For as long as I can remember, I knew in my heart that I was going to find success and achieve financial freedom not only for myself but also for my family. This is exactly what I have done for the last year and a half. I have managed to find a company that works for me and I have busted my tail to get to the point where I am today. The point I am trying to make here is, I saw an opportunity that would change my family’s lives, and I ran with it. I see so many people with the same opportunity that I had/have and they ARE NOT running with it. They hesitate; they waste time.
It baffles me because I see these people struggle each month to make ends meet and here they are with such an amazing opportunity before them and they choose to push it to the side. SO if you are one of those people, you need to continue reading, and even if you aren’t one of those people, read this anyways so you can help someone make the smart decision and quit wasting precious time!!
I stumbled upon an article earlier about time management in relation to your business and success. The tips they provided were EXACTLY what I needed to read and EXACTLY what will help “slackers” get their business going. Here they are:
1. It’s Not that We Don’t Have the Time; It’s How We Choose to Spend It
Try this: for a week, track everything you do. Just start a new spreadsheet, and whenever you start working on something, note it down. Next to each activity, record its duration. You can just log work-related stuff, but try to log all activities.
On Sunday, go through your list, and check how much time you spent actually building your new business. Then, go again through the list and score each item between 1 and 5, according to its impact with respect to your long-term goals. 1 being no impact, and 5 meaning “killed 2 birds with one stone, both of them critical for my long-term goals”. Add up all the time. Then, add up the time spent on 4’s and 5’s.
Most of us will make two observations:
- We actually spend quite a lot of time doing stuff. Anywhere between 40 and 80 hours
- A very small amount of that time is spent on stuff that really matters to us on the long term
This means that we have the time. It’s just seems so hard to focus on the stuff that truly matters.
2. Simplify Your Life and Your Work
The first thing to realize is that you are overcommitted. You are trying to be and do too many things. And don’t be seduced by the promise of becoming more efficient, because this just won’t cut it. If you want to build something meaningful, you will have to be ruthless with your time and cut all the waste.
Look again through your log of activities. Which were not absolutely necessary? Realize this: it’s not only about what you have done, but also about what you didn’t do. With the limited time you have, you cannot do everything. So, when you are going through your list, don’t ask yourself: do I want to do this, or do I find it important. Ask yourself: is this more important than anything else I could be doing with that time?
3. Simplify Your Goals
Another trap we all fall into is to try to do too much. We think up a very ambitious plan for our new business. One of the two things happen:
- We try to do many different things in parallel
- We get overwhelmed and procrastinate
There is always so much to do in a new business, and so little time. So again, we need to be very smart about what we do. And when it comes to a new venture, the ultimate waste is building stuff nobody will want to use or pay for.
4. Commit
Your business will never see the light of day if you do not truly commit to it, if it doesn’t become your most important project, if you don’t lie in your bed and wake up thinking about it and if it doesn’t become your obsession.
It also means that you need to make the time to do it. I wouldn’t even start before being able to set aside 20 hours every week.
An alternative to help you uphold your commitments is getting “accountability partners”. Get people you can trust, and schedule regular time with them Discuss your plans, and your progress. Commit to concrete results. Knowing you have committed to your accountability partner, and that you have a meeting coming up will help you get it done.
RonneB
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