Time Beautiful Time; More of it, is what we wish for

I was talking to a smart person the other day who divulged; (like most smart people) that they really can do things in half the time, because of how he organises his work load. It was more than organising the week, it was about looking at every task and deciding what could be done on your own and what could be done by outsourcing appropriately to others.

For example: do you get someone to do your housework? That is great because you can use that time for other areas that someone else can’t do for you. Do you clean your house BEFORE the cleaner comes? Well then no, you are not using the time wisely. It is a time taker if you pre do the job of the person you have just outsourced it to.

Many managers end up doing more than they need to as they cannot “let go” and unintentionally micro manage their staff to the point where the staff know that there is no point doing the job given to them as the manager is going to do it again anyway. Does this sound familiar? Time to let go and it is time to be more effective with the outcome of the task.

I am often talking to business people who feel that they do not have enough time in their day to get through all of the tasks that they have set. I wonder if they were to reset the timeframes of those tasks, whether they would free up some time, to not only complete them, but also enjoy them more so that they did not feel overwhelmed by the thought of even commencing them.

Looking at time and time frames is a little bit like eating an elephant. It is very overwhelming to think of sitting down to eat a whole elephant; however, if you were to divide the elephant into manageable chunks, then you would view it differently. Your time could be divided to suit the task.

When you set your goals, ensure that you set your time realistically. Recently we opened another division of Simply Mentoring: Simply Finance Solutions. This is designed to assist new to industry brokers have a “house” to sit in for two years while they get their experience to become independently licensed. The first goal we had to set was with our “time” and what did we need to do to ensure that we don’t over stretch ourselves. So we engaged two part time office staff who will take over the “extra” as it comes. Time problem solved.

When you are looking to build any area of your world; whether it be personal or in business, then it is the “time” management factor of the goal that is the initial important planning tool. So if you are planning your exercise regime, then keep it simple and “doable”. If you do not keep it simple and time easy, then you make excuses for why you cannot keep going. When you set your goals in your business life; make sure that they are time “doable” or you may end up blaming others for you not achieving what you want.

List makers are winners when it comes to managing their success with time. They know if they are on track and how close they are to the successful completion of the tasks that they set each time. They do not rely on guess work to see if they have finished the day on time. They are in control of time and not the other way around.

So what is your challenge from me this month? Look at the goals that you have set using the SMART model (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) and then your challenge is for this month to ensure that your “time” is set to create success in all areas.

Enjoy the month and I am once again looking forward to hearing your stories.