Business owners have to focus on what is the highest value of their time. To think about this concept, think of yourself (business owner) as a machine. You are producing hours worth of product. Imagine that product being pumped out once every hour. So every four hours you have 4 units of product and we’ll use an eight hour day for this example. Each day your units produced is 8. Keeping it simple.

[In order to make €10,000 per month, those units must be worth €66 each. In this example I’m using a 19 day working month – one day annual leave allowed of a normal 30 day month. Don’t worry too much about this part, it’s to focus the mind on the tasks we are performing. If doing low value tasks, you will not earn the funds needed to make your monthly target.]

You must think about the value of your time. Most people want to work less hours yet earn either the same amount or more than they are currently on. How do you do this in a practical manner? VALUE YOUR TIME.

If you are not yet recording how you spend your day, then this is STEP 1.

Record where your 8 hour day is going. If you work more than 8 hours normally, which many entrepreneurs do, record the full time you are working every day for at least a week.

Record where every hour goes.

If time is money, how much money did you waste in a day with distractions or low value tasks that could have been delegated?

STEP 2 is Facing the Truth. Looking at one day or one week even may not be enough however, you might quickly see a trend. You may notice that you get distracted by emails or websites by much longer than you had originally thought.

Knowing where your time is going is an ‘awareness’ piece. It’s how we make changes that can really make a difference in our lives. Facing the truth or what distracts us and make some positive changes around how we manage our time.

Owning your own business or working for yourself doesn’t come with a manual. If it did, the first manual or book I would have bought would have been around time management. Luckily I found Brian Tracy’s ‘Eat your frog’ early in my career and have a library of books I use as reference tools when I need them. I didn’t learn this once and have it figured out. It’s been 20 years of practice and revisiting various books written by seriously impressive business owners that help me every month.

So STEP 3 is Practice. Practice makes perfect they say. I seriously doubt I’m anywhere close to perfect, but practice definitely helps make consistent improvement every day and every week. This makes practical change in my business life and in my clients lives and therefore I stay focused on what the highest value of my time is per day. I have a simple reminder tool on outlook that keeps me focused each day. Use whatever simple method works for you in this regard. A sticky pad on your computer screen or desk can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be costly or fancy, it’s only a reminder. YOUR TIME IS MONEY. See it that way and value it.

For more information email Wendy at wendy@williamsmerrigan.ie

I’ve been doing 10 tips in 10 days so this is counting as ‘Day 4’ 🙂 Have a great week folks