Expanding your business

Persuasion is necessary
Providing information to your client does not necessarily make them change their behavior. Explain the risks of not changing, provide the benefits of changing, and then give them the tools, techniques and methods they need in order to change.

80% Rule of Delegation
If someone else can do a task 80% as well as you can, let them do it.

 

Time on your side

Simplify the tasks
The more steps there are in any task or procedure, the more complicated it becomes and the greater the chance of error. It will also increase the amount of time consumed and as well as the cost. “Keep it simple” should be your motto.

Work on priorities
Good advice from the book, Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy: “You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower value activities.”

 

The time management process

Managing your time refers to planning life in such a way as to utilize the hours as efficiently and effectively as possible. Not just efficiently, which refers to doing things in the best possible way, but also effectively, which involves spending time on the best possible things. What’s best for you may not be what’s best for your clients, and vice versa.

As a part of this process, people should visualize the future they want and then take the necessary action in the present in order to make that vision a reality. Their goals are simply snapshots of the future they visualize.

These snapshots are then expressed in writing and entered in the goals section of their planner as a constant reminder of where they are headed. So in my opinion, a planner must have a place to record goals since goals are an integral part of planning. I also believe that their mission statement should be recorded in their planner as well. It reminds them of why they are in business. Just as goals determine what gets entered into the weekly planning section, so the mission statement determines what gets written in the goals section. Their goals must be compatible with their mission.

Finally, blocks of time are scheduled in their planner to actually work on those goals. Goal-related tasks and activities, the true priorities, should never be relegated to a “To Do” list.

 

Making Time Work For You: Getting off to a good start

Experienced time managers will tell you that the first hour of the day usually determines your level of productivity for that day. Here are five suggestions for starting the day off right.

1.    How your morning starts is affected by how the previous day ended. Plan your day the previous afternoon or evening. Leave your work in an organized state.

2.    Get a good night’s sleep, preferably going to bed early rather than getting up late. Never sacrifice sleep in order to get more work done. Long term memories are formed and cells repaired during sleep.

3.    Get up early. Don’t linger in bed once you’re awake. Get involved in exercise (a brisk walk will do) to get you going.

4.    Review your plans for the day. Confirm that what you plan to do will help achieve your goals, and that the greater priorities are scheduled early in the day.

5.    Skip email and other distractions until you have completed your first scheduled task. Don’t waste prime time on administrative or routine tasks. Days that start well usually end well.

If you are an early bird, as opposed to a night owl, this advice is particularly important. Don’t spend your prime time, when you are most energetic and mentally alert, on trivial or routine tasks that can be left until later.

Going faster slows you down

When you hurry, you frequently forget to do things – such as double check that address before you leave home, or turn off the stove, or pack a lunch – that ends up wasting more time than you saved by hurrying. How many times have you forgotten to bring something to a meeting or phone someone or close the windows or pick up the mail, simply because you were in a hurry?

Slow down and you will save time. Think about what you will say before making a call, review a mental checklist before you leave home, plan each day in the morning, review results in the afternoon, update your list in the evening. Think before you act.

Drive slower, walk slower and talk slower. You will experience less stress, improved communications, and fewer errors. Haste does make waste in many circumstances. Accidents increase with speed.

Do one thing at a time. And take the time that’s needed to do that one thing properly. The same people who don’t have the time to do something well are the same ones who seem to have the time to do it over again. Slow down and you will have the time to enjoy life as it passes. Speed up and life will not only pass more quickly, you will remember less of it later in life.