When it comes to business, the hours spent at work can be a precious resource, second only to the people in your organization. In our busy corporate world, business time-saving techniques can mean the difference between success and failure. Use these six handy tips to make you and your company more efficient, productive, and profitable.

Turn off the distractions.
You are in the middle of an important task and your mobile phone rings. You are constantly seeing seemingly urgent email alerts popping up in the corner of your screen. It may be difficult, but turn off the personal phone. Set aside an hour at the beginning and the end of the day to reply to your emails and traditional mail and stick to it if this works for your type of job. Do not be tempted: if it is truly urgent, an individual will contact you in another way.  Another big distraction in internet access;  if you are the manager, consider putting restrictions on personal internet use during working hours.

Play to your strengths.
Especially if you work for yourself or you are the boss, look at when you are most productive and creative. If you are a morning person, plan for the majority of your working time then. Set aside up to an hour for quiet concentration. There is no point wasting time when you are not at your best.

Avoid repetition.
You may find yourself writing proposals, letters, invoices, or reports that are very similar over and over again. So do not reinvent the wheel. Create templates and standard paragraphs, headers and footers that can be used again and again where appropriate. It is not hard to do and will save you from investing valuable hours repeating the same task.

Say no when you need to.
Some business people are simply terrible at saying no when they need to. There is no point taking on tasks that are time consuming but do not contribute to your business profit. Meetings can often be boring and a waste of time rather than productive, so look at which ones actually yield results and cut the rest. Do not agree to meet a supplier or colleague if it is just out of courtesy. Life is too short.  On the other hand, if the task is part of your job description or responsibilities within the workplace, be sure to prioritize those tasks and get them done as soon as possible.

Delegate.
Much as you might like to, you cannot and should not take on everything. Small company owners in particular tend to waste valuable hours completing simply administrative tasks because they always had to on start-up. Even if you are a one-man (or woman)-band, look at outsourcing secretarial and accounting tasks. The cost will soon be offset by your freed-up, more productive effort to focus on growing the company.

Organize.
You should organize everything; your desk, your schedule, and your in tray and out tray. There is nothing more distracting that a desk full of ominous looking pieces of paper that keep shouting at you that they need attention. Set aside time to deal with incoming mail and memos and make good use of the trash bin, it can be a great filing cabinet. Your day planner can be your best friend. Use an electronic calendar to ensure your work is well organized and you never miss an important deadline.

These straightforward business time-saving techniques may seem obvious, but it is amazing how many managers do not use them. Your minutes and hours at work are valuable and need to be used for the most creative, productive, and enjoyable business tasks and will lead to better performance and job satisfaction.  This will set the tone for success for everyone involved.