Making the most of today, everyday

There are only 24 hours in a day. How that time is spent is a direct reflection of the priorities each of us have in any given day. In our work day, how we spend our time should be a direct reflection of our business's priorities. Hopefully, these priorities are linked to our company's mission, goals, values and strategic objectives. This means spending time on activities that will achieve significant results, contribute to the growth and survival of the organization or department where we work.

Managing your time means spending your time doing what is important.

And only what is important. Too often, we get distracted by peripheral things in our day: chatting with others about non-business topics, checking email or eBay, focusing on projects with lower priority because we like them better, taking on problems or issues from subordinates, trying to do too much at once. All of these activities silently steal the one limited resource over which we have control-our TIME.


Most people view time management negatively. Like our finances, when we talk about "budgeting", thoughts immediately think of only restrictions and limitations.

Most people see a budget as having to cram all the things we have to pay for into a finite resource-our paychecks. If we shift our focus from thinking of a restrictive budget to a spending plan-we can now see freedom in the control we have. Instead of cramming our “bills” into the paychecks, think more about spreading the paycheck over what’s important and know that some things won’t get on that list!!

Example-my husband and I believe it is important for us to have some alone time on a monthly basis-even if it is a night out for pizza without kids. When we looked at our paychecks, the finite resource we have, we decided that cable TV just wasn’t as important as the time alone. So, we dropped cable. Since it moved down on the list of importance, it had to go. Same with our time-unlike money, however, we can’t borrow from the future (loan, credit cards) so once this minute is gone, it’s gone forever.

When we look at time as where to spend it on what’s important, instead of trying to cram all the stuff into an 8 hour shift, perspective changes on where we are going to spend our time. Stephen Covey's principle of "Do first things first" comes into play here. Here are some tips:

• Ask yourself: what is the most important thing I need to do today? Second most? Third?
• When you've set your criteria for "most important"-STICK TO IT.
  
• Schedule the time to complete this "most important" thing FIRST. This doesn't always have to be the first thing that you do-but that you are assured you have the time in the day to complete it. Then schedule the second, and so on.
• Urgency plays a role in determining the timing. The greater the importance and urgency, the earlier in the day for completion.
• Find tasks and responsibilities that can be delegated to another. Although you may enjoy getting out of the office to run to FedEx, this task can be done by anyone. Delegate.
• Get rid of those activities that do not add value to your organization (the time-wasters). Wasted time is lost time. Wasted time is stolen time; stolen from you and your business.
  
• Last, once you have created your time-spending plan, do your best to stay the course.
  

Naturally, things are going to pop up during your work day, but with a clear plan and a set criteria, you can easily determine where in the grand scheme of things this new task will fit: do it now, do it later, delegate, or do nothing.