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7 Time-Saving Techniques for Busy, Time-Poor Parent Business Owners
As a business owner and a parent, your most precious resource is time. If you’re anything like me, life can be a little chaotic.
My life is an endless balance of running my own business, as well as running three kids around to various activities each week, plus throw in the odd curveball that life chucks our way from time to time. It can be messy!
It feels like there’s never enough time for business, for family, or yourself. That dream you had of achieving a better work-life balance when you started a business seems so far out of reach that you sometimes wonder if it’s all worth it.
But there are a few strategic changes you can make to manage your time more effectively, reduce stress, and create more space for family time.
Here are 7 techniques that can help transform how you run your business — and your life.
1. Time Blocking: Take Control of Your Calendar
Instead of reacting to each day as it comes, time blocking allows you to proactively structure your week. Allocate specific blocks of time to tasks like meetings, admin work, creative thinking, and personal activities.
Personally I set a ‘Go Zone’ between 9am and 12pm every single day so I have dedicated time for the tasks that inch my business forward. Otherise I get bogged down in being busy and never finding time for the more strategic activities.
Why it matters:
When you set aside dedicated time for everything (including school pickups and gym sessions!), you reduce decision fatigue and protect your time. No more missed soccer games or late-night email marathons.
2. Task Management: Work Smarter, Not Harder
Use task management tools like Asana, Trello, or ClickUp to organise your workload. This helps to prioritise high-impact tasks, removes the endless to-do list from scribbled bits of paper and allows you to delegate to the team.
Accountability is key here. You have many tasks happening on repeat each week in you business but unless they are allocated to someone to be complete by a certain date, you’ll be endlessly chasing up and checking.
Why it matters:
When you can clearly see who is doing what and by when, you are freed up to focus on doing, not chasing. A few minutes setting up tasks saves you hours of second-guessing later.
3. Systems and Processes: The Key to Freedom
Documenting and systemising your business operations takes the guesswork out of daily tasks. Whether it’s onboarding a new client or sending out invoices, systems ensure consistency without your constant oversight.
Why it matters:
With clear systems in place, your team knows exactly what to do — meaning fewer interruptions for you. You’ll finally be able to take a real holiday, confident that the business will thrive without you.
4. Set Clear Goals: Create a Target to Aim For
Vague goals waste time. But clear, measurable targets give you something to aim for. A guiding star, if you like. Without quarterly goal setting and KPIs you are very likely to be stuck in busy mode.
I check my goals at least weekly to make sure I’m on track to achieve my next strategic move. You may have heard business coaches discuss having a CEO mindset or setting aside time for CEO tasks. For me, goal setting is CEO time; it’s about leading my business and not just coasting and hoping for the best.
Why it matters:
If you want guilt free weekends with the kids and your evenings back, setting clear goals is what will focus your energy on what truly moves the needle. Instead of feeling busy and ineffective, you’ll make measurable progress.
5. Outsource and Delegate: You Don’t Have to Do It All
Recognise the tasks that don’t need your expertise and delegate them — whether to a VA, freelancer, or team member.
Note of caution here. Ensure you have documented your systems to facilitate smooth delegation. The last thing you want is more work for yourself, checking that work has been completed to your satisfaction. Set the expectation first, provide the training (your systems) and trust that tasks will be completed well.
Why it matters:
Delegation isn’t about losing control — it’s about gaining your life back. It’s the difference between spending a Saturday fixing your website and taking your kids to their ballet or swimming class.
6. Batch Similar Tasks Together: Minimise Switching Costs
Group similar tasks into batches — like answering all emails at once, or recording multiple videos in one afternoon.
Why it matters:
Multitasking drains mental energy and steals time. Batching boosts productivity and leaves more uninterrupted blocks for family time, workouts, or even a quiet cup of coffee.
7. Build a Centralised Knowledge Vault: a one-stop shop for your business
A system like systemHUB stores all your business knowledge in one secure, easy-to-access place.
Think beyond your processes. Store your insurance information, licences, contractors’ and suppliers details, and all the digital platforms you use, all in one place.
Why it matters:
Imagine a worst-case scenario, and you or one of your vital team members is taken out of the business. Now imagine having saved all of the important information for how your business functions in one place. How good will it feel to know your business can function without you?
On a day to day basis, this looks like your team finding solutions to their own problems and you not having to repeat instructions or answer the same questions over and over. This is what makes you efficient as a business owner and what will free you up to focus on more strategic growth.
When your team can operate independently, and you can step away without fear of the business falling apart, this is when you have a freedom business.
Now imagine being fully present for birthdays, sports days, and weekend camping.
Efficiency isn’t about cramming more into your day. It’s about creating more space — space for the people you love, the activities that energise you, and the future you’re building.
By investing in systems, goal setting, and smart time management, you create a business (and a life) that runs with freedom, not frenzy.
Because the ultimate success isn’t just building a profitable business — it’s building a life you actually get to live.
How to Start Systemising Today
👉 Identify Where the Pain Is. What’s the biggest bottleneck in your business? Sales? Operations? Customer service? Pick one area to start.
👉 Capture the Process. You don’t need perfection—just document what you’re already doing. This is your Critical Client Flow (CCF)—the essential steps from attracting a customer to delivering your service.
👉 Delegate and Improve. Once you have a documented system, hand it off to your team and refine it over time.
Need Help Identifying Your Bottlenecks?
In 90 minutes I’ll help you pinpoint exactly where your business is losing time and money and give you a roadmap of systems to implement so you:
STOP guessing and START growing.