Feeling out of control isn’t a nice place to be; it’s something most suffer from time to time because you’re often trying to run before you can walk, you may be lacking structure, or like most entrepreneurs you’ve been distracted by something shiny and new.

As Wednesday marks National I am in Control Day*, here’s some top tips to help you get back in control of your business and ultimately your life:

1). Focus on the important

Don’t get distracted on ‘urgent’ activities that demand immediate attention; the phone ringing is urgent, but it may not be important.  ‘Important’ activities get you from A to B based on your goals and vision; if you don’t do this then you will never reach your desired result.

2). Plan your time

Start using a daily planner and schedule 90 minute slots a week in advance. You’ll be amazed at how many slots there are in a day to fill with proactive projects, as well as those regular tasks such as team meetings, your numbers and content generation. You should even block out ‘reactive’ time.

3). Record and deal with interruptions

Interruptions are stopping your business from growing.  If you’re constantly being interrupted and derailed from running your business, then you need to keep a log; a basic record of the interruptions you experience during a day. You can then see whether they are necessary, or alternatively plan for them in your daily schedule.

4). Land one plane at a time

You have access to dramatic improvements in profitability by focusing on the most effective areas and eliminating, ignoring, automating, delegating or retraining the rest.  But there is a tendency for most companies, regardless of size, to solve the immediate problems facing the individual, department or business.

90% of the time the actual issue or challenge will only be solved forever if something else is fixed. It’s key to identify the 20% of things that are causing the 80% of issues. By solving this you solve lots of issues.

5). Ask for help & talk

We’re lucky that we’ve built a tight community of like-minded positive business owners who share the good, the bad and the ugly, all with one aim in mind – to learn, improve and support one another. It can be very lonely being an entrepreneur; your staff are siloed on their job and salary, your friends work in nine-to-five jobs so don’t get it, and you get pressure from your family on how the mortgage is going to be paid. It’s important to surround yourself with others that can understand and help you. And never be afraid to ask for help.

Hope the above helps; it will improve your productivity, eliminate overwhelm, enable you to make decisions more confidently, and put you back in control.

* apparently, this day stems from the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. With the President being rushed to surgery on a rainy afternoon, a bullet lodged in his lung, a statement was made by Secretary of State Alexander Haig: “As of now, I am in control here in the White House.”