It’s almost decided: you’re going to start your own business . You only need one small detail, how are you going to find time if you are working full time? Do you quit your job and jump into the pool? Do you keep it and forget your project? Can you build a company in your spare time? Are there clocks that have more than 24 hours? Do not panic.
I will tell you a few things that can help you.
You have everything to get started : you have your business idea, you have planned what you want to do, you have studied the sector, you know who your potential clients are , you have the financing issue on track… You have to give the starting gun.
Problem? You have a full-time job that is the one that feeds you and pays your bills, but also the one that you would want to leave to be your own boss.
Leaving a job is a high-risk decision.
What if your business project doesn’t start? What if it doesn’t give the result you expect? Working while you undertake will give you a stability that, well managed, can become a boost. Keep in mind that not having to worry about reaching the end of the month gives you peace of mind that, contrary to what you now believe, can come in handy to focus on as an entrepreneur.
Because, it is possible to continue as an employee and also be a part-time entrepreneur by building your own business. What you have to be clear about is that it is going to cost you, you are going to have to make sacrifices and renunciations, change habits and discipline yourself .
If your time was already valuable, now it will be even more so, because you have to get twice as much out of it. Mark this on your forehead: personal productivity .
How do I find time to undertake if I’m already full?
Time is what it is, twenty-four hours for everyone, that ‘s why what we have to talk about is productivity, that is, how much do you get out of it?
We can say that your productivity is the amount of time you invest to perform a certain task. It is not a science, there is no established optimum time to be reached, what you can consider is improving your personal bests.
What does this mean? That I am sure that by making a few small changes in your routines, you can perform the same tasks faster.
I am going to say it backwards now: your time will yield much more , which is precisely what you are looking for in order to launch your project as an entrepreneur. So let’s go to it. I’ll give you some hints to do it.
1 Choose your project well
If you want to keep your original job, at least for the moment, logically you cannot embark on a business project that requires you to be physically present for an entire working day, because at the moment you cannot duplicate yourself, so it is most likely that you have already focused on a virtual business , such as an online store.
A virtual project opens up the possibility for you to maintain control over time management. It will require a lot of you as well, but with organization and using the right tools (such as those that allow you to schedule tasks) it is possible to pull it off.
2 Analyze your expense account (of time)
If you ask an economic adviser how to better organize your accounts to save a little at the end of the month, they will tell you to take a piece of paper and a pen and make a list of income (that is usually easy) and expenses (there you have to detail more and be honest with yourself).
Once the expenses have been made, you have to divide it into two or even three: the essential, the expendable, and what you can afford from time to time. Easy, right?
You have to do exactly that with time: go directly to the expense account, which is what interests you, and specify exactly what you spend the hours of your day on, every day of the week. Once that is done, assess whether each thing has the time it deserves. And be honest. If you spend two hours on social networks, don’t say that you only see Facebook ten minutes before bed.
You will be surprised at the number of hours you can gain simply by going on a “diet” of time, using only the time you need for each thing, with no extras you can do Although it seems tedious to start making lists, the order will help you. Writing things down on loose paper, filling your computer with post-its with reminders, not setting priorities or alarms… Of course, none of this is going to help you save time, rather the opposite if you start making mistakes due to being disorganized.
3 Become a professional of the organization
A bad organization is a ship leaking everywhere. Since your time is a limited resource, you will need to manage it carefully. If you have done the previous point well, you will have seen that there are many hours available simply by redistributing tasks and assigning each one the time it needs. Let’s go further then.
Look for task management apps that can help you . There are many, choose the one that best suits you and use it, it will help you enormously. Make lists and group them logically . Cross out when you’re done. I recommend that you separate your agenda as an entrepreneur from the rest of the tasks related to your other job or your personal life.
4 Procrastinate? Me?
Yes, you, like almost everyone. Delete that word from your personal dictionary. As soon as you decide to be an entrepreneur , procrastination ends for you from minute one. That thing of postponing indefinitely what you know you have to do… Discipline yourself: if you have to do something, do it quickly and get rid of it.
5 Learn to postpone
…But postpone judiciously. Not everything has to be done immediately, there are not always fires to put out, nobody lives in a constant urgency… Most of the time rushing is not necessary , so learn to distinguish or you will organize yourself at the mercy of what others ask of you or you demand yourself.
You have to place each thing in its proper place, within your agenda. Neither before nor after. Creating blocks of tasks and reserving adequate time for them can help you better manage this time.
without. Adjust what you can and save yourself a prize for when the occasion deserves it.
Every once in a while “losing” a couple of hours is gaining health. Notice what I have said from time to time.
6 Concentrate the energy
I am not telling you that you are going to become a master of martial arts, but you are going to have to learn to concentrate your efforts to optimize the time available. Maybe you are already one of those who completely disconnect when they start a task and go like lightning. If so, congratulations, if not, the tendency to spread is going to be one of your biggest enemies.
Starting several tasks at the same time and jumping from one to another, attending to matters related to your project, your business, your home or your partner at the same time, constantly interrupting to attend to emergencies that are not such (an email, a WhatsApp, a question about tomorrow’s dinner) and your head full of crossed thoughts about what you have left to do… No! Start a task, focus, finish. It will seem to you that time yields double .
7 The important thing is to do it first thing in the morning
Yes, you have understood correctly, I am talking about getting up early. The truth is that making the effort to get up a couple of hours before the rest of the world can be very positive.
You will tell me that there are people who work better in the morning, others in the afternoon and others at night. It is true, each person has our schedule and our own biological clock. For example, I work much better in the morning, so I recommend it, but if the schedule is later, then go ahead and adapt to the schedule that makes you more productive.
Mistakes that you should not make : opening your email, looking at social networks, reading the newspaper for a minute, alone while you drink your coffee… Don’t do it! The world wakes up two hours later, it doesn’t matter if all that waits a while because nobody counts on you at that moment. That time is gold for you and you should use it to cross off your list the most important tasks of the day or those that require more concentration.
8 Prepare to handle stress
Yes, get ready because you’re not going to get away. Carrying out two activities in parallel, plus trying to have a personal life, will raise your stress levels yes or yes, so you can anticipate it and learn to identify it (important, so that it doesn’t block you) and manage it. There are very simple but useful tricks , such as learning breathing techniques or giving yourself five minutes of stretching.
Resting from time to time makes us more productive. This rest time allows us to be at our peak the time we work, so don’t forget to take 5 minutes, stretch and relax every hour or so.
Although at some point you will think that it is impossible to maintain a balanced life, you have to try. Your health depends on it and therefore the success of your project. Getting enough rest is a priority, you can skip this rule for a day or two, but be clear that if you don’t rest, you don’t perform , and if you don’t perform, your project is destined to fail.
So take care of yourself. I have already named rest, I have to add: eat well and exercise, if you can do workouts that strengthen your muscles, the core, even better, especially if you spend many hours sitting down in your two jobs. Come out, let the sun give you a while, even if it’s a short walk, that’s better than nothing. Have a social life, as much as you can, and pamper your relationships as much as you can. Although everything will suffer cuts, it is important that you keep the minimum that makes you feel good.
You may think that this is wasting time, not gaining it, and that we are going in the opposite direction. The truth is, no. You’re going to have to give up for a long time to be able to run two activities at once. Taking care of yourself and balancing your personal life is simply being smart and laying the bricks for success.