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Tips for Managing the Time of Your Life
By: John Kypriotakis
Since we can’t have any more time in our day, the challenge is to do more with the time we do have. In a small business, this is especially difficult because one of the most common one-answer-solves-all suggestions - delegation - may not be a viable solution at all. With this in mind, here is a brief time-management plan that will help you maximize your time.
YOUR TIME AUDIT:
When it comes to planning, there is only one thing worse than not knowing where you are going, and that is to not know where you are. So let’s take care of this first.
The tool to use is a time inventory sheet. It’s nothing too sophisticated - there is no time for that.
On the left side of a sheet of paper, make a column and list your phone, meetings, reports, planning, sales calls, etc. Remember to include idle time, personal calls, interruptions, waiting, travel time, etc. Make columns representing 15-30 minute increments across the top of the page, i.e. 7 a.m., 7:15 a.m., 7:30 a.m., etc. For one week, keep track of where your time goes by checking the appropriate box representing your dominant activity in 15-30 increments. Be prepared, the results will amaze you.
Some of the most common time wasters identified by the time inventory process are: attempting too much, interruptions, incomplete tasks (start/stop), lack of priorities, disorganization, poor communication, socializing, and unproductive meetings.
On the basis of these findings, here are some strategies to help you manage your time better.
PLAN YOUR DAY:
First thing in the morning or the night before, made a list of tasks, assign each a priority and estimate how long each will take to complete. Be flexible and expect the unexpected by scheduling only 70% of your day.
Choose the five most important tasks and begin your day by tackling No.1, then No.2, and so on. You may still go through the day and only get two or three projects done, but they will be the most important ones. What a feeling!
USE A DAY PLANNER:
Use the same one for both personal and business activities to avoid conflicts arising from over commitment or double bookings. Make sure it covers the whole day (e.g., 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and has enough room to record your daily appointments, to-do list, notes of commitments, and so forth. Computers and smarth phones make this easy.
GET ORGANIZED:
If you are not well organized, a good portion of your day goes into locating misplaced items and being reminded of commitments you made but forgot. Both of these disrupt your day, increase your anxiety level and, as a result, slow you down.
Schedule a portion of the day to work uninterrupted. You will most likely get a lot more done during this time than the rest of the day. You can find this block of time by waking up an hour earlier, leaving and hour later, or using your lunchtime.
DO IT NOW:
If you suffer from "analysis paralysis," you are wasting precious time and you will lose out on great opportunities. Avoid procrastination and indecision. Although it is good to have all the facts before making a decision, it rarely happens.
Make it a habit to decide quickly, especially on small things. This prepares you for making quicker decisions overall and it gives you extra time to spend where it really counts.
YOU AND YOUR TEAM:
Working with others adds another dimension - team time management. Here is a simple "how-to" process:
Make a list of everyone's top ten time wasters/problems.
Analyze the list and identify the three most common problems.
As a team, design a plan to address each, implement, and check its progress.
After thirty to sixty days, repeat the process to identify three new issues.
If any of the new top issues is a repeat from the previous period, re-examine the plan to solve it and identify any flaws.
AND ONE MORE THING:
One item that falls outside the scope of this article but is a critical prerequisite to any serious time-management program: goal setting.
Before beginning your time management commitment, or shortly afterwards, take the time to identify your long- term goals and plan the necessary steps to achieve each of them.
Clear goals will help you resolve possible conflicts. Your time-management program will ensure that your daily tasks are prioritized in a way that will help you achieve your long-term goals.
Being part of a small and growing business has its own unique set of problems. Take action to ensure that lack of time is not one of them. You can do it, so do it now.
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John Kypriotakis is President of Lysis International, Inc. a Tampa based sales management consulting firm specializing in Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service.
Phone 813-792-8500 - E-mail: need_info@salesandmanagement.com
