{"id":6599,"date":"2020-11-23T15:43:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T15:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/?p=6599"},"modified":"2021-05-05T13:24:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T12:24:18","slug":"smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","title":{"rendered":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most common things MSPs want to talk about as they grow is how to structure their teams. For many of you, especially those just starting out, you don\u2019t have teams to structure. So how do you get everything done? Start by treating time like people\u2014divide up your time to cover different tasks just like you would divide up a team to handle tasks.<\/p>\n

Here are the key areas to consider and how to prioritize them:<\/p>\n

1. Technical work<\/h2>\n

Just like you divide your helpdesk and NOC<\/a> into tiers, you need to dedicate a certain amount of time to each during the day. The biggest danger is making a mistake during a complex job because you were interrupted by a tier one task. If you need to spend an hour on a tier three task, turn off notifications or put your phone on \u201cdo not disturb\u201d so you can focus on the important work.<\/p>\n

To facilitate this on a day-to-day basis, try to schedule your tier three tasks and nonurgent tier one and two tasks in blocks of two hours. That way, you\u2019ll only go a maximum of two hours without responding to a new ticket. You can also accomplish this in a PSA by having a \u201cmorning bucket\u201d and an \u201cafternoon bucket.\u201d These are queues or boards you can put tickets in after the initial response. You can then block time to work those batches in the morning or afternoon. The key is to work on the right things at the right time.<\/p>\n

There will always be emergencies, so no advanced planning will ever be perfect. But if it works 80% of the time, it will help you get your tickets resolved efficiently and in the right priority.<\/p>\n

2. Back office work<\/h2>\n

Back office work is important, but not urgent, as there will always be client issues that seem more important. For some of us, there is always a need to empty the never-ending ticket queue. We can\u2019t help it. However, the consequences for not billing, not paying bills, and ignoring things like tax returns can have a devastating effect on your business too.<\/p>\n

Many of us say we\u2019ll use downtime to work on these things. The problem is downtime doesn\u2019t seem to come on most days. So again, you have to set yourself up for success by scheduling this time and protecting it. Another option taken by many entrepreneurs is to schedule this type of work outside of the 9-to-5 workday.<\/p>\n

Notice, I still said you should schedule it. It\u2019s too easy to move to the recliner after dinner and ignore nonurgent tasks in favor of watching the latest episode of your favorite tv show. Fortunately, unlike the technical work above, you can outsource a lot of this work to a bookkeeper or accountant.<\/p>\n

3. Marketing and sales<\/h2>\n

Another important, nonurgent job many MSPs dread is getting new customers. If you want to grow your business, this task isn\u2019t optional. Most MSPs are good at closing a sale if they can just get in front of customers. Therefore, marketing is the piece we stumble on most. This is mainly because we don\u2019t put consistent effort into it.<\/p>\n

I recommend taking one whole day, once every quarter to plan your marketing for the next quarter. Put it on a calendar and execute according to that calendar. Many things like email campaigns and social media posts can be setup in a few hours once a month and scheduled to run over the course of the month. You could get this done on one Saturday per month.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Most of the strategy comes down to being intentional about scheduling your time and then protecting it. Build systems around your\u00a0RMM<\/a>\u00a0and PSA tools to help group your tickets into buckets that make sense for your workflow. In addition, try to move critical but non-urgent tasks outside of the 9-to-5 workday to avoid the inevitable interruptions. Most importantly, if you allocate time to doing something, make sure you do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","topic-operations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSmaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"N-able\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NableMSP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/share-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"N-able\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Nable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Nable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"N-able\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"N-able\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/person\/f46a000e389b6d02bd4b3866e7828a7b\"},\"headline\":\"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\"},\"wordCount\":684,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Operations\"],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\",\"name\":\"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Operations\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/category\/operations-de\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\",\"name\":\"N-able\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization\",\"name\":\"N-able\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/logo-n-able-vertical-dark.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/logo-n-able-vertical-dark.svg\",\"width\":\"1024\",\"height\":\"1024\",\"caption\":\"N-able\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NableMSP\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Nable\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/n-able\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UClnp77HHg4aME-S-3fWQhFw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/person\/f46a000e389b6d02bd4b3866e7828a7b\",\"name\":\"N-able\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"N-able\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able","description":"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able","og_description":"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","og_site_name":"N-able","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NableMSP","article_published_time":"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/share-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"N-able","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Nable","twitter_site":"@Nable","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"N-able","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"3\u00a0Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task"},"author":{"name":"N-able","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/person\/f46a000e389b6d02bd4b3866e7828a7b"},"headline":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task","datePublished":"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task"},"wordCount":684,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization"},"articleSection":["Operations"],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task","name":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task - N-able","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#website"},"datePublished":"2020-11-23T15:43:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-05T12:24:18+00:00","description":"Understand how to allocate time to the different areas of your business. Identify key areas and learn how to prioritize them.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/smaller-msps-tier-your-time-stay-task#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Operations","item":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/blog\/category\/operations-de"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smaller MSPs: Tier Your Time to Stay on Task"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#website","url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de","name":"N-able","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#organization","name":"N-able","url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/logo-n-able-vertical-dark.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/logo-n-able-vertical-dark.svg","width":"1024","height":"1024","caption":"N-able"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NableMSP","https:\/\/x.com\/Nable","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/n-able","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UClnp77HHg4aME-S-3fWQhFw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de#\/schema\/person\/f46a000e389b6d02bd4b3866e7828a7b","name":"N-able","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9c468b7c98137ecdd5508befa660c205a7978133257080a37fb0b1362d53411?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"N-able"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}