Time Management for Entrepreneurs | Joe Kelly OTC Global Holdings

Starting your own business is a feat. To balance your business, spending time with family and friends, and some downtime, you need good time management skills.

Write it down

The first step to managing your time more effectively is keeping track of everything you have to do. One of the worst feelings is to work hard all day, only to realize that you forgot to send an important email or order essential supplies. Writing down your to-do list will also lay a foundation for the next time management skill.

Prioritize

Prioritizing your tasks can help you get everything done when you simply don’t have enough hours in the day. This can also help when you’re feeling sick and have less energy or when other things come up in your schedule that shorten your workdays, such as doctor’s appointments or ill kids. After you write down all of your tasks for the day, highlight the three most important tasks for the day, and work on those first.

Do the most challenging task first

After you’ve set your priorities, complete the most difficult tasks first. This will help you feel accomplished and give you more energy for the smaller or easier tasks later in the day. Maybe you hate writing, and you have to finish an extensive report – knock that out in the morning. Maybe you have to run the budget, but you hate working with numbers – take care of this before anything else. The rest of the day will feel like a breeze.

Follow the 2-minute rule

Many time-management experts recommend following the 2-minute rule. This rule states that you do it immediately if a task takes 2 minutes or less. Maybe you need to respond to that email you just read – under this rule, you would respond immediately rather than putting it off until later, provided that it’s a brief response. This keeps your to-do list shorter.

Some experts say that time management is really about energy management. That’s the idea behind completing complex tasks first and not putting off 2-minute tasks. Following these recommendations helps keep you motivated and keeps you from feeling in a slump.

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About Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly is the president and Co-CEO of OTC Global Holdings, the largest Independent Inter-dealer Broker of Commodities in North America and Europe. Joe has years of experience in commodity brokerage, specifically natural gas and oil. Joe Kelly’s zest for life, sense of collaboration, and ability to see the big picture are just a few reasons he is so successful in his endeavors. His contagious enthusiasm also generates a company culture that’s a uniquely positive experience.

Joe graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. He began his career on the New York Mercantile Exchange floor, working for ED&F Man. During this period, Joe learned the ins and outs of commodity futures and the value of a diverse derivatives marketplace. In addition to his work, Joe Kelly’s other great passion is the sport of rugby. In addition to the mental and physiological benefits, Joe sees it as a sport that shares many of the same rules as business. When OTC Global Holdings formed their first international office in London, Joe relocated and was instantly smitten by the spirit of the sport and the guiding principles of the game. Unlike American football, rugby has a lack of physical support for players, making communication and synergy all the more invaluable. Much like in business, everybody has an important role to play, not just for the protection and success of their teammates but for the club as a whole. Visit his websites to learn more!