I hear many, many “reasons” for underperforming businesses. “I can’t find the right people.” “This market is too cheap.” “The industry has changed.” “No one is buying.” But my least favorite,
“I just don’t have any time to _________________.”
Fill in the blank with one of the following, or with your choice of business development habits you’re NOT doing: Blog. Network. Speak. Do a tele-seminar. Create a new bait offer for your website.
A lack of time is the #1 Excuse for business failure. And it’s so incredibly fixable. Here are three truths to keep in mind regarding your time:
Truth #1: Time is the ultimate equalizer.
You, me, Oprah, Trump, and whoever you’re looking up to in the entrepreneurial world are all blessed with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The big names in your industry do not get MORE time allotted to them than you or I do. None of us can steal time, borrow time, nor buy time. No matter how famous — or how humble — we each have the same 24 hours per day.
So, stop complaining. You have the same time as everyone else. It’s how you plan it, protect it, leverage it that counts. And these three actions are available to each of us. More on that in a minute.
Truth #2: Time will always expose your (real) beliefs & values.
There’s a saying, “Show me your checkbook and I’ll show you your values.” I disagree. Show me your CALENDAR and I’ll show you your values. What is blocked off and protected regularly? Exercise? Vacations? Writing time? Devotions? Bible study? Girls night? Date night? Family time?
The other side of that coin is this: What do you SAY you value, but never block out time to do? What do you say is important, but “never have time for?” Marketing? Following up with referrals? Being of amazing service to clients? Attending that mastermind? Sitting down for coffee with a friend?
Time — how you plan it, how you protect it, how you spend it — will ultimately reveal more about you than any forensic digging could ever expose. Sure, you could keep complaining about how you never have time for _______________, but the timing excuse is a very revealing one. Let’s keep going.
Truth #3: No one can ever rob you of your time.
Sure, others can waste our time… but only with our permission — if not our invitation. Tough truth to hear, indeed, but it is up to us to ruthlessly manage our ONLY non-renewable resource in business… our time.
Do you keep getting interrupted by clients, employees or colleagues? Work someplace else. End the open door policy. Be visibly busy. REQUIRE appointments with agendas given in advance. Have a patented response to “Do you have a minute?” (Suggestion: Not right now. Can you email me what you have on your mind, and I’ll get back to you soon.) Just a few suggestions.
Do you continue to be distracted by non-work responsibilities? Housework? Phone calls from friends? I get it. (Except the housework stuff. My Mister would give ANYTHING for the dishes to distract me from my business.) Here are a few suggestions to help: Change WHERE you work. Set office hours…. and announce them to your friends. Don’t answer their call and send a text saying, “I’m working right now. Can I call you when I’m done? I close up shop at 3 PM on Wednesdays.”
Super sneaky trick for us MOMpreneurs who hate being interrupted but also need (and want) to be available to our kids? Try this: On your iPhone, set up “favorite numbers” and then put your phone on “do not disturb” mode. ONLY your favorites (your kids, your parents, the school, whoever) will be able to get through.
We’re going DEEP into TIME HACKING (TM) over the next few weeks. But, the key takeaways for today are simple:
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YOU are in control…. to a much larger degree than you’re exercising right now.
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When you PLAN, PROTECT, and the LEVERAGE your time, not only will you make more money, you’ll enjoy your business more, have more time off to enjoy your success, feel a whole lot less frustrated and stressed and — simply — LOVE being a self-bossed again.
We’ll soon host a free TIME HACKING event… but until then, have a “look see” at some of our previous posts on the topic of TIME.
How to construct a SUCCESSFUL Day In Your Business.
How to Save Time and Make More Money.
4 Not So Obvious Ways to Take Back Your Time.
