Contractors are constantly moving from one job to the next, and it may feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. While you can’t buy more hours in a day, you can find ways to manage your time more effectively and streamline your projects to finish them more quickly.

These time management techniques will help your business run more smoothly – and make the minutes in your day matter more.

1. Embrace Technology

Digital tools enhance job accuracy, delivery practices and overall efficiency. From mobile apps to time management software, there are a number of ways you can use modern advancements to streamline productivity. You can also talk to other contractors to learn how they are using technology to make their construction projects run more smoothly.

ABC Supply offers myABCsupply and ABC Connect to help you save time:

• myABCsupply allows you to do more on the go. The easy-to-use dashboard allows you to check the status of your orders and deliveries and manage invoices and statements.
• ABC Connect is an online tool that integrates with the industry technology you’re already using to let you build estimates and place orders 24/7. It helps free up your time during business hours so you can spend more of it with your customers and team.

2. Create a Schedule

You have a lot on your plates, so it’s important to organize your day into a schedule so you can be smart about your time. Here are some tips to consider when building your schedule:

• Include project deadlines. This can help you and your team stay accountable.
• Be realistic about how long meetings and travel will take. If you pack your schedule with too many tasks, there’s no room for error, which can lead to additional stress and cause you to fall behind.
• Build routine responsibilities into your schedule. While your work is often unpredictable, there are some tasks, like checking email and catching up on paperwork, that you can plan for.
• Reserve a few open time slots each week to give yourself flexibility to take on unexpected meetings and address any issues that may arise.
• By creating a schedule for your week, you’ll identify time management opportunities that help you maximize your day in ways that can benefit your business.

3. Have a Contingency Plan for When Something Goes Wrong

Let’s face it, something unexpected is likely to occur on every project. The best way to minimize the time spent managing an issue is to have a contingency plan in place where you’ve identified what your next steps should be if something goes wrong or you need to manage a jobsite accident. Use experience and feedback from past jobs to develop a plan for how you’d handle similar issues in the future. This will make you more prepared to act quickly and successfully manage the situation with your team and customers.

4. Enhance Communication

Detailed instructions, regular updates and immediate feedback can reduce confusion with your team and customers and cut down on wasted time.

If team members are well prepared and have open communication with each other, they’ll be more equipped to successfully execute their roles on a job. To make working with your crew even easier, consider following up on a phone call or face-to-face discussion if an email won’t suffice with what you need to communicate. Not only will this reduce the chance of errors that come with misinterpreting information, but it can also decrease the time spent chasing down a response.

Be sure to check out our blog for additional resources and tips on how to establish clear communication.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate

It can be tempting to think that doing everything yourself is the best way to ensure a quality outcome, but that’s just not feasible. Managers who fail to delegate will not have sufficient time to devote to their primary responsibilities. As a result, the real danger of not delegating could potentially lead to demotivated teams and a lack of productivity.

When you commit to delegating, you can improve productivity while helping your crew learn new skills and feel more trusted. With that said, effective delegation means making sure team members are qualified for their tasks and following up to ensure they’re done correctly. It may take some time for your team to learn new responsibilities, but once they do, you’ll empower them in ways that will serve you well down the road.

Time management skills are a key element in any project’s success and can help you meet your deadlines and identify inefficiencies in your business. Find more ways to finish projects on time at the ABC Supply blog.