Time is your most valuable asset

I don’t have time! How many time have you said that phrase – too many times, but it’s so easy to say – a great excuse for not doing. We are all guilty of the ‘I’m too busy’ syndrome. Businesses are fixated about losing money but in most cases it is lost time that is far more damaging to a business. Time spent is time that is gone for ever. If you miss a deadline you can’t just turn the clock back and regain that time – it is gone.

We can’t all be productive 100% of the time but we can be a bit more productive. A few minutes or an hour can be found somewhere – when I’m busy my little joke is to say I’m free between 2am and 3am on a Sunday morning. But I also know that when I’m really busy I have to force myself to prioritise and focus on the important things that are going to make the biggest difference – that is when I usually take a break from my social media because I know that it can chew up too much of my time. I give myself a talking to. I take a break from the pile of paper and make sure that I am doing the right things and that’s not automatically the urgent ones.

Have you ever had a part of the day when you seem to shuffle papers and files? You tidy your desk your office, sharpen every pencil that you have, and write another list? I used to a lot, not so much these days but they still materialise sometimes. When they do I know it’s time to take a break usually 10 -15 minutes away will get me back on track when I come back into the office – a quick change of scene and as my Mum says ‘a change is as good as a rest’.

It’s only you that can solve your ‘I don’t have time’ issue – no-one can do it for you. So spend a little time now to create lots of time in the future.

1. Get organised
2. Do the right things - that means important first
3. If you are dealing with a problem make sure that you solve – all of it – so that it doesn’t crop up again next week and steal some more of your valuable time.
4. Be critical about your to do list – what are you doing that you shouldn’t, especially the things you don’t like doing, now ask yourself what you can outsource and what you can delegate to your team. What can you stop doing, those things that don’t need to be done and finally find the processes and systems that can help you automate some of your tasks.
5. Make time to think, mulling over time helps you to sort through what is important and what needs to be done.

It’s hard to change, it’s hard to get out of a rut or from underneath a huge pile of paper but we can do it. Instead of letting it take control of you, flip the situation and take charge of it. You are in control of your own destiny.