There is a finite amount of time we have each day. Since not all business owners can work 18-hour days due to personal commitments and family duties, it’s critical that we make the most of the time we do have set aside for our businesses.

Here are five time-wasting habits that many entrepreneurs are guilty of. Eliminate these and watch your productivity increase.

1. Trying to do everything yourself.

If you want to ever be effective, you must learn how to delegate. At some point, especially early on, all business owners engage in this. You may believe you can handle everything, but when the workload and obligations mount, it all crumbles under the weight on your shoulders.

Admitting to myself that I wasn’t the best at everything was one of the best things I ever did for my business. It had a big effect to give those tasks to those who could handle them more effectively. The sooner you accept that you cannot accomplish everything on your own, the better off you will be.

2. Saying ‘Yes’ to everything.

Saying no is one of the most difficult things to do. Personally, it took me a long to realise that trying to fulfil every request made of me was physically impossible. This brings up point number one from earlier: I believed I could handle everything. I didn’t want to let anyone down. I would fit in a quick 15-minute talk if someone requested one.

All those tiny requests were time wasters in retrospect. I learned to turn down opportunities and demands that wouldn’t help my business or brand instead of worrying about someone thinking, “I can’t believe he said no — what a dick,” Increased productivity has resulted from learning to value my time. While it could be awkward at first, I can assure you that it gets much easier as you see firsthand how cutting out time-wasting demands increases production.

3. Waiting for perfection.

If you wait around for perfection, it won’t come, and you’ll miss the boat. When someone is stuck on a task, they frequently claim that they are trying to finish it before going on to the next. They’re simply putting things off.

It’s crucial to know that perfection is a unicorn you’re probably not going to see. Imagine if businesses like Uber and Airbnb held off on entering new areas until they had mastered all of the essential elements of their operations. They would still be idly waiting for something that would never happen while wasting time and scratching their minds. Due to their high productivity, both businesses have expanded quite quickly.

4. Allowing distractions to constantly interrupt your day.

Your day will only be disrupted by distractions if you let it. You must set up a workspace that gives you periods of time without interruptions so that you can maintain complete concentration. Distractions are something that every business must contend with. I do the following things to reduce distractions:

No personal text replies: I don’t respond to personal texts while I’m at work. It wastes time but also conveys to the other person that your work time isn’t important. You don’t have to amuse someone just because they are bored at their workplace or on a day off. You’ll see a dramatic reduction in mid-day interruptions when you start ignoring business-related texts during the day and replying to them after work.

Airplane mode: If I’m working on something extremely important that requires complete focus I’ll switch my phone to airplane mode. When I simply silence my phone I still see the notification icons and I’m apt to pick it up and check emails and messages. Airplane mode prevents this and allows me to fully focus.

Block off calendar time: I have specific time blocked off on my calendar every day. When you get into this habit, you know without a doubt that you have a period of time without meetings, conference calls or distractions. This time will quickly become your most productive daily block of time.

5. Constantly refreshing your email inbox.

You are wasting time if you are continuously refreshing your email inbox. It can easily become compulsive. I had to develop a technique to check and respond to emails that wouldn’t interfere with my work because I experienced this myself.

I have someone screen my emails and I check them at regular intervals throughout the day. The filtering cuts down significantly on time wasted in eliminating spam, unwanted requests, and trash mail. When I do open my inbox, it’s an in-and-out process since I know everything there needs my attention. I can respond to every email immediately and take care of it without having to spend time sorting through the less-important ones. It’s difficult to break the habit, but if you find a technique that works for you, the time you save will be obvious.