Time Management for Entrepreneurs

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Time
Management
for Entrepreneurs
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Introduction What is Time Management? (Hint
its not what you think it is.)
When someone utters the words Time Management
there are normally two types of reactions. Some
cringe or roll their eyes. These folks are either
so tired of hearing about how they should be
doing things that they just dont care anymore.
Nothing theyve tried has worked and theyre
just done with the whole concept of time
management.
Who can blame them? Many time management guides
and gurus require you to modify your personality
to fit their structured program. Thats just not
going to happen, right?
The other reaction is to smile and feel a bit of
curiosity. These folks are ready, willing and
anxious for some tips that actually work. They
are either new to the concept of time management
or theyve tried a few things and they have
worked so theyre ready for more insight and
helpful tips.
Both reactions are normal and to be honest
depending on the day you may have felt both
reactions.
This report is designed to help you create a time
management system that works for you. No
personality change is required! (Though you may
have to modify some habits.)
What is Time Management?
Time Management, as it is discussed and addressed
in this report, is about living your best life.
I t s about hav ing t i me t o
f ocus on your ess ent ia l t ask s, sk ills
and passio ns. It s ab out
streamlining your practices and business tasks
into systems that
you can manage yourself quite quickly and
efficiently - or you can
hand them off to someone else to manage and trust
that the job will be done to your satisfaction.
You see, when you create systems they are
repeatable and can be used successfully by
anyone time and time again.
Time management is not forcing you to use a
software, practice or tool that doesnt fit your
personality, needs, or preferences. For example,
one commonly suggested tactic for creating
website content quickly is to use a standard egg
timer to help you stay
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focused and on task. Well that might work for
some but if you dont work well under pressure
that time is simply going to drive you batty.
Other people recommend using a structured planner
with a priority rating system to track your daily
tasks. This method works very well for structured
people however if youre a creative person this
structure may feel too confining and be
completely ineffective.
The Effects of Poor Time Management
Its sometimes difficult to see the effects that
poor time management can have on a business.
However, they are very real, very unfortunate and
very avoidable.
A little story
Terry owns a coaching business. She loves to work
with her clients one on one. Each coaching
session fills her with the kind of satisfaction
most only dream about. Even better, shes very
good at what she does and her clients reap
tremendous benefits from their time with her.
Terry has built a successful business. However,
this professional coach isnt so great at
managing her time. In fact, sometimes shes so
overworked that she has to cancel appointments
with her clients. This of course doesnt help her
bottom line because it is her coaching sessions
that generate the most immediate profit.
Worse, sometimes Terry is unprepared for the
sessions because she hasnt had the time to
review the clients material and their needs. She
often finds herself winging it.
So Terrys work suffers. Her clients dont get
her full attention because shes often
multi- tasking while on the phone with them.
Also, shes working for dollars. Her lack of time
management has created a business where shes
always working to earn a dollar, shes reacting
instead of being pro-active. This means she
squeezes client consultations and coaching
sessions in during all times of the day and week.
Sunday mornings, Friday nights she works whenever
she can. This is causing stress on her personal
and family life.
Terry, being a smart business owner, does know
the importance of marketing. She writes her own
content and publishes on a successful
professional development website. She also has a
blog and she uses social networking to
communicate with her audience. She also spends a
lot of time creating downloads and materials her
blog and website visitor can benefit from.
Unfortunately, because Terry is often juggling
many tasks at once and isnt prioritizing the
most important, and profitable tasks, not to
mention the tasks she clearly loves, she
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is working 12 hours a day, seven days a week and
shes not making the money she wants to make.
Shes stressed out. Shes losing enthusiasm for
her business and occasionally peruses the
classified ads for a different job. Shes also
occasionally dropping the ball, cancelling too
many times on a client, and losing customers.
Unfortunately, Terrys story is a common one. If
you see yourself in any part of this
story theres good news. This report will help
you create, or get back to, the business you
love. And itll help you enjoy and profit from
your business for as long as you choose.
How to Use This Report
Because this report is designed to help you
create time management systems that work for YOU
there are many questions and action steps along
the way. Its a very interactive report. There
are two suggested methods to using and
benefiting from it.
The first is to read it through cover to cover.
Then go back
and answer the questions start creating your
systems.
This is the appropriate approach if you like to
read material and think on it before you take
action. However, you may want to keep a notebook
handy when youre reading so you can jot down
any thoughts or notes.
The second approach is to read the report and
take action as you work your way through it.
For example, if there is an action step that asks
you to look into autoresponders to help manage
your email then you may want to stop reading and
find the best autoresponder for your needs. This
approach is best if youre the type of person who
likes to take immediate action on your thoughts
and inspirations.
Of course you can always take a combined
approach. Take notes on some items and action on
others!
Lets get started
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Chapter One How Well Do You Manage Your Time?
Most people could use a little improvement with
their time management no ones perfect. Even
those amazing people who have systems,
documented procedures, remember everything and
have labels on every box or bin can use some
improvement somewhere.
This quiz is designed to help you see where you
could use some time management improvement. No
judgment here! Be kind to
yourself. Everyone is learning and has to start
somewhere. If you find that you need across the
board help in every area of your business, great!
You have the most to gain.
And if you find you only need to tweak a few
areas to maximize your efficiency then lets help
you refine your systems.
The goal of time management for many
entrepreneurs is to
1.
Make more money
2.
Spend less time making more money
3.
Spend more time on tasks you enjoy and are
skilled at
4.
Ensure happy and satisfied customers
5.
Create repeatable success
Sound good, right? Before you jump in, spend a
few minutes evaluating your present status how
good are you at managing your time?
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Quiz Time!
(1) On a monthly basis, are you making as much
money as youd like to make with your business?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(2)
On a weekly basis, are you spending your time on
tasks you enjoy?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(3)
On a weekly basis are you spending your time on
tasks youre good at/skilled?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(4)
On a daily basis does email take up more than 10
of your work day?
- Yes
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- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(5) On a daily basis do you feel like youre
accomplishing what you set out to accomplish?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(6)
On a daily basis does social networking take up
more than 10 of your work day?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(7)
On a daily basis does customer service take up
more than 10 of your work day?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(8)
In your home office, is it easy to find what
youre looking for? Do you spend less
than a minute, sixty seconds, looking for any
item?
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- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(9) On your computer is it easy to find what
youre looking for? Do you spend less than a
minute, sixty seconds, looking for any item?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(10) Do you find that you often need to create
new materials for your business? (i.e. email
responses to frequent questions, contracts,
job/contractor postings etc)
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(11) Are you frequently stressed?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
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(12) Do you often find that your task list grows
and you are simply transferring the same tasks to
the next day?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(13) Do you back up your content, website/blog,
and other important information on a weekly basis?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(14)
Do you have time each day to focus on your
personal life?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
- Not at all
(15)
Do you have time each week/month to plan your
business?
- Yes
- Most of the time
- Some of the time
- Rarely
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- Not at all
Taking a look at your results
Review the questions you answered. What areas do
you need to improve? For example 13 Do you back
up your content, website/blog, and other
important information on a weekly basis? If you
answered anything other than yes then a system
needs to be created to ensure you never lose
important business information.
With question 9 On your computer is it easy to
find what youre looking for? Do you spend less
than a minute, sixty seconds, looking for any
item? If you answered anything other than yes or
most of the time then you would benefit from a
better organization system on your computer.
On a separate piece of paper write down any areas
where you found that you need help. Dont worry
about how to fix it or create a system just yet.
Well get to that throughout the rest of this
report. In fact, the next chapter is dedicated to
creating your ideal systems.
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Chapter Two Creating Systems for
Sustained Success
In the previous chapter you probably got an
indication about what you need to look at with
regard to your time management. For example, you
may have realized that you are procrastinating on
the same tasks. They get shoved to the next day
over and over again. This is a sure sign that the
task is probably harder than it needs to be and
maybe someone else should be doing it.
This chapter is all about creating systems which
is the heart and soul of time management.
What Are Systems?
Systems are essentially a process that you can
repeat over
and over again successfully. A very simple
example of a
system is your morning routine. It might look
like this.
You get out of bed. You feed the pets. You start
a pot of coffee. While you wait for the coffee
pot to do its thing you might meditate or boot
your computer. Maybe you take the pets outside to
do their morning business or start breakfast for
the kids.
Regardless of what you do each morning its
probably the same thing. Its a system youve
created that works for you.
In many aspects a system is a habit. This is true
for your personal life as well as your business.
Businessdictionary.com defines a system as A
methodical procedure or process that is used as a
delivery mechanism for providing specific goods
or services to customers.
That being said, you can create systems that
serve you they help you manage every facet of
your business from planning to implementation.
Examples of Effective Business Systems
In order to better understand systems lets take
a look at a few that have been effective for
other business owners. A system is also known as
a SOP or Standard Operating Procedure.
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Customer/Prospect Inquiry System
1.
Customers/prospects fill out a form on your
website for clients to fill out when they have a
question or a need. Form is automatically emailed
to you or a virtual assistant. Prospect receives
an automated message letting them know that
youve received their inquiry and will respond
within 24 hours. You, or a virtual assistant,
respond to inquiry with a pre-written template.
You can of course customize the template based on
the specific questions asked in the form.
2. 3.
4.
Now part of making this an effective system is
also setting aside time each day to respond to
inquiries. Because this is an important task but
not ultimately tied to an immediate profit this
is a task that can be addressed during your
non-productive time.
For example, if youre a morning person then
later in the day is a non-productive time. Its
not a high priority task so it shouldnt be
addressed first thing in the morning. Setting
aside five to ten minutes to respond to inquiries
at the end of your day should be plenty of time
to get the task done effectively and efficiently.
Service Provider Invoicing System
??
Prospect fills out questionnaire detailing their
service needs for example a virtual assistant
may be asked to provide a price quote on
uploading articles to an article directory. The
questionnaire may ask what service is needed and
any special requirements. Using a service like
PayPal or FreshBooks, a deposit invoice is
delivered to the new client once the
questionnaire/project requirements are
received. Client makes payment easily because all
they have to do is click a link. You receive
payment and begin working on project. Project/serv
ice is delivered to client and a final invoice is
generated using the same automatic billing system.
??
?? ?? ??
Business Planning System
?? Each Sunday afternoon you review your task
list for the week and evaluate your productivity
and efforts for the prior week.
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?? The first day of each month you plan your
content for the upcoming month. You utilize your
analytics to evaluate which content had the most
response and/or helped you achieve your goals. ??
The first day of each quarter you establish
your marketing strategy and corresponding tactics
for the month. ?? The last day of each month
you evaluate your marketing tactics taking a look
at the data to determine which tactics need
tweaking for better results. ?? The first week
day of each year you create a product/service
plan for the year. What new products/services
will you create/launch?
Of course the above planning system also requires
documentation, testing and analytics. For
example, how do you track your daily and weekly
priorities? How do you track your time to
determine your success?
How Can Systems Benefit Your Business?
As you can hopefully see from the examples,
systems can offer tremendous benefit to your
business.
Systems help you
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Repeat frequent tasks quickly and easily. Provide
consistency to your customers. Grow your
business. Focus on planning your business
rather than maintaining or managing it. Provide
the best customer service possible. Communicate
effectively with your clients and prospects.
Find balance in your life. Maintain the passion
for your business that makes you smile and helps
you create the best business possible. Provide
peace of mind youre able to get your work done
for the day and focus your attention on other
areas of your life. A sense of achievement and
satisfaction being able to check off tasks that
have a profound and direct impact on growing your
business is extremely rewarding.
?
?
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? More energy and less stress. Its a huge
drain on your psyche to always feel overwhelmed
and underproductive. ? A feeling of being in
control over your life.
Where to Start?
At this point you may be feeling overwhelmed.
There are so many different aspects to your
business how is it possible to create systems for
everything? The answer is to start with the
systems that are most important to your business.
To determine what is most important to your
business there are a few questions to consider.
Action Step!
?
Take a look at your daily, weekly and monthly
routine. What tasks and responsibilities have a
direct impact on your profits? For example, if
you are an information marketer then creating
information products has the most impact on your
business. Do you have a system in place to
consistently create new information products?
?
What common complaints or concerns do you have
from your customers or prospects? For example, do
your customers often contact you to request
another download link because theyve misplaced
the link or their link isnt working?
?
What tasks take the most time? Do you spend a
large majority of your work day answering emails
or on social networking sites?
?
What areas of your business feel the most
chaotic, disorganized and unplanned? For example,
do you struggle to make time to create content
for your business even when it is an important
part of your marketing strategy?
Consider making a list of the tasks and
responsibilities required to manage and grow your
business. From that list, start prioritizing your
tasks from most important to your bottom line
and/or general happiness to the least important.
Once youve prioritized your business tasks then
start creating a system for the very first task
whatever it may be.
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Evaluation and Adaptation
Its important to know that creating systems
generally isnt a set it and forget it
process. Youll want to occasionally evaluate
your systems to make sure theyre effective. Some
systems may need an occasional tweaking while
others may need to be overhauled completely.
For example, in the invoicing system example used
earlier you might find that customers are
confused about how to pay. In this case youd
need a tweak in the content or perhaps a
different invoice system.
Flexibility and occasional analysis will help you
make sure your systems always work for you and
help you create and grow the business you want.
Creating systems on paper is only the beginning.
Once you have a written plan, youll want to
embrace the tools and technology that can make
your plan a reality.
For example, your invoicing system might utilize
an automatic billing tool like PayPals recurring
billing. There are many tools and resources at
your disposal.
Plan the system first and then look for tools and
technology that will make it a reality. In the
next chapter well take a look at some of the top
tools and resources to consider.
Chapter Three Using Tools and Resources
Time Management Tools, Technologies and Resources
Okay, lets be honest here. Searching for a time
management technology can be both overwhelming
and a huge waste of money. Many tools and
technologies over promise and under deliver.
It is STRONGLY recommended that you create your
system on paper first. Plan it out. Then based on
what you need, research and compare technologies
to find the best tool to meet your needs.
Many people buy first based on promises of
productivity and profits and then try to
bend their systems to fit the technology. That
alone is not good time management!
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And there are enough developers available that
many times you can have a plug-in or tool created
that perfectly fits your needs and doesnt cost
nearly as much as a pre- packaged tool.
That being said, the remaining portion of this
chapter is dedicated to discussing a few of the
most common types of technologies and offering a
few popular manufacturers.
Online Tools
Online you can find a tool, software or plug-in
for just about any need you have. This provides
you with a wonderful advantage as a business
owner. You no longer have to do everything
yourself. And much of the management of your
business can be automated. For example, you can
have a customer satisfaction survey sent to each
of your customers a week after they make a
purchase. This information might be tied into
your marketing campaign as well as your customer
service strategy.
The Most Common Tools You Can Use to Automate
Processes and Save Time
Autoresponders
Autoresponders may be your biggest asset as a
business owner. You can use them to deliver your
monthly ezine. You can use them to send
promotional messages to your subscribers. You can
use them to deliver downloadable files. You can
also use an autoresponder to manage much of your
customer service system.
Consider
? aWeber ? Constant Contact ?
MailChimp ? OneShoppingCart ? iContact
Invoicing/Bookkeeping
The financial end of your business can take a lot
of otherwise productive time out of your day.
Automating it takes the burden of bookkeeping off
of your shoulders. And you also dont have to
worry about outsourcing the task and giving a
stranger access to your financial information.
Most invoicing/bookkeeping systems also create
real time reports so you can know at a glance how
your business is doing. This makes cash flow,
forecasting and planning much easier.
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Consider
? QuickBooks/Quicken ? PayPal ?
FreshBooks ? BillingBoss ? Peachtree
Membership/Customer Service/Forums
For many business owners, community is extremely
important. It can mean the difference between a
business that is steadily growing and on that has
reached a plateau. Membership software programs,
forum management programs and even customer
service/ticket systems can all help your
customers feel like they belong theyre part of
your community.
It offers them more value and it makes marketing
to and serving your customers much easier.
Consider
? Kayako ? aMember ? osTicket ?
Zoho ? vBulletin
Time Management, Project Management, and Planning
Tools
Automating your systems is just one aspect of
time management. Its also important to be aware
of how much time you spend on tasks. This helps
you better determine and increase your hourly
value. (Well show you how to figure that out in
the next chapter.)
If youre working with a team of contractors,
then project management tools, like Basecamp, can
be helpful because theyll keep everyone in the
loop without too much back and forth. You also
dont have to worry about losing emails.
Everything is contained on one account/thread.
Finally, you may find it helpful to utilize
planning and scheduling tools. For example, many
people use Outlook by Microsoft to schedule their
day, week and month. Google offers scheduling and
calendar functions and there are many others.
Well talk a about scheduling in a bit. For now,
consider whether youre a paper planner person or
an electronic planner person. How often do you
use your mobile device/phone and how
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often are you on your computer? If youre not
often online or on your phone then paper may
still be your best scheduling option.
Consider
? Rescue Time http//www.rescuetime.com/ ?
Effexis http//www.effexis.com/achieve/planner.ht
m ? VIP Quality Soft http//www.vip-qualitysof
t.com/ ? BackPack/BaseCamp ? Outlook ?
Google Calendar ? MindJet Mind Mapping Software
(Note there are free and low cost mind mapping
applications for your tablet or mobile device too)
NOTE Before you dive in and purchase any of
these products, use the free trial to make sure
the system is right for you.
Your Home Office
Its important to keep in mind that an organized
space will help you stay focused and productive.
If your desk is covered with stacks of papers,
receipts, and junk then its going to be
difficult to find what you need and to manage
your time well.
Spend some time planning your home office
organization space. Take a look at what you use,
what you need and how to best organize your space.
Consider the three tier system which works like
this
?
Tier One This tier consists of the times you
use on a daily basis. They should all be within
reach and easy to find. An example might be your
planner, computer, notebooks etcIf it takes more
than thirty seconds to grab what you need then
the system needs improving. Tier Two This tier
consists of the items you use perhaps on a weekly
or monthly basis. They dont have to be within
reach but should be in your office and easy to
access. An example might be your business
plan. Tier Three This tier consists of items
you access very rarely. For example, your tax
returns from last year. They dont need to be
stored in your home office. You can store them in
a file box elsewhere in the home. However, make
sure the box is well labeled and the material is
organized.
?
?
File boxes, desk top organizers and shelves can
all help you create an organized office space.
But what about the business tool you probably use
the most
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How Organized is Your Computer?
Look at the desktop on many computers and youll
see a screen covered with files and documents. It
not only looks overwhelming and cluttered, it
makes it difficult to find anything. That wastes
your valuable time!
Create an organization system on your computer
that is consistent, logical and easy to use.
Consider embracing the three tiered system on
your computer too. For example, files and
software you use on a daily basis can be on your
desktop. Files and software you use weekly or
monthly can be saved in your My Documents
folder. Each folder will be labeled by what is in
it and then each file or sub folder will be
labeled and perhaps dated. Then, any items you
only use on a yearly basis or less can be stored
on an external hard drive.
This forces a quick mention about backups.
Please, please, please create a system
for yourself where you back up your information,
software and websites/blogs on a very regular
basis. Daily is great. Weekly is strongly
recommended. Monthly and youre at risk for
losing valuable information. Anything less than
monthly will likely result in regret. Investigate
online backup services and/or an external hard
drive.
Action Step!
How organized is your home office? Do you have a
stack of papers that you havent looked at in
more than a month? If so, its probably time to
clean the clutter and create a more organized
office space. Consider using the three tiered
system. Outline what you use daily,
weekly/monthly and annually. Then create
organization systems to support it. Dont forget
your computer too! Give yourself a full weekend
to do this. Its strongly recommended that you
create your plan on paper first and then go buy
the products to support your plan. Dont buy
products and then try to create a system around
them. Your money is as valuable as your time.
Your second action step is to research the
software/tools to make the first system on your
list a reality. For example, if the first system
youre focusing on is an opt-in/email marketing
system then research autoresponders to support
your system and your needs.
Okay, so by this point you have planned your
systems. You may have purchased or created some
tools to help you automate the process and you
have hopefully begun to assess and organize your
home office. You basically have all the
information you need
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to create time management systems you need to run
your best business and live your best life.
The next two chapters are devoted to myths and
mistakes and also some expert time management
tips.
Chapter Four Common Time Management Mistakes and
Myths Everyone makes time management mistakes. In
fact, much of the process of creating systems
that work for you is a trial and error process.
However, if you can avoid some common mistakes
youll be able to streamline your processes and
eliminate much of the trial and error. Youll be
able to focus on the tasks of building and
growing your business and spending your day doing
what you love.
Mistake 1- Not Creating a Schedule That Works
For YOU.
When creating your schedule, take the following
into consideration
When are you most productive? For example, are
you better able to focus first thing in
the morning? In the evening after the sun has
gone down? Mid-day? When is your best time to
work? This is the time to schedule the high
priority or profit producing tasks. What is your
family/personal schedule? Parents, spouses,
children and outside commitments all play into
your productivity and your schedule. For example,
if you volunteer at your childs school every
Friday then its probably a good idea to keep
Friday clear and to focus on your business the
other days of the week. How much do you want to
work each day or week? Youre not required to
work every day from 9-5. In fact, if you want to
work two days a week or six its all up to you.
However, when youre planning your business, keep
your needs in mind.
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Mistake 2 - Not Recognizing Time Suckers
Time suckers are those habits and tasks that take
way more time than you think they do. They
consume your day and before you know it, its
time to pick up your kids from school or make
dinner.
So.what is keeping you from being productive?
Common time suckers include
Email Aim to outsource and automate some of
your email and then check it no more than twice
daily. (Experts recommend not checking email
first thing in the morning. Instead save it for
the end of the day when youve already
accomplished the important items on your task
list.) Bookkeeping Outsource/automate what you
can and then set aside time each week or month to
get the rest done. Social networking Be
disciplined here. Schedule your social networking
time and stick to it! Perfectionism yes, you
absolutely can spend way too much time on a
project. Do your best and move on. If you
struggle with this one, consider giving yourself
a time limit. Procrastination Figure out why
youre procrastinating. Its generally a sign
that your system for whatever youre
procrastinating on isnt working. Automating
and/or outsourcing this task is often an easy way
to end procrastination forever. Household chores
and errands You can outsource these too.
Housekeepers are great for business owners. And
if thats not in the budget consider scheduling
your errands and chores into your day/week. That
way you can focus on the most important tasks and
know you have time set aside to manage your home
later.
Online learning, searching and browsing its
easy to spend an entire day perusing information
about your industry and you can learn a lot.
However, spending a day surfing the internet
isnt productive. Consider outsourcing any
research you may need. Subscribe to blogs that
you commonly visit using a reader. Then you can
stay up to date by spending an hour or two on the
weekend or in the evening when youre not
normally Working.
Mistake 3 Forgetting about Balance
Its almost guaranteed that if you neglect to
plan for and schedule time away from
your business, youre going to suffer from
burnout. Weve already discussed burn out a bit.
It
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affects your joy, your ability to focus and stay
productive and it affects your bottom line. A
balanced life is important to the success of your
business.
Now, like creating time management systems there
is no one size fits all approach to balance. A
balanced life is individual you have to decide
if youre living a balanced life. No one can
decide it for you and no one can tell you what
your ideal schedule looks like.
Consider
?
Taking time off each day to spend time on your
own health and well-being. It can be something as
simple as taking a daily walk. You can sign up
for a class or meditate. Spend time each day
taking care of you. Ten minutes is a
bare minimum. Consider taking at least
thirty. Taking time off each week to spend time
with friends and family. Your social life is an
important part of your overall happiness. In
fact, scientists have learned that laughter and
connections with friends and family help you live
longer. Taking time away from your business
monthly/quarterly/annually. You are the boss and
that means you get to create your schedule. Yet,
if youre like most if you dont schedule it you
wont take it. Entrepreneurs are notorious for
being very driven individuals. So consider
scheduling time away from your business
regularly. And that doesnt mean you have to take
the standard two week vacation each summer. Do
what works for you. If working two weeks a month
and taking two weeks off a month is what works
for you then do it.
?
?
Action Step!
List the activities or habits that distract you
from being productive or get in the way
of managing your time wisely time suckers.
Take a moment and write down a theoretical
schedule
? When would you work during the day or the
week? ? How many hours each day/week do you want
to spend on business related tasks? ? How many
hours do you want to spend on personal
activities/interests?
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In the introduction we discussed the fact that
there is no right or wrong way to manage your
time as long as the systems you create support
you to be productive, grow your business and
enjoy your life. That being said, we would be
remiss if we didnt share some of the time
management tips that experts use and teach around
the world. The final chapter in this report is
simply a nice list of a few expert time
management tips. Try them if they sound like
theyd support you and your time management style.
Chapter Five Expert Time Management Tips
1 - Know Your Hourly Value
Your hourly value is quite simply the amount of
money you make each hour. For example, if youre
spending your time networking and emailing your
hourly value is quite
low. If you are speaking with clients or selling
products then your hourly value is higher.
However, hourly value is best utilized when its
calculated as an average.
Calculate your hourly value by dividing your
monthly income or net profits by the number of
hours you worked. Yes, this means you need to
track how many hours you actually spend on your
business.
For example, if you have 5,000 in net profits
this month (gross income less expenses) and you
worked 100 hours this month then your equation is
5000/100 or 50/hour.
This information is important because itll help
you make some critical business decisions. For
example, if youre outsourcing a task you can
assess whether its a sound financial decision.
2 - Prioritizing and Task Lists
If youve ever taken a Franklin Covey course on
time management they have a very elaborate system
of prioritizing tasks. While the system may not
be right for your time management style they do
have a valid point. Prioritizing tasks makes very
good sense. Ideally, you want to make sure you
accomplish something that builds and grows your
business or contributes to your income each day.
In order to do that its important to focus on
that task first.
For example, imagine your daily task list looks
like this
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?? Answer client emails ?? Post to blog ??
Publish ezine ?? Write content for next week ??
Invoice clients ?? Record next video how to
series/product
Now looking at these six tasks there is hopefully
one that stands out as the priority task - 6.
In fact, if you were to apply a priority system
to these tasks the list might instead look like
this.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Record next video how to series/product Write
content for next week Answer client emails
Publish ezine Invoice clients Post to blog
Often tasks that are high priority are tasks that
? ? ? ? ?
Result in a direct profit. Youre skilled at. You
enjoy. Are too expensive at this time to
outsource or automate Are essential for the
growth of your business.
This example leads directly into our next expert
tip
3 - Outsource
There are two truths there are only so many
hours in the day. And there is always work to be
done.
Dont risk your health, your sanity, your
business and your happiness by experiencing burnou
t and/or becoming overworked and overstressed.
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In the previous example, all but one of the tasks
can be outsourced.
1. Write content for next week - ghostwriter 2.
Answer client emails virtual assistant 3.
Publish ezine virtual assistant 4. Invoice
clients bookkeeper/virtual assistant 5. Post
to blog- virtual assistant
There are many benefits to outsourcing including
? Access to potential contractors from around
the world making it possible to find highly
skilled contractors that fit your budget. ?
You dont have to pay employment taxes or
benefits. ? Increase your hourly value you
can focus on your more profitable tasks. ?
Save your valuable time - focus on the tasks that
you do best and enjoy the most.
What do you Outsource?
There are three categories of tasks that are
generally outsourced.
They include
? Administrative tasks - answering your email,
updating your website, scheduling, shipping and
so forth. These are generally time-consuming
tasks that can easily be outsourced to qualified
assistants readily available and at competitive
prices.
? Technical tasks - search engine optimization
or web design.
? Professional tasks copywriting, graphic
design or learning a new scripting language to
generate a feature for your website.
4 - Ask for Help
Entrepreneurs wear many hats. However, youre not
expected or required to do everything yourself.
Instead, ask for help when you need it or when it
makes sense. Focus on what you enjoy and what you
do well. Let others handle the rest.
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5 - Remember its Okay to Say No.
You dont have to say yes to everything. Evaluate
the offer or request. If it makes sense for you
and your business then great. If not, No is a
wonderful word. No excuses, no explanations. A
simple No thank you. Thats not going to work
for me, should suffice.
Finally, Remember to Take Care of Yourself
A balanced life isnt complete without regular
attention toward your health and happiness. If
youre too sick or too tired or too stressed to
work then youre too tired, stressed or sick to
have fun and enjoy your life.
Time management is about creating the life you
want to live and living it the best way possible.
Its not about conforming to a system created by
someone else unless it fits your personality
and work style.
Create systems that support your goals and
vision. Automate and outsource when it makes
sense. And build the best business possible.
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