While running a business it can be very easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks, chores, responsibilities and other often bothersome details. After all, running a business certainly entails a lot of effort, ranging from accounting to marketing, from sales to customer service, from product development to logistics, to human resources and on down the line. And that doesn’t even count answering emails and responding to phone calls!

With all of this on your plate, it can be easy to end up wasting precious minutes, even hours and entire days, forging through tasks that aren’t even worth your time. Everything you do as the head or manager of an organization has to be productive, and if it’s not, you’re only hurting yourself. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help guide your decision making process and your daily work schedule.

* Is the task you’re working on a top priority? Sure, reading through dozens of emails that have been backlogged in your inbox is important. But is it more important than completing that proposal for a new client that you present tomorrow morning? Focus on the top priorities first, and move on down from there.
* Will this increase your business or income? If you’re running a business, the ultimate goal underneath the surface of everything is getting more sales, overall business, revenue and profits. If you’re doing something that isn’t directly helping you do that, it might not be so important after all.
* Does this task correspond with your goals? Think about the big picture in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish individually and as a business. You have to be working towards those goals each and every day, not just tacking them up to a wall and waiting for them to complete themselves in two months.
* Could somebody do this just as well? If you are doing a task that another employee or team member can handle just as well as you can, then what’s the point of you doing it? You can delegate that to them, and then tackle something that’s a higher priority, or more in your own wheelhouse. When you have a team, use it.

Answering no to any of these questions mean that you need to reevaluate what you’re doing. Always take a minute as you begin a new task or think about what to do to work through those questions. When you answer no, simply drop it and try out something else. Conversely, take advantage of your partner, team member, or employee who is free, and have them get that task done. Then you can focus on what you do best and what is most important for everyone. If you take the time to always evaluate the way you spend your work day like this, then you’ll be far more efficient and productive, and when it comes to business, that means more profitable and successful as well.