An entrepreneur once said that running your own business is a part-time job: pick any 12 hours out of 24 if you want to be successful. If you run your own company you know that time management is imperative to making those 12 hours count. Follow these three tips to help you focus your valuable time where you can have the greatest impact.

1. Avoid the “Tyranny of the Urgent”

A classic time-management guidebook by Charles Hummel, Tyranny of the Urgent focuses on separating what’s important from what feels “urgent.” Often what feels urgent won’t help drive your business. Take the time each morning, or even the previous evening, to outline what you need to get done during the done. Focus on one or two things that will make a significant difference to your business. Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of consequences come from only 20% of your work. By focusing on what’s important you can try to improve that ratio. Set aside an hour each day to deal with items that are urgent but not that important. Whatever doesn’t get done in the time should be moved to the next day.

2. Monitor Your Social Media Time

Time management in the era of social media is like walking the edge of the sand where you can easily get sucked into the sea without noticing; suddenly hours have disappeared from your day. The key to avoiding lost hours is to schedule your time with personal email and social media. When you do give yourself time to browse make sure to set a timer and stick to it. 

If running your social media is part of your work it can be difficult to draw the line between work and mindless scrolling. Set yourself goals for your work-related social media, like the number of replies you’ll make or the number of posts you’ll write and schedule.

3. Hire Help

Marketing and social media is a great example of an important aspect of your business success that you’re better off outsourcing. Running marketing is a full-time job and unless your business is marketing you’re time is not best spent constantly monitoring your accounts and creating posts. You don’t have to hire a full-time employee if you aren’t ready. In fact, there are many websites that will connect you with free-lance professionals willing to help you out for only the hours you need. 

Plan your time and evaluate your worth. Decide where your time is best spent and then create a plan to make it happen.