I love supporting women in business, so I was eager to invite my friend and colleague, Carlyn Bushman, to Building Your Empire with SophieZo.

Not only is Carlyn a small business expert with years of experience building businesses from the ground up, she’s also a champion for women-owned businesses. She’s dedicated her career to helping women accelerate their businesses and create sustainable revenue streams, and I’m honored that she took the time to share her top advice for taking your business to the next level.

Carlyn shares that one of the biggest issues she sees among small business owners is time management. You’ve probably experienced it yourself – you’re supposed to be hard at work, but instead you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of social media. Next thing you know, you’ve spent two hours watching funny videos and you haven’t made a dent in the day’s tasks… whoops.

Not anymore! Here are Carlyn’s best tips for staying on task and making the most of your workday:

• Block distractions with block scheduling

Plan your week in advance and place tasks into blocks of time. If you’ve scheduled a 45-minute block of networking time, set your timer and wrap it up when that scheduled block of time is over.

• Use a time management app to keep you on task

Carlyn recommends Caveday as her personal favorite among the time management apps. It helps you stay on track and sends reminders of when it’s time to switch tasks or take a much-needed break.

• Stick to your schedule

Block scheduling only works if you stick to it. When your timer goes off, or your app tells you that it’s time to move on, resist the urge to keep working on your current task “just a little bit longer.” If you stick with your schedule, you’ll get everything done without worrying that a high priority task might fall through the cracks.

• Delegate whenever you can

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself, but it’s actually a disservice to yourself and your clients. When you have a team you can rely on, you give your business space to grow, become more creative, and take on new and exciting challenges.

If you’d like to hear more of Carlyn Bushman’s excellent advice for accelerating your business and taking control of your time, tune into this week’s episode of Building Your Empire with SophieZo now!