Take Time Out of Time Management for Business Success

Here is a guest post from Susan Reid, author of Discovering Your inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success. I like Susan's point about the importance of how we treat time (and the pitfalls of falling into a time management mindset). Susan is doing a virtual book tour on several blogs - you can see the other posts and her tour stops here. Thanks for contributing to Management Craft, Susan!

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Take Time Out of Time Management for Business Success

How many times have you said to yourself, “I really need to manage my time better”? Or, when evaluating an employee, “they really need to work on their time management skills”?

We blame time for the reason why we don’t start a project. “I didn’t have time,” we explain, when we can’t get something done. “It took forever to get here,” we sigh when we are late. “There wasn’t enough time,” we complain, when a deadline is missed. We either don’t have any time, don’t have enough time, or don’t know if we will have time. What’s up with time?

It’s Never about Time

How much time is there in a day? There are 24 hours. That’s 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. That’s how much time we all have in a day. So why is it that some people get more things done in their day then others? Because they’ve come to understand that it’s not about time. It’s about their priorities.

There is such power in being clear about what’s important to you. Knowing what’s important not only defines your priorities, it also gives you a basis from which you can determine what to say yes to and when to say no. Once you have your priorities in place, then the only question to ask yourself is, “Does this or doesn’t this activity support my priority?”

Top Two Priorities, One Month Commitment

Here is an easy, three-step process for taking time out of time management:

1. Get clear on what your two A-1 top priorities are for the month; write them down on a piece of paper, then draw a line beneath. 
2. Relegate everything else to below the line, and work on or complete them after you done what you’ve needed to do each day on you’re A-1 list.
3. When something else comes up that begs to be added to the list, ask yourself, Does this or doesn’t this activity support my A-1 priorities? If yes, do them. If no, do them after.

It takes courage to set priorities and stick with them. That’s why it’s important to keep others informed about you’re A-1 priorities. This way, you will have eliminated the need to do things you don’t want to do and won’t have to explain to others why. If you are in a leadership position, sit down with those who report to you and work with them to determine their A-1 priorities for the month so they are in alignment with the business.

Taking time out of time management can be quite a liberating experience. What are some success tools that you’ve used to tame the time management beast? What’s worked for you?

From Chapter 10 of Discovering Your Inner Samurai.

Comments

[Mike King]

Thanks for the great post. It looks like a great book, many great points mentioned in such a short blurb...

[Susan L Reid of "Discovering Your Inner Samurai"]

Thank you, Mike!

[Susan L Reid of "Discovering Your Inner Samurai"]

Lisa,
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to write a guest post on your blog! Much continued success to you and Management Craft.

[Marlene Trevisan of Launch Your Life]

I loved your book, Susan. You talk so much about using your intuition. I find when I use my intuition and am inspired I get more results with less time. My intuition helps me do the most effective thing. I like to use a daily action triangle. In the center I write the one most important thing I want to accomplish and at each point I write an action that I can take today that will help me accomplish it. It helps me sit down and think about it and many times it is my intuition that tells me what action to put at those points. Thanks for helping me tap into that intuition!

[Carol McClelland of Green Career Central]

Hi Susan,

I really appreciate your insightful perspective on time. For years I've focused on one key development project a month in my business. I've written several books and programs that way. Now that I'm expanding my business and shifting more to implementation/marketing/sales, rather than writing, I'm noticing I'm having a harder time knowing what the priorities are. Do you have any tips for isolating those A-1 projects for a particular month? Thanks!

[Dana at Nine Tomatoes - Energy Drawings for Your Third Eye]

I couldn't manage my time well at all until I finally figured out what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do it. That was a process in itself! But once I got there, it became much easier to define short term goals. I make a prioritized list every day and follow through in order to stay on track. I use step 3 in your process repeatedly, and it pays off!

[Susan L Reid of "Discovering Your Inner Samurai"]

Marlene, I had never heard of a daily action triangle before. It's such a good idea! It's concise, neat, and gives options for inspired action. Thanks for that wonderful idea!

[Susan L Reid of]

Carol, in the case of an expanding business, I would suggest A-1 priorities that are focused on growth and customer happiness.

Expansion is a very exciting time for a company, however, it can be a scary time for customers. Letting them know that all is well, brings them onboard and excited about your expansion, and allows you to focus your attention on marketing, productivity, and promotion without fear of reprise from your customers.

[Susan L Reid of]

Having the courage to prioritize is essential for success. You've got that right, Dana.