When starting out in the business world, many of us are uncertain about what entrepreneurial days should look like. If you’ve only ever worked for someone else, your hours will have been dictated to you. You would have known what to do each moment of your day because your boss told you about it.

Entrepreneurial life is, obviously, different. And, the change can be tough to get your head around. You may even find yourself wishing a manager would step in and tell you your tasks for the day. To make matters worse, information on this topic is scarce. Every entrepreneur’s day looks different. As such, a reliable guide doesn’t exist. Even if it did, it’s unlikely it would serve your needs.

But, that doesn’t mean you have to be entirely in the dark about how best to arrange your time. For proof, we’re going to look at three surefire methods which should help you organize your days.

Get up early

Many people think working for themselves means lie-ins. In truth, though, most successful entrepreneurs wake early. On the extreme end of the scale, people like Tim Cook wake at 3.45am to catch up on emails. You don’t need to go that far, of course. Other successful business figures, like Danny DeMichele, wake at the more reasonable hour of 5am, giving himself time to read emails before taking the kids to school. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any entrepreneur who wakes later than seven. The truth is, waking late can leave you sluggish and unproductive. Not to mention that it can set you behind. Instead, waking with the sun can boost creativity and leave you energized for the day. Plus, this gives you a chance to catch up on admin before the working day begins.

Designate set times for each task

To ensure you’re productive throughout the day, it’s also essential to designate set times for each work task. This is crucial for a few reasons. For one, it helps to ensure you make time for everything in your day. There’s little chance of missing deadlines if you incorporate every job into your plan. Plus, this can go a long way towards helping with focus and structure. If you only have a loose idea of what needs doing, you could fall into the habit of procrastinating. Instead, give yourself the forward force of a workday to-do list like no other.

Know when your day ends

As much as it’s essential to get up early, you should also know when your day ends. Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of working well into the evening. After all, the jobs never end, and only you can complete them. But, you can actually achieve more during your work days if you give yourself evenings off. Otherwise, burnout could lead to substandard work. This is another reason why waking up early is essential. Working those three extra hours in the morning ensures you at least have some semblance of a night off.