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If you are a small business owner you know that finding extra time is, well, hard. Those really important things you need to do consistently to boost your business often fall the wayside to the more urgent and often less important. So, what if you had 10 minutes a day to handle them? Almost everyone can find 10 extra minutes a day... the key is to claim it and use it wisely.
Here are five of my favorite ways to maximize those 10 minutes:
1) Read a business or personal development book.
That's right if you read just 10 minutes a day, depending on the book (size of print, complexity, etc.) you can cruise through at least a book a month. Over the course of a year that is 12 or more books that you could read. Choose different topics to mix it up and round out your learning. Then of course, apply what you learn. The joy in reading in small chunks is you can actually take that snippet of learning with you into the day in a digestible and applicable bits. Here are some timeless recommendations from Think Simple Now and interesting reader suggestions in the comments from Dave Fleet.
2) Execute Your Social Media Strategy.
While many people eat, sleep, and breathe social media, to use it successfully in your business doesn't have to take hours a day. A strategic and streamlined 10 minutes a day can do wonders for visibility. Consistency is the key and truthfully most people don't want to get tons of tweets from you every day unless you are CNN Breaking News. Get help with setting your time boundaries at The Time Finder. Learn how to tame the social media time-suck (Part I and Part II) at Communicate Value.
3) Plan Your Day
Planning your day, and focusing down to just one or two main tasks is an important productivity tool. Yet, very few of us take the five or ten minutes at the beginning or end of the day to do this. Instead we run headlong into the chaos of the day and wonder why we feel overwhelmed, off-track, and running behind. Ten minutes can work miracles.
4) Clean Your Desk and File Stuff
If you took just ten minutes a day at least several times a week to clear your desk and file electronic and paper files wouldn't your work environment look and feel more organized and peaceful? Instead most of us wait until there is a huge pile waiting for us and then we feel defeated and reluctant to tackle it. Small bite size chunks are the way to getting organized and reducing some stress.
5) Meditate and Bask in Your Vision
Meditation reduces stress and makes you more focused and mindful. Combining it with basking in your vision keeps you on track and clear on the bigger picture. Everyday details can submerge the small business owner into a pile of crap and the whims of the moment. Taking just a few moments each day to be still, get quiet, and get back in touch with your vision (the reason you're doing all this in the first place) can do wonders not only for how you feel but for your results. Check out some posts on how to meditate and some of the benefits.
There you go... I'd bet that left to your own devices you'd rarely do one of these five regularly, but with the container of "just for 10 minutes" hopefully you can find a way to use them to give yourself and your business a boost.
Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, offers life and business coaching for women to help you gain the confidence you need to create more money and meaning in your personal and professional life. Get the free eCourse "5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom & Experience Greater Confidence" at her website
