SelfInformed

Time Management Tips for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs

As a self-employed entrepreneur, you’re likely juggling multiple roles, from the big-picture strategy to day-to-day operations. Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business owner, or a startup founder, time management is essential for keeping your business running smoothly and ensuring that you don’t burn out. Managing your time effectively allows you to stay organized, set priorities, and maintain a healthy work-life balance, all of which are critical for your long-term success.

Understand the Importance of Time Management

Most entrepreneurs start their own businesses because they love what they do; they thrive at being the backbone of their organizations. If you’re relatively new to working on your own, you may not mind putting in the extra hours and paying attention to every detail.

Yet as time goes on, you can start feeling overwhelmed, at least periodically, which can eventually lead to burnout. In fact, a recent survey found that more than one-third of entrepreneurs experience burnout.

That’s why time management is so important. When you manage your time wisely, you can take control of your daily routine and focus on what matters most, which will not only boost productivity but also improve your overall sense of fulfillment.

Good time management allows you to:

• Increase productivity: When you focus on the most important tasks, you can get more done in less time.
• Reduce stress: Knowing what you need to accomplish and when helps you stay calm and in control.
• Free up time for personal life: Effective time management means that your business doesn’t take over your entire life, allowing you to enjoy time with loved ones or focus on personal passions.
• Achieve long-term goals: Staying on top of your daily tasks means you have more time to plan and execute long-term strategies.

Step One: Get Organized

The first step toward effective time management is staying organized. Being self-employed means you have to keep track of everything—clients, appointments, invoices, projects, and deadlines. Without organization, it’s easy to forget important tasks and fall behind.

Employ Organizational Tools

In this day and age, you have a myriad of tools, apps, and software at your fingertips when it comes to organization. The important thing is to find the system that works for you and stick with it.

Although it may be hard to believe, some entrepreneurs thrive with the old-fashioned paper-and-pen to-do list. The act of physically writing down calendar appointments, lists of things to do by priority, or random ideas that occur throughout the day can help keep the day running smoothly.

If you have a small staff, you may want to look at digital tools such as Trello, Asana, or Monday to break your tasks into manageable steps and help keep tabs on what everyone is doing. These tools allow you to set deadlines, assign priorities, and track your progress as well as communicate in a more organized manner. You can start with a free version or trial and scale up as your needs grow.

Tidy Workspace and Files

Depending on the stage of your business, you may be working from your laptop at the kitchen table or renting a dedicated office space. Whatever the space, keeping it clean and organized is critical.

A cluttered workspace, both physical and digital, can hinder your focus and waste valuable time. Think about how much time each day you spend looking for things, whether that be a working pen, an important email, or the right version of a proposal document.

When new entrepreneurs start out, it can be easy to just cut to the chase to close that sale, respond to a prospect’s inquiry, or get that project going. Organization is often not top of mind, and once the disorganization begins, it can seem overwhelming to reign in.

Even if you don’t have time to go back and re-organize old files, begin today by creating a consistent nomenclature to organize files, establishing a schedule for invoicing, and setting up a routine for starting and finishing each workday.

Step Two: Prioritize Your Tasks

With so many responsibilities on your plate, it can be tempting to take on everything at once. However, not all tasks are created equal. Prioritizing your tasks is crucial for staying on top of your workload without feeling overwhelmed.

Use the Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple yet effective tool for prioritization. It divides tasks into four categories:

• Urgent and Important: Tasks that must be done immediately such as responding to an important client or meeting a deadline.
• Important, but Not Urgent: Tasks that are essential to your long-term goals but don’t have an immediate deadline such as writing a business plan or marketing strategy.
• Urgent, but Not Important: Tasks that are time-sensitive but don’t contribute much to your long-term success such as answering non-critical emails.
• Not Urgent and Not Important: Low-priority tasks that should be avoided or delegated such as organizing old files.

By categorizing your tasks, you can focus on what really matters and avoid wasting time on trivial activities.

Break Down Big Projects Into Smaller Tasks

Large projects can feel overwhelming, leading to procrastination. To make them more manageable, break them down into smaller, actionable steps. This will help you avoid feeling stuck and ensure you’re making progress toward your goal.

Each step should follow the SMART goal framework, making them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Using this proven model can help you track progress on a multitude of steps to move your organization forward.

Learn to Say No

As a self-employed entrepreneur, it can be difficult to turn down opportunities, but taking on too many commitments can drain your time and energy. Be selective about the projects you accept and the people you work with. By saying no to tasks that don’t align with your goals or values, you free up time for those that matter most.

Step Three: Plan Your Day in Advance

A proactive approach to scheduling can make a world of difference. Planning your day and week in advance will ensure you’re staying focused and aligned with your priorities.

Use Graded Time Blocks

Time blocking is an effective technique where you allocate specific chunks of time to particular tasks. This can be particularly useful for entrepreneurs who wear multiple hats. You might need to set aside time for administrative tasks, client meetings, marketing, or product development. The key is to stick to your schedule as much as possible and avoid multitasking.

Pay attention to when you are at your best and grade your time accordingly. For example, if you feel sharp and fresh in the morning, you might reserve the first two hours of your workday for focused writing or creative work. However, if you need those first few cups of coffee to get going, you may want to spend an hour answering emails before you tackle heavier tasks.

Break up your day between solo tasks like project planning and social to-dos like client meetings, and reserve necessary, but mindless tasks for after lunch or at the end of the day when you may not be at your best.

Create a Weekly Overview

A weekly overview allows you to see all of your tasks and commitments at a glance. Review your to-do list at the beginning of each week, and assign each task to a specific day. This helps you stay organized and prevents you from overloading yourself on any given day.

Don’t forget to include personal time in your weekly plan. Whether it’s taking a walk, having dinner with family, or scheduling time for self-care, planning time for yourself is crucial for maintaining balance.

Be sure to leave time for unexpected tasks and emergency situations if that is common for your business to avoid derailing an entire week.

Step Four: Maintain Work-Life Balance

Being self-employed offers flexibility, but it also comes with the risk of overworking. Without the boundaries of a traditional office, it can be easy to fall into the trap of working around the clock. However, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for your mental health and long-term success.

Set Clear Boundaries

One of the most important aspects of work-life balance is setting boundaries. Decide when your workday begins and ends, and stick to it. When you’re working from home or running a small business, it’s easy to let work bleed into your personal life. To avoid burnout, establish clear lines between work and personal time.

Consider creating a dedicated workspace for your business. This physical separation helps signal to your brain when it’s time to work and when it’s time to relax.

Schedule Breaks

Working non-stop can lead to exhaustion and decreased productivity. Make sure to schedule regular breaks throughout your day. Step away from your desk for a few minutes to recharge, stretch, or take a walk. This not only prevents burnout but also boosts creativity and focus.

Make Time for Self-Care

Self-care is essential when you’re juggling the demands of being your own boss. This can include physical activities like exercise or yoga, mental health practices such as meditation, or simply making time for hobbies that you enjoy. By taking care of yourself, you ensure that you have the energy and mindset to be productive and successful in your business.

Invest in Relationships

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of entrepreneurship, but remember to make time for the people who matter most to you. Schedule time for family dinners, catch-ups with friends, or a weekend getaway. These breaks not only give you a chance to relax but also help you gain perspective on your work.

Conclusion

Effective time management is a critical skill for self-employed entrepreneurs who want to thrive in both their personal and professional lives. By staying organized, prioritizing tasks, planning ahead, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, you can boost your productivity while avoiding burnout. Time management isn’t just about getting more done—it’s about working smarter, not harder, and taking control of your time so that you can build a business that supports the life you want to lead.

Remember, time is one of your most valuable resources. Use it wisely, and your entrepreneurial journey will become more manageable, fulfilling, and successful.

Hard to Resist Self-Employment

Resist Nutrition makes it easy (& delicious) to snack for balanced blood sugar on-the-go with doctor-recommended, plant-based protein and fiber bars filled with all natural ingredients for metabolic health and have a clinically proven stable blood sugar response.

Almost half of Americans have a metabolic or hormonal disorder today from diabetes to PCOS where they need to keep blood sugar stable — but it is hard to do that on-the-go without a ton of artificial ingredients.

Found this out firsthand after getting diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance. NASE member Drew Lederman and her co-founder Emily (NYU Food Studies ’22) knew they could make a better bar and they teamed up with a medical advisory board to make Resist!

When and why did you join NASE?

I joined NASE in May 2024 at an inflection point in my small business. It’s getting big enough to where I have hired outside help but not yet big enough to have taken on debt. It’s big enough to take up all my time, but not yet big enough to pay myself or my co-founder a living wage. It’s big enough to make me excited, but also anxious about failing.

We’re going through a lot of big changes between now and the end of the year that are putting pressure on our profitability which means we can’t pay ourselves. By 2025, we’ll have overhauled and strengthened our supply chain, optimized internal systems for sales and marketing, reduced our cost of goods, improved our product line, and so much more. Needless to say, it’s worth it, but I knew I wanted the support of NASE while navigating such a crazy time as a first-time business owner.

What inspired you to enter the field
you are in?

From a young age, I thought I wanted to be a performer. I was always singing and annoying my family with “shows” that I would put on in the living room. I went to New York University to study acting and that year I started having health problems. To help myself feel better, I started researching. I tried various medications, but nothing was working so I delved into food and lifestyle — and it worked! Then in my senior year of college, the pandemic hit.

The talent agency I was going to work at after graduation went on a hiring freeze. And suddenly I was living with my parents, doing graduation through Zoom, and wondering what I was going to do with me life. I started freelancing in sales, marketing, and content creation for local businesses and eventually for bigger brands in the food space.

Then I got into an NYU entrepreneurial program for students and recent alumni. I learned the basics of entrepreneurship and met Emily, a new friend who was getting a master’s in food studies. Together, we decided to start Resist after finishing the program in 2022!

When and why did you start your business?

I was diagnosed with PCOS (13% of women) & insulin resistance (1/3 of Americans) at 18. My doctor recommended a high protein, low carb diet to help my symptoms and keep my blood sugar stable. I was a busy student, so I relied on protein bars every day. But I started having acne, fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, & more. It was so frustrating — I thought I was doing everything right!

The culprit: the bars I was eating were either filled with artificial ingredients that disrupted my hormones & gut (ex. Quest, Built) or they had cleaner ingredients that would spike my blood sugar (ex. RX, Go Macro).

My co-founder Emily & I bonded over this struggle to find delicious, all natural snacks that didn’t spike blood sugar. In 2022 alongside our medical advisory board (dietitians, PharmD, and MD), we made Resist, all natural, doctor-recommended bars that are clinically proven to keep blood sugar 6x more stable than other natural bars. Now we’re disrupting legacy blood sugar-friendly brands like Glucerna and FiberOne.

How do you market your business?

We are an omni-channel business. For direct-to-consumer, we market through social media ads, organic posting, podcasts, PR, SEO, email, events, and our network of 800+ medical providers. For our retailer channel, we generate sales through cold calls and emails, pitches, trade shows, wholesale platforms, distribution partnerships, and demos.

What challenges have you faced in your business? How have you overcome them?

Sometimes I feel like we’ve hit every issue possible — selling out four times, manufacturing issues, unreliable suppliers, machine malfunctions, and more. Our biggest challenge to date has been working with unreliable and untrustworthy manufacturers and suppliers. These series of unfortunate relationships has resulted in delays, bad product, sold out our periods for months, and the loss of retailers and customers. It also means that we took a big hit on sales and revenue, which we did not project for. Personally, it has been incredibly stressful.

On the bright side, it’s forced us to take a hard look at our business and has encouraged us to move to new manufacturers and suppliers, and to be more careful with our contracts from day one. This has been one of the most expensive shifts we’ve ever taken for our business but it is necessary to prevent facing issues like we have in the past.

Do you have any employees?

Aside from my co-founder and myself, we have a full-time virtual sales assistant who helps us with sales outreach, lead generation, store velocity, deductions and so much more. We’d like to add on a fractional CFO and a performance-based broker in the next year!

What’s your schedule like, what’s a typical day for you?

Emily is west coast-based and I’m east coast-based which means my mornings are open for checking emails and high intensity projects. We have our daily standup at noon and save meetings for the afternoon. We also will have hour-long work sessions together where we strategize and plan certain projects a few times a week. After work, I like to go to the gym, make dinner, and relax with a new show or book!

What’s the best thing about being self-employed?

The best thing is how passionate I feel about my job. I love talking about it and sharing it with the world!

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received from a client?

Our customers will often send in screenshots of their continuous glucose monitor results showing that Resist bars kept their blood sugar. It is the best compliment knowing that our products work (outside of a clinical study) and are actively helping people!

What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own business?

I would say don’t give up! The businesses with longevity are not always the most well-funded or even the best ideas — often times it’s the businesses that have outlasted the rest. How do you do that? In simple terms, I think you do it by prioritizing profitability and listening to your customers.

Which NASE member benefit is most important to you?

I feel like there are a lot of business resources out there, but fewer resources focus on the business owner outside of the business. I think NASE is super important in that sense from a community, resources, and networking perspective — plus the discounts help!

Any other information you would like to share?

Follow the RESISTance on instagram @eatresist or shop eatresist.com :)

President Trump Returns to Washington as the 47th President