“Managing Time” and figuring out “how to get it all done” is an issue for people in general, but for business owners especially. Dan Kennedy says that our income is directly tied to how ruthlessly and how unapologetically we protect our time.
I’ve not only repeated that quote a million times, but it’s on EVERY calendar I’ve used since hearing it… and I live by it. In fact, it’s the only way I’m still in business today.
If you’re reading this blog, you’ve allowed your goals to rise above making SMALL, incremental changes and increases in your business. You’re not striving to be average or to “just make it.” You want to create an impressive income…. and on your own terms. Perfect. This post is for you.
To reach your goals, it’s critical to take an informed, evolved look at how your days, weeks and months are strategically constructed.
Here’re the steps I used to get ruthless about my time:
First, take a look at the following questions and truly evaluate how your own time is spent.
- Am I PRO-actively planning my week?
- Or am I allowing the week to “happen” and RE-acting instead?
- Am I focusing on profit producing action? (Do I even KNOW what brings in the most money to my business?)
- Is my time spent putting out fires, doing “maintenance work”, or is my time spent growing profit?
Next, plan a Sunday Night Business Meeting.
One of the best ways to merge your STRATEGIC GOALS with your CALENDAR is to begin planning your week with a Sunday Night Business Meeting. This is simply a meeting with your CEO – yourself – during which you not only PLAN what needs to be done to reach your business goals, but also schedule those activities into your week. This Sunday Night Business Meeting – as simple as it is – will allow you to greet each Monday morning with a plan of action that will not easily be distracted, and will allow you to accomplish more in less time. If you’ve said YES to something, it’s a heck of a lot easier to say NO to a distraction. However, if you’ve simply got a list of to do’s to be “fit in” throughout the week, your calendar can look misleadingly open. Plan and schedule.
If you’re willing to implement a Sunday Night Business Meeting into your business plan, I suggest grabbing a glass of your favorite wine (I love Rosemont winery’s Traminette!), your digital or paper planner, and your lap top. There are two simple things to do during this time:
- Schedule your TO DO items in your planner and give them an actual “appointment time” to be completed. This is much different than simply making a list of items you need to “check off”. Business success is achieved by taking a series of strategic, consistent, deliberate steps. Giving each action step a specific time to be completed will allow you to see your own efficiency skyrocket.
- Determine to do something BOLD each week – not just to serve your existing clients – but to GROW your sphere of influence, your standing as an expert, and / or to solidify your positioning as the ONLY OBVIOUS choice for your target market to choose. And, of course, schedule this action in as an appointment.
The hard truth is that we’re the boss. We don’t have anyone constructing our days for us. So, we MUST construct them deliberately for ourselves. I’ll be the first to admit that I rebelled against this level of planning and organization for a while. I wanted FREEDOM, not the constraints of a schedule. Then, I heard www.stevechandler.com say,
“Only the disciplined are free.”
Mull that one over. We all want freedom. For me, I’m willing to be ruthlessly disciplined about my schedule while my family is in school… so I can be free to enjoy them when we’re all home together. ONLY when I became disciplined did I taste this freedom. Before that, my business knew no boundaries. It creeped into my home and my family time…. and I resented it. NOW, not only am I more profitable, but I’m able to enjoy the freedom I crave.
