Managing ourselves in time – the most precious resource that the majority neglects

“I make good use of time. I use a calendar, and I schedule a personal time and planning time for myself.”

Question: What do you have in common with Donald Trump?

Answer: You both get 24 hours per day.

You may or may not admire Donald Trump, but you must admit that his business accomplishments are heroic. Everything he’s done has happened within the same time constraint that you and I are stuck with: There are only 24 hours a day.

Think of all the people of accomplishment, past and present. Leonardo da Vinci. Mother Teresa. Thomas Edison. Nikola Tesla. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Tiger Woods. Michael Jordan. Your grandparents. Your parents. The person you admire most — whoever that may be.

Every single accomplishment in business, politics, the arts, medicine, science, peacetime or war … long ago or in modern times … has been achieved by someone who only had 24 hours each day—no more.

If anything could be called a “great equalizer”, it would be time. We all get the same amount of time each day. It’s not how much time we get. It’s all about what we do with the time we get.

So, the next time you are tempted to excuse a lack of results with “There aren’t enough hours in the day”, stop and think about what others do with their daily allotment of time.

Know when to say “Yes” and when to say “No.”

The phrase “time management” has become a cliché. So, let’s briefly talk instead about self-management. It would be appropriate to call it life management.

As an entrepreneur, you have the extraordinary opportunity to control your schedule and over which activities you will (and won’t) engage in. So, it’s critically important to know when to say “yes” and when to say “no.”

You can say “yes” to the people and issues that matter most. Unfortunately – and here’s where many of us get into trouble – you also can say “yes” to the people and topics that matter least.

It’s so much easier to say “no” to unimportant activities when you’re pursuing goals about which you’re passionate.

As you go through your daily and weekly activities, make time for yourself and your family. Take off work and go on a school field trip with your child. Meet your spouse for lunch. Take vacations. Plan your family’s investments. Fix up the house. Exercise. Eat right. Read.

The same holds for your essential business activities. Engage in reflection and proactive planning. Revisit your goals regularly. Review the numbers. Meet with your team regularly. Go to conferences. Keep up with business trends and with your industry.

Build your business and live in a way that doesn’t lead to regret later in life. It can be done. Thousands of others have done it.

It comes down to decisions. You make daily decisions about how to spend your time and manage your life. You’re not a helpless bystander. You’re in charge. Make the right decisions.

So what are the wrong things in your business where You say Yes? What are they costing you, and what can you do to eliminate them?

Get organized

To make good use of your time, you must be organized. You not only need to manage your schedule, you also need to organize your stuff. You must be able to find things when they’re needed: Names, phone numbers, addresses, files, records, papers, keys, passwords, reference materials, facts, figures, bids and quotes, books, and receipts. Anything you need to find in the future – whether stored electronically or in hard-copy form – must be organized so you can lay your hands on it when needed.

If you’re disorganized, people notice. Part of your “dependability quotient” is tied up in your level of organization (or disorganization.) Your subordinates, colleagues, customers and vendors must be able to rely on you to find documents and other items when needed, show up on time, safeguard items entrusted to you without losing them, and at least come across as semi-organized. If not, your credibility will suffer.

And, if you’re disorganized, you’ll waste your time and the valuable time of others.

If you can’t get organized on your own, seek help. A web search on the word “organizers” will turn up managing consultants, speakers, trainers, and manufacturers of organizing products.

Get a calendar and live by it.

Have you visited an office supply superstore lately? Most have an entire aisle dedicated to calendars, planners and related accessories. There are dozens of formats available: hard-bound, spiral bound, three-ring, large, small… you name it. If you’re so inclined, you can use an electronic calendar and avoid paper altogether.

You may already have a favourite format. If not, ask some friends and colleagues what they like. Get one, try it, and if it doesn’t work for you, try another format next year.

Whichever way you go, though, you need to have some calendar/planner … even if your business doesn’t require many appointments. If nothing else, schedule appointments with yourself. You read that right – with yourself.

While I’m in no position to tell you what format to use, I will offer these guidelines:

• If you’re just getting started with a planner, use paper. Stay away from PDAs, outlooks, Google Calendars, mobile phones etc, at first.
• Maintain just one calendar. Put all your personal and business activities and appointments in it.
• Make it portable, rather than a wall or desk calendar, so you can always take it.

Once you have it, use it. Live by it. Every single scheduled activity goes into it. Review it daily.

Personal Life

You know how hectic it can get if you already have a business. If you become a dedicated calendar user and something gets scheduled, there is a high likelihood it will get done. Not only does your calendar help you avoid the embarrassment of missed appointments, it is a way to ensure that you meet your obligations to yourself and your family… to put the focus where it’s needed. If the only way to ensure you get to the school play is to get it in your planner, then get it in your planner. Schedule your exercise. Schedule dinner at home if that’s what it takes to get you there. Turn your personal “yes” decisions into calendar entries, then do them as scheduled.

As Brian Tracy says:

“There is not enough time to do everything on your schedule, but there is always enough time to do what is most important”.

Business Life

The same concept holds on the business side of the equation. Your planner is your ticket to continuous learning, significant time with your staff, getting out to visit customers and all the other important activities that go into building a successful business. Turn your business “yes ” decisions into calendar entries, then do them as scheduled.

Unless you have self-discipline well beyond most mortals, you must schedule reflection, review, goal-setting and planning time. If you leave it at “I’ll just do it periodically”, it probably won’t happen.

How much time? And how often? Each person and each business has a rhythm. It might depend on how far ahead you plan, how fast your company is growing, and your personality.

Of course, this isn’t all the thought and planning. If you have a management team, you’ll engage in business goal-setting and planning in meetings with them. The time scheduled with yourself is essentially for reflecting on your personal goals and on what the business is doing – and should be doing – to keep you moving toward those goals.

This is the crucial point :

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE, YOU DON’T HAVE PRIVATE AND BUSINESS LIFE. ONLY ONE LIFE. SCHEDULE WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT AND PLAN EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND IT.

“I make good use of time. I use a calendar to schedule personal time and planning time for myself.”

Can you honestly make this statement? What are some specific tips for getting organized? How can you prioritize your time effectively? How can you learn to say “no” to unimportant activities?