MSP Business
MSP owners: A five-step plan to free up an hour each day
22 January, 2014
If you run a busy MSP business, you probably often wish there were a few more hours in the day.
As the number of actual hours in each day is set in stone, you can’t create more time, so all you can really do is work to free some up. The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to do this.
By following the five strategies below, you should be able to quite easily free up some time to improve your work / life balance. Take these steps seriously, and you should find yourself able to free up around an hour each day.
1. Trim down your mailbox
How many emails do you get each day? How many of them are truly important? We’d guess that the first figure is significantly higher than the second.
We’re not for a moment suggesting that you start to ignore emails, but there’s plenty you can do to minimize the constant distracting “noise” of managing an email account.
First, unsubscribe to any regular emails you no longer need. Then use rules to file away emails you don’t need to act on. What you are aiming for are fewer emails to act on, and fewer bleeps and vibrations that distract you and reduce your focus.
2. Automate routine tasks
You really should use an MSP software solution that gives you an “at a glance” view of all your customer systems. If you (or your staff) are still manually checking backup logs, updates and antivirus reports, you really need to bring in some more automation. Manually checking these things is awfully 2009.
3. Minimize Distractions
Do you worry about how long your team spends on Facebook, Twitter and Candy Crush? If the answer is “yes,” be honest with yourself and work out how much time you are wasting doing the same things – then stop it!
4. Ditch a troublesome client
Do you have a client who takes far more than their fair share of your time, and causes stress to you and your team in the process?
If so, give serious consideration to waving them a polite “goodbye.” It may seem an extreme step, but there are definitely more clients out there. However, if you continue to let your resources drain away on a toxic customer, you’re never going to have the time and energy to find a new one and sign them up.
5. Work from home more
Regardless of your personal attitude to flexible working, there are undoubtedly days when working from home makes sense. If, for example, you visit a client site that’s nearer your home than your office, travelling an hour each way to get to your office location afterwards is nothing other than a waste of time.
Just go home and log on from there. You’ve saved yourself two hours, not to mention the travel stress and the travel cost. You don’t need to do it every day, but nor do you have to visit the office every day.
Do you have any time tips to find an extra hour in the day? Share them with a comment below!
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