As a business owner, you will need to figure out to manage several different things at one time if your business is going to succeed. Although there are some that believe multitasking is simply piling your plate high with responsibilities and tackling them all at once for the most efficiency, this approach usually leads to exhaustion. There are ways to effectively integrate elements of administration and oversight into a seamless operation. With these techniques, you can master the art of multitasking more successfully.
Practice Makes Perfect
Believe or not, multitasking is a skill that takes practice if you plan to master it. Don’t jump into a huge task like an inventory audit and expect to remain accurate while you also take part in a sales meeting or accounting crisis. Start with small, routine tasks and work diligently to establish a method that transitions well between tasks or demands. Build up your skill level slowly for more long-term efficiency with a more demanding workload.
Set Your Priorities
Don’t assume that every job that needs to be done is a priority. As a manager or owner, this may be hard to overcome. However, you need to learn which functions or areas take priority and give those the most attention. Your brain can become overloaded when it is moving too quickly from one project to the next, especially if you have given the item your undivided attention. Things that take extreme focus should be completed first, without the interruption of smaller, more menial tasks. This keeps your brain on track and allows you to jump back into multitasking without a hiccup.
Use Tools to Assist You
To help make your life easier, check out the technology that can streamline your responsibilities. For one thing, you may have arranged for a separate mobile phone or landline with a business phone number. There is an unspoken obligation to be at the desk or always ready to answer that line. After all, you could be missing an important sales call. To reduce the stress of managing several phones or waiting around the desk when you have things to do, look into linked phone services. You can have your business line rerouted to your personal mobile device. Business management software hosted in the cloud is another way to efficiently manage several different departments with accuracy and from any location.
These three areas of advice can shape your multitasking skills into a business asset. It isn’t always about working harder, but managing what you do in order to work smarter.