure that you’re allowing break times and wellbeing times.
Keep in mind that in your calendar, you are actually scheduling everything so you need to schedule break times too for your own personal energy management.
Whether it’s for a lunch break, exercise or allowing travel time to get there.
Sometimes you’ll want to schedule time for stopping work to prioritise, and plan accordingly.
When I started in business, a great coach that worked with me said, “Wellness of your business is greatly reflected by the wellness of your body.”
You need to invest in that as much as you invest in everything else.

Remember to prioritise good sleep, good exercise, good food and keeping hydrated.
2. Master the art of delegation for better time management.
The best time managers in the world are really good at delegating.
They know how to delegate their work. It doesn’t mean that you need to hand it over to a person.
You can resort to handing it over to a tool app, or probably in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system that you’re using.
There are some automations you can take advantage of, so use those features, it will help you save from doing the manual work.
However, there’s one problem with a lot of small business owners when it comes to delegating or outsourcing to somebody else.
They feel like it’s self-indulgent to spend money when they could be doing it themselves.
Another great coach once said to me, “you need to imagine that you’re worth $500.00 an hour. Is there someone else that can do that cheaper? If so, then you need to get them to do it.”
It’s like trying to use a Lamborghini to deliver items when somebody could be doing it on a push bike, right?
If somebody else can do it for a lot cheaper, then you need to empower them with the work that you can provide them.
Chances are, they love it far more than you do and will do it much quicker. It’s not a waste and it’s not self-indulgent.
3. Focus on high-impact activities to manage your time.
Think about where you can create the biggest impact for the least amount of time.
Think about where you can get instant return, where you can get quickly money coming back into your business quickly.
Create a result with the least number of resources, time, energy, or money; whatever can be turned around quickly and effortlessly into your business.
It’s these areas where you need to focus your attention and it’s these areas that you need to prioritise.
4. Embrace the Serenity prayer’s wisdom.
One of my favourite recommendations is the Serenity Prayer.
Most people have heard of the Serenity prayer.

It comes down to focusing on what’s within your control and doing that well.
Put your effort and energy into the things that you can control rather than exhausting your energy with things that are outside of your control.

5. Be strategic with Time Management.
Start to be a little bit more ruthless with your time. If you need to reschedule an appointment or cancel.
If you’ve planned to catch up with somebody for a cup of coffee or lunch, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to say, “I’m really sorry. Would you mind if we rescheduled? I’m falling behind on some deadlines, and I need to focus my attention on them.”
Don’t be afraid to do that because I’m sure they’ll appreciate that business comes first. You need to invest some energy and attention into your work and wellbeing.
I’m not saying you need to do this all time but every now and then is okay.
Of course you need to improve your time management, prioritisation, and effective delegation of tasks.
However, just for one week, it doesn’t hurt to be able to reschedule if you need to.

So if you need help in making courageous decisions at the moment for the long-term benefit of you, your business, or your team, we should talk here.
There are simple actions you can take right now to address this.
I have some short term and long-term strategies to share with you, including a few quick tips that you might not have considered amidst the chaos and stress.
Remember to be kind to yourself and take time for yourself.
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About the Author

Barbara Clifford (The Time Tamer) is a co-founder of The Hinwood Institute. She is the lead trainer and coach in Time Management. She is a recognized leader in Stress Management. An experienced coach, speaker, columnist and facilitator, Barbara’s work with The Hinwood Institute assists people to unclutter mess, make order from chaos, and swap the shackles of overwhelming for freedom. Barbara’s clients move from the relentless hamster wheel to waking inspired, motivated, making decisions with purpose and achieving peak performance. She lives in the desert of Alice Springs, Australia working with people around the country.
Her professional experience has included contracts with small business, Not For Profits, Aboriginal Organisations, Media, Marketing, Aged Care, Universities, Health Services and Cruise Ships