Top 10 Time Management Tips for Nigerian Entrepreneurs

Top 10 Time Management Tips for Nigerian Entrepreneurs

Time management should be one of the first business lessons every Nigerian entrepreneur should learn. An average entrepreneur’s life is frustrated about getting as many things done as soon as possible. You constantly think of what you should do to boost performance and make your business successful. Your mind is overwhelmed with different milestones you must accomplish within a particular time frame. And to help you cap it, you struggle with keeping up with time. 

 

Time, unlike other human resources,  is limited and cannot be boosted. No matter your level of smartness or sophistication, you can’t have more than the 24 hours round the clock that everyone else has. Your struggles and milestones are different from others, but that time will constantly remain this. And the only solution you can ever have is learning how to manage it effectively. Hence the cause of this article.

 

To start with, I am Taiwo Sotikare, the founder and CEO of Insight.ng. I am sharing these time management tips, not off the surface but as a practical aspect of my life as fellow startup owners like you who constantly have to contend with time.

In this article, I will be walking you through the best 10-time management tips every Nigerian entrepreneur must know. 

 

10 Important Time Management Tips for Every Entrepreneur

1. Understand yourself

I constantly say the entrepreneurship journey is a very challenging one. And in your efforts to seek solutions to your time management problem, you may get confused with many suggestions and advice from different business moguls and motivators. While this business advice is great, you must understand that you are relatively different. Because other entrepreneurs say working during midnight keeps them productive doesn’t mean you should also follow suit. Instead, you should take note of your body system and be sure when you enjoy working. 

 

2. Define your Priority 

There is always a lot on the plate of an average entrepreneur. From recruiting new staff to supervising existing projects. From an executive meeting to thinking about different untapped businesses in Nigeria to venture into. From this to that. I understand you have a long list to tick. But do they all matter? Will they all equally contribute to the success of your business? Do they all have an equal return on investment? Return on the time you invest in it, I mean! So think it through and arrange all your activities based on importance. Cross some off your list. Omitting one or two things won’t kill your business.

3. Delegate 

You are not yet an entrepreneur if you do not master the art of delegating. As an entrepreneur, you need to learn how to delegate different parts of your activities and focus on the most profitable for your business. 

 

For example, suppose you run a media brand like Insight.ng or perhaps a Business Hub company like Dayo Adetiloye. In that case, you should cross writing and editing off your list and concentrate on communicating with business partners. Delegate the publishing role to an editor. Hire a ghost worker for a role you want to retain the credit for the work. Perhaps due to the type of business you run. 

 

For example, Neil Patel does not write all the articles on the blog, but reading through will make you think he does. Hire a social media manager instead of overwhelming yourself with understanding the Twitter and Instagram algorithms. Delete as many tasks as you can.

 

4. Trust your employees more

One of the reasons many entrepreneurs overwhelm themselves and are still unable to manage their time effectively is a lack of trust. As an entrepreneur, you must trust your subordinates and employees. This at the same time helps you build employee loyalty, which in return will help you boost performance and productivity.

 

If they aren’t effective, chances are you probably hired wrongly. You may consider replacing them with another employee. The goal is to help you have employees that know what to do even without you asking them to do it all the time and save you constant headaches. 

 

5. Create a Checklist 

Having a checklist of things you have to do within a timeframe will go a long way in helping keep track of your activities. You can install a to-do list application and software like Todoist, TickTick, and others and log your activities. You can also resort to using a diary for manual operation. This primarily depends on your choice.

 

6. Take a rest

One thing I have learned the hard way as a budding entrepreneur is overworking without paying adequate attention to my health. I thought of myself as a superman and practically forgot my body was not firewood. Burnaboy probably knew this late too. However, I understand the impact after I broke down and couldn’t work. I mean, even when I need to. And there it is. I would have saved the time I spent on the sick bed being productive if I had learned taking care of my health is part of the effective time management tips for entrepreneurs. While taking the rest, you may consider reading one or two articles on maybe one of the top business blogs in Nigeria. 

 

7. Hire a secretary or assistance

Hiring an assistant or virtual secretary doesn’t have to cost you a mountain as you think. Someone already within your brand can still help you fit in that role by helping you declutter your daily activities. In addition, if your employees enjoy working closely with you, some may even offer to help by helping you manage your activities. 

 

8. Cut off the distraction

Our current digital world is filled with different kinds of distractions that can slow down your activities as an entrepreneur. Visiting LinkedIn to post a short post you just drafted may end you reading a different post you don’t bargain for. Twitter, with tons of activities including politics, football, and the like, can make you exceed the time you delegate for a simple task. Even your environment is filled with different passersby, especially if you work in the streets of Lagos. 

 

As a serious entrepreneur who knows the worth of their time, you must keep your environment as distraction-free as possible. Don’t go to social media during the work period. Consider leaving your home for a co-office space when the situation demands. Put your mobile on, do not disturb. Just do as many things you think can help you stay at the top of your productivity game and save time. 

 

9. Eliminate procrastination and do it

Procrastination eats a chunk of your time more than we think. To start with, procrastination is a disease. Not for only entrepreneurs but people in general. However, as an entrepreneur, you can’t afford to let time slide in the name of I will do it later. Moreover, it is more dangerous if your activities are tied to other people’s performance. For example, if you do not approve of a project, there is no way others will be able to carry on with it. And that is why you need to find every strategy you can think of to avoid procrastinating.

 

10. Reevaluate time and yourself

After you have done all these, the next thing is reevaluating yourself and your time. Are you pleased with the time you spend on all activities? Do you think you are spending enough time resting? Do you think you are prioritizing enough? Are you taking charge of the important task and delegating as many can be delegated. Are you hacking your list check? Ask yourself as many questions that can help boost your activities and cheers as you effectively manage your time as an entrepreneur.

 

Conclusion

Time management is a must for every successful entrepreneur. Therefore, ensure you read this article as often as you deem best until you finally digest every information written.

 

About The Author

Taiwo Sotikare is a business enthusiast passionate about helping small businesses grow through effective content marketing. Taiwo helps small businesses generate more leads and sales via SEO. In addition, he creates content that hits Google’s front page, where thousands of targeted customers can easily access their products and services. He can be contacted via taiwo@insight.ng.