Outsource everything you can. There are all sorts of tasks that you can just give to someone else and largely forget about. This includes, PR, HR, payroll, travel, finance, email, servers, storage, and so on. Sometimes “outsource” means hiring part-time consultants (like PR or HR specialists) and other times it means using a Web service (like GMail or TripIt). Most urgent tasks can be handled this way. Don’t spend your time doing something that isn’t core to the business.
We hired a part-time CFO early on for strategic advice, but neglected the books until later. Once we got them set up it was like someone had switched on the lights. Next time, I’ll do it sooner. This entrepreneur.com slideshow dataset provides more information on this. Having your books set up right and tracking your company’s financial health from the start is critical. The longer you take to get your books set up the hard it will be and then you’ll not have the information you need to make critical decisions.
Have the discipline to do urgent tasks “right” rather than just doing enough to get by. Whenever something urgent pops up, figure out how to accomplish the task in a way that ensures that you won’t have to do it again. That kind of execution is what will separate you from the competition over time. Your ability to spend just a little more time on what’s important each day will compound over time and lead to crushing victories in the end.