15 Time Management Tips I Learned from Building a Startup

Building something from nothing is really fun. The thrill of waking up each morning with a meaningful business that you believe in is second to none. However, the practical day to day time management skills to make it happen are not obvious at first. As a founder, I have to do my job of leading the team, admin, product development, research, and all the other jobs we have not hired for yet! I have to take conscious steps to organize my time, be productive, and make sure the most meaningful things get done. Here are few things I learned while building a consulting/architecture firm, Pattern r+d, and a software company called cove.tool.

1.     Wake up early at a set time and go to bed at a set time. Coffee can only take you so far! Starting at 6 am and going to bed at 11 pm lets you get a lot done and be sharp.

2.     Set your work hours from 7 am to 6 pm. This focuses your mind that you have an endpoint to the task.

3.     Eat breakfast. It really boosts your productivity.

4.     When your employees come in make sure to have a quick chat so that you know what they are working on. This helps you make sure that they are not waiting on any decisions or information from you.

5.     Work in 2 to 4 hour time blocks on the same tasks.

6.     Eat lunch at a specific time every day and make sure it is blocked out on your calendar. Do not think about work or check your phone during you lunch so you come back focused. Definitely leave the office.

7.     Delegate as many things as possible to your employees (once you have them) as they will not rethink a task. Entrepreneurs are notorious for being perfectionists on things that do not matter.

8.     Try to group tasks together. For example, do all your product demos at the same time.

9.     Keep away from answering emails all day long and try to communicate with employees verbally to avoid getting snowed in with too many messages. Answer messages 3 times a day in the morning, after lunch, and before you leave.

10.  Use Slack to keep all your messages in one place but mute the notifications so you stay focused.

11.  Before they leave, have your employees relay the status of tasks so you can finish anything that needs to get done that day.

12.  Make your employees leave at a set time so that they remain productive and happy. If the work hours are clear than you never have to spend time making sure people are showing up and leaving which significantly reduces stress and management time for you.

13.  Leave at 6 pm no matter what and work out! Clear the head and do not think about work. This keeps you sane.

14.  Spend a couple hours before bed tackling problems for which you need no interruptions.

15.  Close the laptop, go to bed, and actively choose to not think about work problems. There is no end to what you can do, but your brain is your most valuable resource. Keep it in optimal condition.