THINK BUSINESS — It’s About Time
Time is one of your most valuable personal assets. Are you investing the right amount of time in your job and your life?
Recently, I discovered what my second favorite day of the year is after Thanksgiving.
No, it is not my birthday or Christmas. Nor is it any clever day like St. Patrick’s Day. It is the day after Daylight Savings Time ends.
On that Sunday morning in November, I wake up with the gift of an extra hour.
That extra hour completely changed the pace of my day. It allowed me to feel less rushed and to accomplish more. That extra hour gave me an opportunity to connect more with my son and wife, who I often feel I don’t have enough time for.
It is a wonderful gift that although I have been given it annually, I really appreciate it in today’s environment.
I share this story because I think it is a testament to the world we all live in. We are time starved. Many people today want more time than money in the workplace. The pace of life keeps increasing, but the daily time bank account remains at 24 hours a day.
As I study the happiest and most successful people, generally while they are dealt the same time cards, they just deal with time differently than most.
The following are some tips that may help you get a few extra hours in your week.
1. Reduce the reactive time
The two primary sources of reactive time are your customers and your team members.
On Monday morning, send a note to all your clients that might want to interact with you and ask them if you can set a time to talk or meet that week. They will feel better and so will you. With your team member who interrupts you with questions or issues, simply ask them if you can meet and discuss their issue in one or two hours when you are available. Again, they will either address the problem on their own or meet with you at the prescribed time.
2. Just say no
None of us want to disappoint but we waste time on many things that go nowhere. If a prospective customer asks for pricing, give them a budget range right then. If a customer asks you to do more research, only do it after you exhaust the options through dialog on the spot. By being a little smarter in what you decide to undertake, you will get a gift of time. I would argue you are not wasting the customer’s time too.
3. Plan, then work your plan
Fill the time space available for its completion. Think about it. You give me an hour to wander around the store to buy a loaf of bread, I will figure a way to use the hour. If you plan the process and are focused, it will only take 15 minutes. A plan is not a To Do list. A plan is a plan. Like a blueprint of your day. Learn how to make a plan, then how to master controlling it.
4. Leverage
The most successful people are great at leveraging. You do it naturally when it comes to personal juggling with kids, but try to make it a time mindset. When you are doing your daily planning try to think about way to leverage your energy. If you are driving to an appointment also make it a seminar class with CDs or podcasts in the car or plot out where a past clients home is to stop and say hello. Leveraging is a mindset and a process more than a happenstance.
5. Dump some of the time wasters
Time wasters like mindless TV, sitting through commercials, talking to solicitors, negative stuff at the coffee machine, unnecessary meetings, etc. are counter productive.
Make a list of how you spend your time. Be specific then begin to eliminate some of time wasters. Soon you will discover you don’t miss it.
Now, if you are successful at any of these tips then make sure you don’t just add more to you plate (like I do). Try to celebrate like I did with the gift of the hour on daylight savings day. Stop and smell the roses, hang out with your kid a little more, and just savor it. Time really is a gift and with a little focus you really can find more of it.
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