Small business owners who can convey to their employees the importance of maximizing their time reap the benefits.
Face it; time is the one commodity that can’t be regained once it’s spent.
And since you are paying for that time, it makes sense to give your employees the tools and guidance necessary to make the most of their working hours.
Breaks Are Needed, Too
Maximizing your employees’ time doesn’t mean you have to lash them with a whip every time you notice someone slacking off by the coffee machine.
In fact, workers need breaks during the day to recharge. If you end up like a boss who disallows a reasonable amount of time for breaks, you’ll end up like a boss who has a long roster of disgruntled employees.
Make sure that you not only tolerate breaks during the day, but that you encourage them.
It is in this time that the mind resets itself, paving the way for more creativity and productivity down the road.
Ways to Maximize Time
As the following article looks at, to maximize your most valuable resource: time, teach your employees the following “tricks” that they can implement immediately….
Plan for the Unexpected
Nothing ruins a well-planned day than the unexpected.
Your best employees may start each Monday with a neat list of everything they intend to accomplish that week.
By Friday, the list has only been half crossed off, with lots of new things added to it that they never knew were going to come at them.
The trick is to realize that every day will have unexpected happenings. It’s called life, and that’s how it works.
So instead of filling every working hour with goals and tasks, leave blocks of time to take care of those things that come up out of the blue.
That will make it possible to still take care of the things on the list without neglecting the last minute “emergencies” that life throws at us every day.
Multitask
It’s been scientifically proven that, despite our best efforts, we as humans are oftentimes incapable of truly multitasking.
We can’t do two things at once. But we can accomplish two things at once.
Give employees the freedom to woo clients at lunch, on the golf course or over a night of fine dining. There’s no harm in conducting business out of the office.
Another way to multitask is to transcribe meeting notes and make them available for employees to listen to in the car or train on the commute to work, instead of having every person sit in on the meeting in person.
When your employees maximize their work time in a way that doesn’t translate to working overtime or weekends, both of you will realize the benefits.
Their productivity will increase, and your profits will see better days.
About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.