Mastering time management as a solopreneur and side hustler

Time management is one of the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs. With so many responsibilities – from balancing family commitments, potentially still having to kill it at your day job, and doing what it takes to grow your other ventures – life can feel overwhelming at times. 

Hearing from others who’ve been where you are and found ways to make it work can provide valuable insights and motivation. Whether you’re looking to streamline your daily tasks, boost productivity, or simply reclaim a little work-life balance, these insights from seven successful entrepreneurs and small business owners will help you make the most of your time while achieving your business goals. 

Justinia Gardiner, Founder of SunnyStik

Advice: Categorize tasks between work and family. 

“As a mom and solo entrepreneur, I categorize tasks into family and business, dedicating time blocks to each. This approach helps me stay focused, minimize distractions, and ensure steady progress in both my business and personal life, even on the busiest days.”

Jared Kleinert, Founder and CEO of Offsite

Advice: Work on the most important thing.

“My biggest time management hack is working on the most important thing, and being willing to let small fires burn. Everything else becomes secondary to this priority. I focus on what's most important and deprioritize everything else.”

Lindsay Stockall, Founder and Creative Director of Stockall & Company

Advice: Know when not to force creativity.

“While calendar blocking can be a powerful tool for entrepreneurs, it has its limits – especially when it comes to creative work. Creativity doesn’t fit neatly into a time slot. That’s why I structure my day to power through my morning tasks, leaving the afternoons free for creative exploration. By tackling my to-dos early, I can dive into the creative process with a clear mind and not feel the pressure of deadlines. Putting rigid time constraints on creativity is a recipe for disaster.”

Ronak Desai, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Payment Labs

Advice: Know when to delegate. 

"The Eisenhower Decision Matrix. It forces you to think if you really need to do it now, later, or let someone else deal with it. As your business gains traction and naturally starts to grow, doing everything yourself doesn't scale, and you'd end up holding back yourself and the business at the same time."

Alison Venditti, Founder of Moms at Work

Advice: Just say no. 

“I say no, a lot. Early on in my business I said yes to everything – every opportunity, coffee chat, walk around the block. I spent a ton of time learning to identify which meetings were valuable and which were there to waste my time or use my brain without compensation (brain picking!) Now that I know what both I and my business need I am a lot more picky – I know what partnerships, relationships are good alignment and I have way more time to work on my business.”

Colin Gardiner, solo Founding Partner of Yonder and co-founder of Longtail

Advice: Automate everything you can.

“I create templates for anything I do more than once, like introductory emails. I use Superhuman to manage my email, create templates, set reminders, and automate follow-ups. This saves me time and keeps me organized.”

Melissa Soulliere, COO of Vimeography

Advice: Make it a family affair. 

“Give kids their own chores and responsibilities. My kids have been doing their own laundry and making their own school lunches since the age of 10. We also have a shared note in Apple Notes with our grocery list. There are 5 of us, so one will wait in line at the deli counter – which is very busy on the weekends – and another at the meat counter. The rest will start in the produce section before heading to other sections. It has cut grocery shopping time in half!”