8 Time Management Tips for Barbers and Hairstylists

Barbers and hairstylists are quite busy, and managing time is not always easy. If anything, some professionals struggle to stick to a schedule despite creating one that appears manageable.
Fortunately, certain techniques improve time management skills and avoid panicking because you cannot meet your deadlines. Let’s look at 8 time management tips for barbers and hairstylists.

Prioritize Tasks

The first thing on the list is task prioritization. Instead of acting frantic, write down the list of tasks you need to do in order of priority. Think about what is most important for the day and, realistically, how long you will need to spend on it.

Is it a meeting with a beauty product supplier who is often late? Or maybe you have clients who come right after one another and need to prepare for them in advance?

Knowing what is most important will give you direction and help you avoid wasting time on redundant processes and tasks.

Automate Booking and Other Processes

Speaking of redundancy, you can save some time by automating booking and other processes. For example, an all-in-one booking and business app for barbers and hairstylists is something that more and more professionals are looking to utilize.

Automating some fiscal processes is worth a shout as well. While it is still common to pay in cash, some customers might prefer to use a credit card and scan it to complete the transaction instead of going through their wallet to find money and waiting for change.

Take Breaks

All your efforts to improve time management will become obsolete if you are overworked. It is common for hairstylists and barbers to work into late evenings and even weekends, but failing to find time to relax will lead to exhaustion, which, in turn, causes errors.

Try to find a balance between work and your time. Otherwise, you will work even longer because you cannot finish tasks on time. In some cases, you may end up taking some of the workload back to your home.

Manage Disruptions and Interruptions

Overall, working as a hairstylist or barber is pretty relaxing because you do not have to experience as much stress as in other professions. You socialize with customers while doing your work, and the instances of disruptions or interruptions are not that common.

There is still a chance of someone or something getting into your work. Failing to solve the problem costs time for you and makes customers unhappy. It is important to find a solution as fast as possible so that you can continue with your work and not fall behind. 

Hire Help

Hiring help is a popular choice regardless of what profession you are in. For beauticians, it is not necessarily additional staff that can take care of the customers. If a hairstylist manages to accommodate all the customers, they might struggle to take care of other things due to lack of time or experience.

Taxes are a good example. Filling in documents related to fiscal matters requires attention to detail and knowledge. Attention to detail suffers when you have to spend the whole day on your feet, meaning it is better to leave such matters into the hands of others.

Hire an accountant and let them manage the finances. Doing so will let you focus on the work with the clients.

Pay Attention to the Clock

Losing track of time is easy when you are busy. Before you know it, the next client comes in, and the area is still messy because you forgot to look at the clock and clean it after the last customer.

Hang a wall clock and have one on your wrist (so long as it does not get in the way of the work) so you do not lose track of time. 

Avoid Procrastination

Procrastination is tempting when you have a few minutes to relax, but if it is not a dedicated break time, why not spend that time more efficiently so that you have an easier time for the rest of the day?

You could, for instance, check what your schedule is like and maybe even message clients to confirm that they are coming. Cleaning the space and double-checking if there are enough products to last you for the day is also worth a shout. 

Try Not to Multitask

Some would argue that beauticians must master multitasking because their work in a salon is quite hectic. However, as a rule of thumb, it is better to avoid multitasking because you are more likely to make mistakes that can snowball and cause problems you will need to fix, which will cost you time.