I talk to small business owners and solo-professionals all day long. Even though I work with clients across a wide range of industries—financial planning, coaching, marketing, recruiting, organizing, etc.—they all have one thing in common: they struggle with the question of how and when to work on their respective businesses.

You know how it goes. You naturally focus on getting done what needs getting done…and that’s the right thing to do if you want to keep your clients happy and keep the money flowing into your bank account. But if you never take a breath to pick up your head, see where you’re trying to go, and what it will take to get there, you may feel like you’re always treading water.

Since time is tight (especially if you feel as if you’re working through every spare moment), try these tactics on for size:

• Know what you’re doing. Decide what changes or improvements you want to make in your business. Keep a list of the things that you know would be better if you could spend some time on them.This serves two purposes. One is that the list is no longer only in your head wasting valuable brain cells that you could be using for something else. The other is that when you do take the time to work on your business, you’ll have a list in hand.

• Take back some time. I’d prefer to sleep until 7 a.m., when it’s time for my daughter Emily to get up for school. If I do this, though, I find myself on a day-long hamster wheel from the moment that my feet hit the floor. On the other hand, if I get up at 6 a.m., I have an entirely different day. I take 15 minutes to look at e-mails from the night before and get centered. Then, I can work on my top-priority project for another 45 minutes without interruption. This is a small difference that makes a big impact on how I feel about my work and productivity for the day.What can you do to take back some time? Block it off on your calendar and use it.

• Give away whatever you can. We solo professionals tend to be good at lots of different things. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you should. For example, I can clean my own house. I’m pretty good at it, and I actually enjoy it. Instead of taking those three or four hours each week, I can hire my cleaning expert Dalva and her team. While I’m working on my business, she can be working on my house. When I compare our hourly rates, it’s a no-brainer. Do you have a bookkeeper, a virtual assistant, or a graphic designer? All of these people, while costing you money in the short-term, can help you make a lot more of it over time! Take a look around.

• Doing the work that’s in front of us is natural and often easy. If that’s all you do today, though, you’ll still be doing the same thing tomorrow, next week and next year.

The only way to improve your business is to find time to plan and implement new strategies. Why not start today?

Leave a comment below to tell me about your tips and tricks for working on your business.

Last weekend we all went on a trail ride at Bobby’s Ranch in Westford, MA. My 13-year-old daughter Emily loves everything about horses: riding them, taking care of them and just being close to them.

Greg and I, on the other hand, do not. We went along and we definitely had fun, but neither of us has the same level of confidence or comfort as Emily when it comes to being around these gigantic animals. And they are gigantic! I’m never quite sure how to approach them or how close to get, and I always need help getting on.

The good news is that, once in the saddle, and after a brief “reminder” lesson, we both relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely ride through the woods.

As I meandered along that morning, it occurred to me that my approach to horses is very similar to the way some small business owners approach equally gigantic projects in their work. Whether it’s rolling out a new email program, launching a new website, starting a newsletter or something else, they often experience a lack of comfort and confidence, with some fear mixed in as well.

It doesn’t need to be that way. Big projects, only seem scary at first. As with approaching a horse, the trick is to take your time and understand what’s going on.

With that in mind, here are a few tips for making your next big undertaking more manageable:

1. Declare the desired result. Before beginning any project, it’s important to be clear about what you’re shooting for and what problems you’re trying to solve. For example, before starting an email migration to a new hosting company or application, you’ll want to list such requirements as being able to access email on a smart phone and tablet, having the ability to show images in an email signature, and being able to reply from multiple addresses. By listing the results ahead of time, you’re more likely to get where you want to go.
2. Think ahead. Collecting all of your contact names into one Excel spreadsheet might not seem like part of designing a newsletter, but as soon as you’re finished with the design you’ll need the names ready to go. So take time to think of next steps as early in the process as possible.
3. Set deadlines. Make sure completion dates are a part of your plan; that will help you keep the momentum going. Projects without deadlines frequently stall because the work isn’t met with the same urgency as client work. Even if you need to work slowly, set a timeline and keep to the schedule.

So there you have it. Whether riding HUGE beasts through the woods or managing HUGE projects in your office, both can be satisfactorily handled by keeping a few fundamentals in mind.

Giddy up!