Make the Clock your Best Companion
Managing time is not easy specially that Christmas season is fast approaching. It is not flexible, it is not negotiable and it is definitely not infinite. When it comes to time management, you have to make adjustments. The idea is to maximise whatever is given you. Instead of working against time, make it work for you. Here is how:
Set your priorities. Initially, you have to determine what your goals are. Always bear in mind that when it comes to time management, it is not only the time allotted to your business will be considered. In setting priorities, it is important that you have factored in the amount of time you are willing to utilise for business purposes vis-à-vis the time that you are dedicating for your personal and social life. Since your 24 hours per day includes the time to spend for personal and social matters, it is essential that the amount of hours you commit to your business is firmly set. You should be definite when it comes to setting your priorities; this means that if you prioritise your work over family and personal activities, make sure that you will adhere to it as planned. Otherwise, it is best to check which among these choices your real priorities are.
Create a schedule. A schedule is your daily, weekly, monthly and annual road map in achieving your dreams. Once you have formulated a schedule, make sure that it has ways and means in which any future deviations can be rectified accordingly without making any noticeable impact on the plans that was previously set. Schedules must be practical, humane and realistic.
Determine your capabilities. With limited time, it is so easy to see if a certain schedule or plan is doable; otherwise you are fooling yourself in believing that you can magically perform physically and mentally impossible tasks. To consider performing errands that requires you to be in two to three places at the same time is absurd. Multi-tasking is not only a waste of energy it also depreciates the quality of work that you will deliver. Trying to squeeze in a lot of information in your head in a limited time is also consuming, mentally and health-wise. Know what your body is capable of doing given the limitation of time and choose the things that need your attention. Do not attempt to become a super-businessman; even Peter Parker who has super powers cannot cope up with the high demands of being super, what made you think that you can do better than him.
Look for alternatives. If there are things that need to be done given the limited time, there are practical ways to deal with it. You can re-plan your activities in such a way that you will give extra time to your business and taking away some time allotted to other aspects of your life, you can rearrange your activities by removing less important matters to your schedule or you can get extra help. Either ways, the idea is to find a solution that is economical, physically-possible and one that will not put at risk your welfare, your health and the future of your business.
Delegate. Acceptance that you cannot do everything is vital to be able to lead well. Having so many limitations makes it impossible for anyone to do a “one-man” show and become successful. While it may give you a lot of peace of mind knowing that you are able to greatly perform tasks based on your own standard of greatness, you can actually accomplish more by delegating other stuff to others. This will be possible if you are able to train them to think and do things the way you will. Proper delegation involves being able to delegate the tasks accurately with set expectations and troubleshooting methods in case the expectations are not met.