Business Boutique’s Christy Wright shares three tips for mastering your schedule.

When you’re a business owner, there are always going to be crazy seasons, times when you’re constantly on the go, go, go.

But you can’t live your entire life like that. You’ll burn out, and so will your company. Fortunately, there are strategies you can use to take control of your schedule, said Christy Wright, the certified business coach behind the successful Business Boutique seminars.

Wright will talk about time management and work-life balance at a one-day EntreLeadership event on Oct. 19 in Kansas City. She’ll be joined by nationally known finance experts Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan of Ramsey Solutions. The daylong seminar will cover smart hiring, team-building, ROI maximization and other vital topics for business owners.

Desperate to tame your schedule? Here are three tips that have worked for Wright and her clients.

Block It Out

A lot of people make to-do lists … and most of them end the day with a to-do list that’s full of unfinished tasks.

The solution, Wright said, is to create specific blocks of time for specific jobs. Need to write a big proposal for your best client? Set aside a specific time—say, from 1 to 3 p.m.—when you won’t be distracted by anything else. “This is one of my favorite strategies, and it’s very useful,” Wright said.

When you block out time, it’s like you’re making an appointment with yourself. Honor it like you would a dentist appointment or your child’s soccer game.

“You put everything on the calendar,” Wright said, “and then it actually happens.”

Get Clear

Blocking out time is a good start. You also need to have clear objectives for what you want to achieve.
Case in point: Wright just finished writing her first book, which will debut next year. Every time she sat down to work on it, she knew exactly what she needed to produce during that session.

One day, that might mean proofreading X number of pages. Another day, she could commit to polishing off Chapter 10.

One Thing at a Time

Researchers have confirmed what many of us discovered firsthand: Multitasking is about as real as Bigfoot. Still, too many business owners fool themselves into believing they’ll be the exception.

It’s especially tempting, Wright said, if you’re swamped with must-dos: “There’s only 24 hours in a day, so if I can do more things at one time, I can get more done.”

Nope! The human mind can really pay attention to only one thing at a time, Wright said. Splitting your concentration makes you less effective. You simply won’t accomplish as much.

If the grind is wearing on you, remember: Every business goes through busy cycles, especially in the early years before they can hire help.

By thinking strategically, though, you can take control of your schedule, Wright said. “It doesn’t have to be forever.”