Five Time Management Tips for Contractors

Win time without losing productivity. Here are four proven and practical tips that DON’T involve having to get up at 4am.

Contractors are a hard working bunch, there’s no denying that. Fifty-plus hour weeks are the norm (though they don’t have to be…).

But working until you can’t see straight isn’t the secret to scaling your business. It’s a surefire way to burn out.

Maybe you’re aware you need to be managing your time more effectively and have even done a little research on the topic. If so, you probably quickly discovered that most advice out there doesn’t really jive with the realities of a contractor’s existence.

Between juggling a demanding business, family commitments and trying to squeeze in a trip to the gym, are you really able to start your day in the wee hours of the morning? Especially after you stayed up half the night finishing up your admin?

Not only is that just impractical… it can be unhealthy–and it’s important to take care of yourself, particularly if you’re still jumping on the tools (though, if that’s the case, these tips can help with that too…).

These five productivity tips are designed to fit your life. They don’t expect you to contort your life to fit the advice. Save your contortions for the gym.

Tip 1: Start saying ‘No’

The very nature of being a contractor means you’re constantly bombarded by questions and requests. And, more than likely, the very nature of YOU means you want to help everyone out of their respective jams.

But being a “yes-contractor” runs totally counter to being a contractor business owner. Allowing your time to flow at the whims of everyone else’s needs leaves you with nothing left for deep-thought strategizing.

To amp up your skills in this area, we highly recommend reading The Power of No by Lydia and James Altucher.

Believe it or not, you can—and should—be saying “No” to more stuff. This is one of the most important elements for contractors to gain control over their time management and it’s one of the easiest tips to implement.

Use the below decision tree to identify which items on your to-do list can be crossed off RIGHT NOW.

Tip 2: Calculate your time’s cost

The story of Dan Martell’s journey to entrepreneurial success is so incredible, it has to be heard to be believed. (Fortunately, you can do that in this Contractor Evolution episode.)

In Dan’s view, improving your productivity requires that you value what your time is worth. As a contractor, you’ve probably become accustomed to doing everything, but in fact, not everything is worth your time.

What is your time worth? Here’s how to figure it out:

First, calculate how much your time costs per hour. Divide your business’ net profits from last year by 2000, since that’s the standard number of working hours in a year (never mind if you’re blowing that to smithereens right now, just stick to the math).

Hourly Cost of Your Time = Last Year’s Net Profits / 2000

Now. Whatever that number is, you shouldn’t be spending time on anything that can be done by someone whose hourly cost is lower.

What you should be delegating?

Great question! To get to the bottom of that, you need to do a…

TIME AUDIT!

(da da dahhhh…)

Don’t worry. It’s less intense than it sounds. Read on to learn how it works.

Tip 3: Do a time audit

A time audit helps you identify which items on your to-do list are best handled by a different member of your time, thus freeing up your (more costly time) for higher priority, strategic tasks.

Here’s a rundown of the process:

✅Start by making a list of everything you do for your company in a week. We’re talking EVERYTHING: estimating, bank runs, sales calls, emails, drying your project manager’s tears. Yes, it’ll be a long list.

✅Next, identify the most time-consuming items that don’t require high expertise to complete. This will probably be about 30% of your list.

✅Now, delegate everything on that sub-list to the most suitable members of your team.

✅Still have a bunch of stuff left? It’s time to do some hiring.

This Contractor Quick Tool will guide you through this eye-opening endeavor and help you reclaim about five hours in your week.

Tip 4: Give your team a problems budget

There’s a philosophy within military leadership known as “decentralized command” that means everyone is empowered to lead. By supplying your team with the independence, skills and responsibility to make decisions independently, rather than running everything past you, projects can progress more efficiently.

One method to support this approach is to create a “problems budget” for every tier of your organization. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, a few hundred bucks might be enough. The idea is that the money is available for your team to spend on solving a problem without consulting you.

Jocko Willink delves more into this concept in chapter eight of his very informative book, Extreme Ownership.

Tip 5: Use Block Scheduling

Block scheduling is a pivotal time management trick for contractors to regain control over their schedule.

What is block scheduling?

Block scheduling is earmarking time on your calendar to get stuff done. The basic steps are:

1. Create your to-do list for the upcoming week.
2. Assign a priority to each item.
3. Estimate how long each task will take.
4. Slot them onto your calendar, working from highest to lowest priority.

Block scheduling can take a few weeks to get right, but these pointers will help you fine-tune your technique:

• Use tech! There are a bunch of great digital calendars and list-making apps out there. Find one that suits you.
• Make sure you’ve defined your strategic goals. Without them, you’re flying blind when you start prioritizing your tasks.
• Speaking of prioritization, that’s a whole topic unto itself. There are multiple ways to attack it, but again, find one that makes sense for you.
• When inevitable urgencies arise, don’t panic. Adjust your calendar and reschedule tasks as needed.
• At the end of the week, review how things went. Don’t beat yourself up if your schedule turned into a rat’s nest. Just use what you learned to improve the process for the next week. If you don’t learn, you don’t grow. 😉

As you begin implementing these time management tips, one thing that will quickly become apparent is the importance of shutting out distractions. As productivity guru, Mike Lee, puts it, “Distraction robs you of joy.

A well-managed calendar is much more than simply a device for accomplishing work. It’s a framework for success as a well-rounded person. When your time is under control, so are your stress levels, and you become free to function from a place of calm, focus and… that’s right, joy.

You can be fit and fully present for your team, your family and yourself.

So, with all that said… when’s your next workout?

Ready to rein in your time and prioritize with the precision of a military general? Watch our Contractor Focus Framework web class.