The Entrepreneurs' Daily Task List

Daily Time Management for Business Owners

Aug 24, 2006 Bonny Albo

Determining what needs to get done on a daily basis, and then doing it, is a motivational issue for many entrepreneurs, experienced or otherwise.

As an experienced entrepreneur, you are most likely aware that there are daily duties involved with ensuring your business is successful. Forgetting just how many tasks there are in a day, however, is a frequent downfall. Here is a list of entrepreneurial tasks that need to get done daily. How many have you accounted for in your time management practices?

• Accounting: Includes budgets, payroll, financial planning, bill payments, and credit management.
• Administration: Includes sorting and/or reading mail and email, filing, answering inquiries, invoicing, bookkeeping, and purchasing.
• Computer: Includes such things as keeping your website up to date, virus scanning, contact management, data entry, upgrading software and learning new software.
• Correspondence: Includes writing advertisements, letters, press releases and articles.
• Human Resources: Including interviewing, hiring, firing, training, motivating and conflict-resolution.
• Sales: Includes marketing, finding customers, client retention, promotions, advertising and special events.
• Troubleshooting: Depending on your field, this may include computer or technical troubleshooting, repairs, customer service and quality control.
• Warehousing: If running a product-based business, this section includes inventory control, purchasing, shipping, delivery, receiving and storage.
• Your Own Job Duties: Not only are you running the business but you probably have your own specific job duties as well to create an income stream for your business. Don't forget to include these in your daily task list as well.

Once you've changed, adapted and enhanced this list for your own business purposes, take a better look at the individual items. Highlight the ones that you must do, but don't do on a regular basis. Are these items that you do not enjoy, or need more knowledge in? Do you need to take time on a daily basis to (a) make sure they DO get done, and (b) perhaps get some further guidance on how to do them properly?

Use this list as a starting point for your own daily task list. Post it somewhere prominent and make sure that you adhere to it every day. Perhaps take the things you don't enjoy as much and place them first so that you ensure they get done. Making time to do all of these things ensures that you won't burn out in the future and allows you to stay focused on the items that need your attention.

The copyright of the article The Entrepreneurs' Daily Task List in Entrepreneurs is owned by Bonny Albo. Permission to republish The Entrepreneurs' Daily Task List in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.