If you are seeking to achieve greatness in any area of your life, the two critical subjects you must strive to improve on are Goal Setting and Time Management. Those two subjects should be studied as much as or more than any other key component of your business.
You cannot succeed in one without also succeeding in the other.
When you feel overwhelmed, (we have all felt that way at one time or another), it’s time to take a closer look at what you are spending your time on from the minute you wake up, to the minute you fall asleep.
For entrepreneurs, this is critical because if you’re not focusing your time and attention on your key result areas, there won’t be many positive results occurring.
Most people want a business of their own so they can set their own hours and work whenever they want; i.e.; sleep in, take days off whenever they want, etc. What we know about business is that the entrepreneur’s livelihood and success are dependent on being extremely disciplined and consistent, especially when your business is in its infancy. You are responsible for your own success.
Your time management habits are either ensuring your success or leading you to failure. Let me be more specific. Your time management habits are either leading you TOWARDS reaching your goals, or leading you AWAY from reaching your goals.
Are you directing your day? Or is the day and its circumstances directing you? Your time habits are worthy of a closer look… right now. Not tomorrow, but today.
The #1 habit for effectiveness is to become conscious of where you are investing your time… all day long. Everyday.
“Effective entrepreneurs do not start with their tasks. They start with their time. And they do not start out planning. THEY START BY FINDING OUT WHERE THEIR TIME ACTUALLY GOES. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back on unproductive usages of their time.” -Peter Drucker
I used to struggle with Time Management which is why I created my own Time Management Success System. The System involves 10 Timeless Principles that focus on the top 3 focus points summarized here:
1) Define your goals
2) Direct your time according to your goals and
3) Monitor your time and measure your results
In order to grow your business, you must become more efficient than you are right now. The only way to become more efficient is to monitor your time and measure your results. If you have employees, you must also teach this or hire a coach to teach this to them.
Here is my #1 Secret to Time Management and increasing efficiency:
KEEP A TIME LOG.
The best way to improve your Time Management is to monitor your time and keep a time log. Keeping a Time Log means documenting what you are doing on a given day and logging what you are spending your time on at regularly scheduled, predetermined intervals. You can use a notebook and set your watch or a timer to beep every 15 minutes and write down what you are doing, or you can use other FREE tools found here: www.GoalBlog.com. Remember, Time Managment must be invested in and studied like every other critical area of your business but keeping a time log is an easy free first step.
Why keep a time log?
You cannot improve what you don’t measure. Every entrepreneur has a choice. Either pay the price of discipline or pay the price of regret. Believe me; it is much easier to pay the price of discipline. And it is easier to go fast than to go slow. After you have recorded your activities for the day in your time log, ask yourself these questions:
Did the investment of my time today lead me towards my goals or away from my goals?
If a camera crew followed me around all day today, and broadcast my habits and practices for the entire world to see, would I be proud or would I be embarrassed?
Am I a shining example of efficiency or a warning of what not to do?
If I had a boss looking over my shoulder, would I still have a job or would I be fired?
Are my actions and investments of time causing the results I am seeking?
Are You Satisfied?
If not, what changes do I need to make?
We cannot ignore the universal laws of cause and effect and expect to be successful.
If your results are not currently what you want them to be, your causes are in need of adjustment. Examine your causes, which are where you are investing your time. I recommend keeping a time log: Daily if you are struggling or feeling overwhelmed. Then weekly until your bad time habits are broken. Then biweekly.
Ask yourself this question all day long:
Is this the best use of my time right now?
Keeping a time log is free. And it’s easy to do. And it will inevitably shine a spotlight on the areas that you need to improve on.
I doubled my income when I started to apply the strategies I learned from the Millionaires and Billionaires I studied. I am invited to teach at the most successful companies all over the world because you can literally change your results overnight.
There are strategies for working smarter, not harder. You must commit to learning them. If you are serious about success…
Do it now…
Live Your Dreams
About the author: Jill Koenig, the “Goal Guru’ is America’s Top Goal Strategist. A Best Selling Author, Coach and Motivational Speaker, she is an expert on the subjects of Goal Setting, Time Management and Business Success. She is the host of the Goal Guru Radio Show. Her passion in life is helping you Achieve your Goals and Unleash your untapped potential. Learn Cutting Edge Goal Strategies and get your FREE Ebook at http://www.GoalGuru.com
