If you feel that the success of your business is coming at a price – the start of a new year is a good time to consider what might help you to take back more time and improve efficiency.

Burnout is a real problem for small business owners and sole traders with long hours and stress quite possibly increasing to the point that they affect productivity and creativity.

For long-term success implement the changes that allow you to maximise your time and to ensure that you take the time away from the business that you need to recharge.

Just a few changes can make all the difference, whether that is calling in outside help or implementing new systems. Take action now and keep new practices in place throughout the year to measure their effectiveness.

Get organised to make your business run more smoothly

This one sounds obvious, but the reality can be very different from the theory. During busy periods for your business it can be difficult to make sure everything is in the right place. This includes dates, meetings, deadlines and finances.

Use a diary and use it efficiently – if you plan to go back to it later this is often a recipe for forgetting dates and jobs. Diary management is essential to the efficient running of an office, helping you to avoid double booking and to ensure meetings are maintained and deadlines met.

If January is a quieter time of the year for your company use this time to sort out filing systems and clean up your desktops and emails. Knowing exactly where documents and information are when you need them later in the year will save you plenty of time.

Make the most of specialist software

Software and apps have been designed to make a staggering array of tasks easier, from file storage to social media management and email updates. If there is an aspect of your admin that is proving to be time-consuming do your research to find out if there is a software solution to help. If you don’t know where to begin, or do not have the time to put this process in place a virtual personal assistant could help.

Stick to set working hours

Setting yourself boundaries will help you to regain a sense of a work/life balance. While self-employment brings the benefits of flexibility, long and anti-social hours can take their toll on your health and cut into your family time. Decide what hours work for you and try to stick to them as often as you can.

Delegate to improve efficiencies

It is hard to take a step back when running your own business, but success will often mean that you get to the point where you need some help. Admin tasks are one area that can easily be delegated to free up your time. Consider taking on an extra member of staff or outsourcing the work to an experienced virtual personal assistant, who can work either on a regular or ad hoc basis.

Prioritise important tasks

When time is tight you often have no choice but to prioritise. Decide what tasks are the most important in terms of your time then consider the best solution to take care of the remaining work. It could be that seeking outside help will help you to focus on winning more valuable work while a virtual personal assistant helps you to take care of the day-to-day work in running your business.

If you want to focus on expanding your business or are determined to address your work/life balance on 2020 a virtual personal assistant will be able to help.

New Dawn PA has experience in a range of industries and offers comprehensive administrative support.

To discover more about the services New Dawn PA offers and how these can help make your business run more smoothly in 2020 please get in touch.