As a business consultant, the most common complaint we heard from business owners is that there is not enough time! The boss has limited energy and time, but the things that the company needs to manage can be unlimited. Especially start-up bosses, many things and decisions have to be done by themselves. Time management and work allocation are essential for enterprise efficiency.

Everyone can be a boss, but not everyone knows how to be a boss. As a business consultant, I firmly believe that as long as you master the knowledge and know-how, practice and implement them properly, you will be able to lead to a successful boss. Rachel Pacheco, author of Bringing Up the Boss: Practical Lessons for New Managers, was a Chief Human Resources Officer at a startup. She realized that many new managers are lack of leadership and management experience. There is absolutely a need to “learn to be” a boss.

So, I’m going to share some essential skills and tips for being a successful boss.

Here are some time management tips for bosses:

1) Prioritize

There are many bosses who ignore the tasks they have to deal with because they are busy handling employees’ issues. I believe this is quite common to many bosses. But why do the employees get hired? Don’t you just want to have more time for yourself to deal with those important tasks? But in the end, why does the boss have to be “firefighter” with the employees?

There is never enough time. The most important thing is to know how to plan, distinguish the importance of each item, and then set the deadlines according to the priority order. Bosses have to live within their means and need to balance work and personal life. The 80/20 rule is extremely important. If the business owner spends too much time and neglects the most important 20%, he will often become a “firefighter” and fall into a busy situation but fail to achieve results.

Bosses need to set goals for themselves, complete important tasks within a given time, and ensure that the most important 20% are not neglected.

2) Be determined, don’t delay

When we communicate with employees, we find that many delays are caused by insufficient communication, or the boss does not make immediate decisions. What the employees need is a clear instruction. The bosses sometimes delay giving out instructions as they are occupied by business meetings and social activities, causing the employees to become disoriented. Bosses should make decisions or provide guidance as soon as the situation allows, so as not to delay the work and progress of the employees.

The early bird catches the worm – many successful bosses get up early to increase their disposable time. And the quiet moments in the morning can complete the daily work in an orderly manner and improve efficiency. Or, in the early morning, think about what instructions the employees need today, and issue them before starting the day, which can improve the work efficiency of employees.

3) Be focus

You probably have experienced that – when you were trying to work on something, suddenly there was a text message alert on the cell phone, you checked in and replied to that message. Then more messages arrived. An hour can easily pass by.

According to research, social media is the most distracting – even if it is just to check emails or instant messages, it takes time to reconnect the interrupted thoughts. Bosses, put down the cell phone temporarily and concentrate on your work on hand! This is the best way to improve efficiency.

Try it out, put your cell phone down, turn off notifications, concentrate on working for at least an hour. You may check in your cell phone again afterwards. Remember, if there is something urgent, the person will definitely call you directly, not a text message or a voice message.

4) Self-discipline

As a boss, if you lack goals and plans for your daily work, how can you expect yourself to achieve the goals within a week, a month, or even a year?

Once you have a plan, you must implement it with self-discipline. Failure to implement will only waste all the plans. All goals or plans require self-discipline and execution ability. Walk the talk is the only way to make things happen.

5) Make good use of human resources and delegation

Knowing how to make good use of the team and delegate work can increase the daily disposable time. Many business owners feel that they don’t know what to do after work delegation. In fact, the boss should focus on corporate strategy and long-term development, rather than the daily operation of the company.

Bosses can consider authorizing employees to handle relatively simple tasks. They can authorize the approval right below a certain amount to delegated management. For example, in many large-scale corporations, there is a well-established authorization mechanism: one manager can approve expenses below a certain amount; approvals from two managers are required for expenses above a certain amount; and important decisions are handed over to the boss for final approval.

Time management skills

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today” is a truth that everyone understands. Whether the above sharing is commonplace or not, the difference lies in whether the boss has implemented it or not. Time management is not only about helping the bosses meet the goals in work, but also enabling them to perform at their best potential and maintain a balance between work and personal life.

There is never enough time, the most important thing is to know the priority, and plan according to the importance of things.