"Typically in the SMB space, people have very little resource[s], so you see people trying to get a lot done with a very small staff – maybe one person in their marketing department trying to do it all," Kim Albee, CEO of Genoo told WebProNews in a discussion at the Online Marketing Summit. "And then you look at the world today…" You’ve got social media, your website, search engine rankings, lead capturing, and all kinds of stuff to worry about.

Social media alone, as it pertains to time and productivity, has been the subject of much discussion and controversy. It’s easy to waste a lot of time using social sites, but it’s also easy to boost your productivity with them. It all depends on how you use them. As we concluded based on a recent survey, social networks don’t waste time. People do.

One viewer of the above conversation commented, "Marketing for tiny work groups is difficult, but essential. It does not matter what the product or service, marketing with follow-up must occur. Unfortunately, those of us in the smallest of businesses must think creatively and use what tools are available to make things work."

As far as social sites are concerned, look for ways to utilize specific features within the social networks that can help save you time, and focus. A couple of great examples of this are the Lists features in Twitter and Facebook, which pretty much operate the same way and serve the same function. They get your feeds organized. They reduce the noise.

Rather than just seeing what everyone you are friends with on Facebook is saying all in one flow of information (including Farmville updates, specials from restaurants you’re fans of, etc.), you can view what people from one set of people you have grouped together are saying, and focus on that to meet your needs. The same goes with Twitter (minus the Farmville updates).

Of course, productivity doesn’t begin and end with social networks, but as people (including employees) spend more and more time on these sites, it’s important to consider how effectively the sites are being used.

Some other things you can do to boost productivity and reduce time spent on everyday tasks are: utilizing browser plug-ins, organizing the way you get your news (which can be done the same way as your friends’ status updates, as Facebook recently reminded us), and using your smartphone to keep up with information when you have random breaks and downtime during the day, whether that be waiting for your food to arrive at a restaurant, waiting at the dentist’s office, or going out for a smoke.

You never seem to get enough of time. Even if you are given thirty hours in a day, you still won’t be able to get enough of it. Somehow, some things will come up and you will end up wanting more time. Time is a precious commodity. Once it’s gone, it cannot be recovered. You know it, I know it, and we all know it.

How do you maximize the use of your time? It would be worth your time to consider the following strategies:

1. Check your schedule at the start of the day. Review it in its entirety. You may notice that portions of your day may be hectic, while some may not be too frenzied. Distribute your activities evenly throughout the day.

Keep note pads handy so you can keep track of your schedule. It also helps to remind you of your tasks and commitments. Note pads and schedule notebooks help you avoid overlapping of activities. In case of overlaps, determine which one is priority.

After spreading your schedule for the day and you still feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks to be accomplished, you may have to forego some of them. Re-schedule other tasks for another day.

What you are actually doing is very much like cleaning a closet. When your closet is in order, you avoid being accidentally hit on the head by falling objects upon opening its door. Also, if it is in order, you will likely find spare spaces available.

2. Request for a re-schedule in advance. This is especially true when another person will be affected. Show courtesy by doing this is advance. This leaves time for the person to adjust to the new schedule. Who knows? You may be doing the other parties a favor. They may be in the same predicament as you are, and they will not be aware unless you make it known to them.

3. Be creative. Time is an element when simple creativity can be put to practice. For example, you need to do the laundry but at the same time, you also have to rush and buy some groceries. Perhaps, what you can do is to set your washing machine to do the laundry while you step out to the grocers. Manage your time in the grocery and back home, just in time when the laundry is done.

You can even do the cooking at the same time by using a slow cooker. It cooks food by itself. You can even pick up the kids from school after shopping. Four tasks are combined to one. All it takes is scheduling and a little creativity.

4. Be wise. When you have to do a certain task for the first time, it is natural for mistakes to happen. However, a first time task doesn’t have to be a blunder. If there is no clear direction on how things should be done, take time to plan it out before you take action. This saves time, energy, and money.

5. Visualize the possible outcome of your objective. Seek out alternatives. Choose the better of two or more alternatives. If there is only one option, do it just the same. Some tasks may appear difficult when you think about it, but not necessarily when put into action. The same thing is true the other way around.

Time is something you could never have enough of. You become wise when you choose to maximize it.

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