Startups have to do a lot more work in the beginning, and their founders have to make sacrifices most of the time. It means that the concept of resource and time are much more important to the business, as those can quickly determine the direction.

Other than the fact that founders (and entrepreneurs generally) have to be able to manage limited resources consistently, they must implement practical time management skills. 

How much does time management mean to an average startup? Much more than you think. More prominent companies have other resources that afford them some wiggling room around deadlines. But, startups don’t have that.

This article highlights some tips that can help a Startup in a situation where time is literally “all that matters.”

Time management tips for startups

Prioritize the right problems

You might have seen a lot of online mediums about how helpful goal setting is for a business, but those publications aren’t just for the sake of it.

It improves the overall output of a Startup if they define strategies for specific goals. But what should those goals be? 

We recommend that a startup place less focus on turning over profits in the beginning. Profit-making might seem fine for a startup on the surface, but what matters more is the reach its business model has in the niche market.

To that end, entrepreneurs can focus on experimenting on new policies, releasing their products iteratively, and learning by validation. These can help the business spend time on the issues that are essential to its survivability.

Learn to say no

One of the major problems bedeviling startups (and invariably stealing their precious time) is the inability to say no to proposed features for their products.

More often than not, it leads to a delay in the launch timeline of a product. In extreme cases, the product might not even launch.

One effective way to avoid this issue is by plainly saying no to proposed extra features, and sticking to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

MVP ensures that the business meets specific customers’ needs with the fewest possible features. Subsequently, they can add newer features when they’ve experimented upon them (as opposed to building it together with the main product).

Remove interruptions

Interruptions of any kind waste time in any business, but being a startup company exacerbates its effects.

One of the most significant forms of interruptions (and ironically very avoidable) in the business is meetings. Formal meetings done regularly eats into productive time significantly, and also has a telling effect on the executives of the company.

When they kept short and informal, meetings wouldn’t get in the way of work while keeping everyone informed on pending tasks and upcoming projects. We recommend 10 minutes for short meetings.

Delegate

As a founder of a startup, there is the possibility of having most, if not all, of the company’s functions done by you. 

There is very little time to do actual work as you would be bothered by a lot of other areas of the business. It also makes you more attached to the development of the company’s products so that you cannot carry out an unbiased evaluation of it.

The solution is delegation. You can delegate activities that aren’t directly in the way of product development and menial tasks as well. It frees up time for the crucial actions which require your attention.

Work in bursts

Since you may want to keep working for as long as you can in a day, you are prone to distractions and interruptions the longer you work.

It is an occurrence that researchers have studied upon, and found that cognitive task switching can cause marginal distractions that add up quickly.

One of the popular techniques employed to help with time management is the Pomodoro technique. It entails the person working in 25-minute bursts, gapped with 5-minute breaks.

We think this is a technique to use when starting afresh with time management. It helps the workers avoid distractions, and also put in more time into productive activities.

Quantify productivity

As you try to make the most of the time for work daily, it helps a bunch to measure how much you’re achieving within a period.

It would help you take note of the time-saving strategies you should keep, and the ones you should discard. It would also act as a motivation to keep on down the path of improved efficiency and productivity, which you have discovered.

There are productivity tools that you can use, which includes free attendance management software. However, be careful not to use too many tools; in which case, the opposite of what you intend happens.

Conclusion

Time management is doubly essential to startups, yet it is a concept that can get unnecessarily (and avoidably) complicated.

In addition to time management techniques, entrepreneurs also have to deal with where to start and what to prioritize.

The tips listed above are research-backed, and we think it would yield faster results. Do let us know what time management tips or techniques you feel works best within a short while.