Guest Blog by Connie Kreiser, CMK Coaching & Consulting

Transitioning from the corporate world to the realm of solopreneurship is a significant leap, where self-governance becomes the cornerstone of your success. Over the past decade, as a coach specializing in guiding startup and young business entrepreneurs, I've had the privilege of working with numerous solopreneurs. Regardless of their unique ventures, they all grapple with a common challenge: mastering time management and task execution, which remains the foremost obstacle to business growth.

When individuals seek advice on attracting more clients or increasing their income, my response often appears deceptively simple: enhance your time management skills and consistently execute your daily tasks. It might sound obvious, but the devil lies in the details.

Here are five crucial perspectives to reshape your approach to time management and task execution:

1. Establish Clear Work Hours: Define your official work hours, even if you operate from a home office. Just as if you had a physical storefront, post these hours on platforms like Google. During this designated time, commit to working diligently at your desk. Remember to schedule short breaks every two hours for meals, exercise, or other necessities.

2. Account for Your Hours: Are you truly working the hours you claim? When someone claims to put in 60 hours but fails to meet their financial goals, it's crucial to reassess. If a sales associate consistently missed their targets despite long hours, would you retain them? Apply the same scrutiny to your own efforts.

3. Manage To-Do Lists Effectively: Avoid creating endless to-do lists that remain untouched until the week's end. The issue isn't the list's design; it's the failure to execute tasks daily. Imagine hiring an intern who consistently ignored their to-do list, attempting to rush through tasks at the last minute or postponing them to the following week. Such behavior is unacceptable.

4. Implement Accountability: Treat your business like a monitored entity. Find an accountability partner or coach to track your work hours. Share your daily or weekly timecards with them. If you want more from your business, you must invest more in it. It takes time and effort, but the principles of Standard Operating Procedures employed by corporations work. Plan your hours diligently, create a personal time sheet, and remain accountable.

5. Prioritize and Execute: Treat your task list as if it's being scrutinized. Life's distractions should not diminish the importance of your business tasks. Successful individuals manage their commitments and prioritize effectively. Excuses may explain your lack of progress, but do you truly want that to be your story? Success requires prioritization and consistent execution.

In conclusion, you can choose to be a statistic of failure or a narrative of success. In my decade of working with solopreneurs, I've consistently found that mastering time management and task execution presents the most significant challenges. However, I assure you that by mastering these skills, your business will not only thrive but flourish. Success in solopreneurship begins with disciplined time management and unwavering commitment to task execution.

Connie M. Kreiser
Dynamic Energy Change Facilitator
CMK Coaching & Consulting
cmkconnections@gmail.com