17 Time Management Tips for Entrepreneurs

This isn’t a theory. This isn’t fluff. This is real-world, battlefield-tested truth from our over-a-decade journey as virtual assistants helping thousands of businesses save time, crush deadlines and stop drowning in chaos.

We’ve seen the ugly side of poor time management: burnout, missed deals, lost clients. And we’ve built the systems that saved people (including ourselves)—sometimes literally—from the edge.

In this guide we’re going to show you exactly how to manage your time like a weapon. Not just for your business but for your life.

Let’s go.

Tip#1: Have a Positive Approach (Even When You’re Screwed)

Bad day? Welcome to entrepreneurship.

Your workload’s insane. Clients want everything yesterday. Your brain’s fried. But here’s the thing: negativity kills momentum faster than any deadline ever will.

Time management begins in the mind. You’ve got to train yourself to:

Simplify your workflow
Stop obsessing over what you can’t control
Trust your ability to adapt

This isn’t about toxic positivity. It’s about being solution-focused even when everything’s on fire.

Remember: Every Steve Jobs and every Zuck had their “WTF am I doing?” days. They just didn’t let those days define them.

I still remember how I felt working during the COVID lockdown, when my teammates were quarantined. One colleague after another—dedicated assistants to clients—would get infected and immediately take medical leave. Worry, fear of work, and a sense of being lost were daily experiences.

But our immediate retaliation to those negative emotions—with courage and togetherness—led us to achieve our best business performance during that very same period. That was the time people needed remote assistance the most, as offices everywhere were barely functioning.

Tip#2: Set Goals (Real Ones, Not Fairy Tales)

Working hard but getting nowhere? That’s not hustle. That’s hamster-wheel energy.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be? That’s your goal-setting problem.

Use S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely

Break them into weekly, daily and even hourly targets. Then track it.

You can’t hit a target you can’t see.

Tip#3: Get Organized (Or Stay Screwed)

“Creativity thrives on chaos.” Cute. But also, crap.

You don’t have time to dig through 37 Google Drive folders to find one PDF. Organize your:

Files
Contacts
Notes
Weekly plans

Build systems. Automate what you can. And revisit your setup weekly—because life changes and so should your workflow.

Chaos isn’t creative. It’s just disorganized.

Tip#4: Schedule EVERYTHING

Stop playing it by ear. Schedule it or forget it.

Planning is where the magic happens:

Block time for everything (even breaks)
Use tools like Google Calendar, Notion, Checkmark, or Streaks
Write it down. Seeing it makes it real.

You don’t need to remember everything. You need to capture it and trust the system.

No more “I’ll do it later.” Later is a lie.

Tip#5: Prioritize Ruthlessly

To-do lists are cute. Until they turn into monsters.

Not everything deserves your attention. Ask: “Is this moving me closer to my goal?” If not, delay it. Kill it. Delegate it.

Use the Eisenhower Matrix. Label things:

Urgent and important
Important but not urgent
Urgent but not important
Neither (burn them)

Focus isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less but better.

Tip#6: Stop Multitasking (Seriously, Stop)

Multitasking is a myth. What you’re really doing is task-switching, and that’s killing your productivity.

Instead:

Focus on one thing at a time
Finish before switching
Use tools like Pomodoro (25 min on, 5 min off)

This isn’t slow. This is effective.

Tip#7: Delegate Like a Boss

Here’s a hard truth: If you’re doing $10/hour tasks, you’re not building a $1M business.

Outsource the routine stuff:

Scheduling
Inbox cleanup
Billing
Social media posts
Research

That’s what we do at MyTasker. We help you stop doing what you suck at, so you can focus on what actually moves the needle.

Delegate. Don’t drown.

Tip#8: Perform a Time Audit

Think you’re productive? Prove it.

Track every minute for 3 days. You’ll be amazed when you see how much time you waste.

Use tools like Toggl, RescueTime or even a notebook. A time audit will:

Reveal your time sinks
Help you fix your schedule
Show you where delegation is needed

Awareness is half the battle.

Tip#9: Analyze Your Processes (Break What’s Broken)

Don’t fall in love with your systems. Break them. Rebuild them.

Ask:

What’s holding us back?
Where are the bottlenecks?
What’s outdated?

Use what you learn to improve:

Sales funnels
Client onboarding
Communication flow

If it’s not scaling with you, it’s stalling you.

Tip#10: Tackle Hard Tasks at Peak Energy

Stop saving the hard stuff for “later.”

Do the hardest, most mentally demanding task when your brain is sharpest. For most people, that’s morning.

No excuses. No distractions. Just you and the beast.

Once it’s done, the rest of your day feels like coasting.

Tip#11: Reconnect with Your “Why”

Lost in the weeds? Feeling robotic?

Step back. Ask yourself: Why the hell am I doing this?

Your “why” is your compass. Without it, time management becomes mechanical. Purpose turns productivity into something meaningful.

Revisit your goals. Realign. Reignite.

Tip#12: Make Better Initial Decisions

Decisions made in a rush cost more than the ones made with intention.

Before starting anything, ask:

Is this even necessary?
What’s the best way to approach this?
Do I need help?

The earlier you plan, the less you panic.

I still remember there was a client of ours who wanted a website for his business. He requirement consisted of multiple customizations and profound security.

Tip#13: Start Early, Win Big

You’ve heard it: “The early bird gets the worm.”

It’s true. Starting early isn’t just about waking up. It’s about getting ahead before the world starts asking for your attention.

Wake up. Write. Plan. Think. Move. Before the noise starts.

Tip#14: Kill Distractions

Phones. Notifications. Gossip. Email.

They’re killing your day one ping at a time.

Try this:

Use Do Not Disturb mode
Turn off non-essential notifications
Work in sprints (then take real breaks)

You’re not lazy. You’re interrupted.

Tip#15: Eliminate the Non-Essential

Use the 80/20 Rule: 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

Identify what’s actually moving the needle. Cut the rest.

Stop over-meeting. Stop busy work. Stop obsessing over things that don’t matter.

Simplicity scales. Complexity kills.

Tip#16: Build “Pause” Time Into Your Week

Productivity without reflection is just glorified hustle.

Block time to: Think

Evaluate
Learn
Adjust

This is how you evolve. Not just work more.

Tip#17: Manage Your Mind, Not Just Time

Here’s the twist: You don’t have a time problem.

You have a mind problem.

If your brain is cluttered, anxious, reactive—no amount of hacks will help. Time management is ultimately mind management.

Fix your focus. Master your mindset. The rest follows.

How Does Creativity Work with Time Management?

Creativity is not your mood. It’s not your muse. It’s not waiting for a lightning bolt in the shower.

It’s a system. And time management is the damn backbone of that system.

Here’s the real deal: if you don’t schedule time to be creative, your creativity will suffocate under your daily chaos. That genius idea? Buried under email chains and rescheduled meetings.

In our early days at MyTasker, we thought creativity was spontaneous. Spoiler: that’s how we wasted months. Once we built creative blocks into our time management worksheet, magic happened. Content, campaigns, strategies—all systematized, not romanticized.

You want your brain to spit gold? Put it on a calendar.

Is Time Management a Soft Skill?

Soft skill? LOL. It’s the killer app of every successful human being.

Think about it: who the hell cares if you're the best at your job, if you can’t show up on time, deliver without burnout, or balance five spinning plates?

Time management isn't “nice to have.” It’s oxygen. Especially for VAs like us who juggle 10–15 clients at once, every day, year after year.

It’s the invisible handshake that gets you promoted. It’s the secret ingredient behind leadership, delegation, and even creativity. So yes—it's a soft skill. And it’s deadly powerful.

What Is the First Step of Time Management?

Self-awareness.

That’s it. Before apps. Before tools. Before your printable time management worksheet.

You need to confront your ugly truths:

Are you procrastinating because of fear?
Are you working 10 hours but only 3 are useful?
Do you even know what tasks deserve your time?Twelve years ago, our first task was literally writing down, minute by minute, where our day went. You’d cry if you saw how much time we wasted on “research” that was actually YouTube and WhatsApp.

The first step? Admit you suck at managing time. Then build from there.

Why Time Management is Important for Students

Nobody teaches us it in school and that’s a crime.

Students are told to “be productive” but never how to think about time as a resource. They juggle studies, social life, part-time jobs, internships and mental health. And if they don’t master time early, they’ll carry that chaos into adulthood.

Time management courses should be mandatory in schools so that when they come to the world of work or business, they do not need to start from scratch.

Creativity and Productivity

These aren’t opposites. They’re codependent.

Creativity without productivity is a journal full of dead ideas. Productivity without creativity is a factory producing trash.

You need both to build something that lasts. And to get both, you need time boundaries. Use time-saving tools to free your mental RAM. Then unleash that saved energy into your creative process.

And yes, sometimes that means scheduling your “zone-out” time too.

Time Management Soft Skills

Let’s break this down.

Effective time management requires:

Prioritization (knowing what’s important vs. what’s urgent)
Adaptability (when shit hits the fan)
Accountability (to yourself and others)
Boundary-setting (saying NO without guilt)
Focus (the rarest skill in 2025)

These are the real soft skills that get you hired, promoted, respected.

We’ve trained hundreds of VAs who had the talent, but without these, they burned out or lost clients. Master time, and you master momentum.

Why Time Management Matters

Time is a currency. The only one that runs out every single day.

Without managing it, everything suffers:

You’ll always feel behind.
You’ll deliver late and lose trust.
You’ll lose ideas you never had time to nurture.
You’ll burn out, quietly and painfully.

Want freedom? Peace? Creative control? Get militant about time.

We’ve seen solopreneurs grow into full-scale businesses just by learning to own their hours.

First Step in Time Planning

If you’re still guessing what to do tomorrow, you’ve already lost today.

The first step in time planning is scheduling time for planning itself.

Seriously—make planning a ritual. Sunday evenings. Monday mornings. Doesn’t matter.

Just. Do. It.

Sit down with your time management worksheet. Or your calendar app. Or your Notion. Then fill in:

Must-dos
Creative work
Breaks
Buffer time
“No touch” zones

That’s when you stop reacting to your week—and start dominating it.

Benefits of Time Management

Let’s talk ROI.

When you manage time well, here’s what you get:

More energy
More mental clarity
Fewer sleepless nights
A deep sense of control
The joy of finishing task ON TIME

You also save actual money. Clients pay faster. Projects don’t stall. Opportunities don’t die on the vine.

One of our long-time clients told us, “Hiring MyTasker saved me 20 hours a week and 2 Xanax prescriptions.”

Time management isn’t cute. It’s therapeutic.

So, what’s the bottom line?

The key is to have the ability to organize the workflow and manage time accordingly. With the above time management tips for students, you’re all set to meet your goals!

At MyTasker, we have student support assistants who can provide best solutions to manage time effectively. Hire our professionals to cope up with the deadline and get the time management tips from them today!