| There are 24 hours in a day, of which the average | | | | who are not paying for your time. Stick as closely as |
| person spends eight hours at work and eight hours | | | | possible to your timelines. |
| sleeping... | | | | If you schedule 15 minutes to talk to an advertising rep, |
| That makes 40 hours per week of free time that you | | | | then let them know that is all the time you can spend |
| can do with as you wish during the workweek plus an | | | | with them. They will make their points faster, thus |
| additional 32 hours of awake time on the weekend. | | | | allowing you to save time. |
| The average person actually spends twice as much | | | | As you near the end of your allotted time for a given |
| time away from work than at it. So what should you | | | | task, give a two minute warning. Try to bring your |
| do with all that free time? Over 72 hours a week in all! | | | | business to a close quickly and efficiently. |
| First, you should realize that most successful people do | | | | Write Things Down |
| not work forty hours a week. So you may start by | | | | Keep a pen and paper by your phone. I can hardly |
| applying at least eight of those 72 hours toward your | | | | believe the number of businesses I call only to be |
| work or furthering of your career. | | | | asked to hold while the person finds a pen and paper. |
| If you have your own business, it will be easy to spend | | | | A pen and paper are the world's most essential |
| an extra eight hours of work productively. If you work | | | | business tools, and you should NEVER be without |
| for someone else you can take work home and show | | | | them. I keep my appointment book open on my desk |
| your boss you put in the extra effort that others do | | | | and keep notes as I speak to people. I note why they |
| not. | | | | called and how I am supposed to follow up. |
| Better still, you may want to use this extra time to | | | | In that way, I have a record of the time, date, and |
| start a business of your own...something that fits in with | | | | purpose of their call so I can refer back to it if |
| your hobbies and can be fun as well as profitable, like | | | | necessary at a future date. I also always write a |
| baseball cards, or model planes. | | | | person's phone number under their name. In that way, I |
| You could start a mail order business, or maybe a | | | | never have to search further than my appointment |
| part-time consulting practice to sell your knowledge. | | | | book for names and addresses. |
| The possibilities are endless; and if you spend enough | | | | Don't Waste Your Time |
| of your extra time developing them, you may well find | | | | Treat each minute as the valuable and precious |
| you create another career for yourself. This is how | | | | resource it is. Every single person in this world starts |
| many successful companies originated. | | | | out each day with the same amount of time in which |
| At least one hour a day should be spent in furthering | | | | to accomplish tasks and objectives. The only part that |
| your knowledge of your business or industry through | | | | differs from person to person is how that time is used. |
| reading, courses, and seminars. This takes another | | | | Successful people try to squeeze every second of |
| seven hours from your free time but still leaves you | | | | opportunity from the day, while those at the lower |
| with over fifty-seven free hours. | | | | levels simply waste it away. |
| A minimum of ten to fifteen minutes should be spent | | | | If you want to make $100,000 per year, you must |
| on planning for the next day. Reviewing your plans for | | | | make $40 per hour. That is .66 per minute! If you |
| the day should be the first thing you do in the morning | | | | spend 20 minutes on the phone talking to your buddy |
| and the last thing you do when you leave work at the | | | | down the street about Monday night's football game, |
| end of the day. | | | | you have just wasted $13.20 of your valuable time. |
| You still have over 55 hours of free time to spend as | | | | If you spend an extra half hour at lunch, you have just |
| you please, but rather than continue eating into your | | | | lost $19.80 of your time. Once lost, time can never be |
| free time, let's take a look at how you can better use | | | | regained. |
| your work time. | | | | The next time you find yourself involved in a |
| Work Time | | | | time-wasting activity, ask yourself this question. Would I |
| Many people complain of a lack of time to do all the | | | | pay my buddy down the street $13.20 in cold hard |
| required daily business tasks. The best way to resolve | | | | cash out of my wallet, right now, to listen to me talk |
| this is to plan your days in advance, in blocks of time, | | | | about last night's game? |
| hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute. | | | | The answer, of course, is no. Yet, that is what you are |
| By writing down how you plan to spend your time, you | | | | doing. Wasting $13.20 of your cash, which should be |
| will instantly become far more productive. More | | | | dedicated to reaching your goals and serving your |
| productivity means more money and more success. | | | | clients or business. |
| You must use your time wisely. Time is the only thing | | | | If you are working on a project and are interrupted by |
| you have to sell to your company or business. How | | | | a call that takes ten minutes, it often takes another ten |
| much of the time you spend at work is really spent | | | | minutes to get back to what you were doing. Instead |
| working? The truth of the matter is very little of it is | | | | of being interrupted twenty times a day, schedule 30 |
| spent working effectively. | | | | minutes a day for returning phone calls that are not |
| Instead, you probably spend the day as most people | | | | urgent. |
| do: writing memos, shuffling paper, and putting out fires. | | | | These are calls from friends, salesmen, or other |
| Here is a simple eye-opener that will let you see just | | | | people who are not actual clients. Your time at work is |
| how much work you are really accomplishing. Show | | | | far too valuable to allow constant interruptions. By |
| up at work tomorrow with a stopwatch and write | | | | setting a specific time, it also eliminates wasteful phone |
| down how you spend your time in five-minute intervals. | | | | tag. |
| Keep the sheet and stopwatch in front of you at all | | | | Let's say you wanted to make $60,000 a year, to do |
| times. | | | | that you must make $5,000per month. This works out |
| As you start each new task, write down on the paper | | | | to be $1,153 per week, based on a 48-hour, six-day |
| what that task is and start the stop watch. As you | | | | week, which we will say is typical for most successful |
| change tasks -- phone calls, interruptions from | | | | people. |
| co-workers, etc.-- write down what the new activity is | | | | This breaks down further to be $192 per day or $24 |
| and how long you spend on it. | | | | per hour. You now have a powerful tool to help you |
| At the day's end, write these four key headings on a | | | | reach your goals. You know exactly what you must |
| separate piece of paper. | | | | make each and every hour that you are working in |
| 1) Meaningful work | | | | order to reach your desired income level. |
| 2) Wasted time (this includes interruptions, unimportant | | | | Now let's see which of your daily tasks really produce |
| phone calls, etc.) | | | | that desired figure of $24 per hour? |
| 3) Dealing with problems. | | | | Advertising your business or yourself to others. |
| 4) Low priority/low return work. | | | | Increasing your inventory of skills |
| List underneath each of your headings the tasks you | | | | Marketing yourself to others |
| have dealt with that day. Then add up the total time | | | | These are tasks that really could produce $24 per |
| spent in each category. | | | | hour. Good advertising makes the phone ring. Selling, |
| Now you will have a shocking picture of just how few | | | | whether it's a direct sale of your products or getting |
| of the hours you spend at work are spent on | | | | someone to give you an interview for a better job, |
| high-priority, money-making, or goal-oriented tasks. | | | | definitely pays off. |
| Instead, what you will probably find is that looking for | | | | Marketing keeps people involved in your life and brings |
| information, interruptions, and wasted time are the | | | | new blood in the form of contacts and prospects. |
| winners in the battle for your precious time. | | | | Increasing your skills makes you more valuable to |
| Develop a Time-Efficient Environment | | | | yourself and others, and this will pay off quickly. |
| This means to have all your tools and resources in | | | | Then, of course, there are the tasks that do not |
| working order and at your disposal. More time is lost | | | | produce $24 per hour. |
| through inefficient paper management and searching | | | | Paying bills |
| for misplaced documents than through any other | | | | Ordering inventory |
| cause. | | | | Typing letters |
| Make a habit of keeping all your work areas and | | | | Adding to a database |
| desks free of all paper except what is needed for the | | | | I am not suggesting that any of these things are not |
| task at hand. When you are finished with the work at | | | | important to the overall success of your business. |
| hand, immediately remove it, mail it, file it, trash it, or do | | | | Rather, I'm suggesting that you can find someone else |
| whatever action is applicable, but do not leave it on | | | | to do these kinds of tasks for just a few dollars an |
| your desk. | | | | hour, allowing you to focus on the important high-return |
| Start Each Day With a Clear Plan | | | | tasks. |
| If you truly want to get the most out of every day, it is | | | | The Greatest Word in Time Management |
| essential that you begin each with a clear plan. I usually | | | | The simple act of saying, "NO," will save you more |
| plan the next day's activities the night before. Take a | | | | time, energy, and effort than you can ever imagine. In |
| day planner and write down all those tasks you want | | | | an overexerted effort to try to please everyone, we |
| to complete the next day. | | | | often find ourselves taking on more and more |
| Write each task down and number them in the order | | | | responsibility, activities and stress. |
| of importance. Start with the most important task and | | | | At some point, you simply have to say, "NO, I am sorry |
| stick with it until you have finished it or reached the | | | | but I can't." Try it; it's not that hard, and the people |
| point you wished to reach for that day. It gives me | | | | asking get over your refusal very quickly. In fact, they |
| great pleasure and satisfaction to line out each task as | | | | are already calling someone else. |
| it is accomplished. | | | | Put aside X amount of time in your weekly plan to help |
| After an overall list of tasks for the day, I plan the | | | | your church, school, community, or friends. Once that |
| day's specific activities in 15-30 minute intervals using a | | | | time is used up, it is gone, and there is no more. |
| daily planner. Plan all of your meetings and phone calls. | | | | Remember the words of Napoleon who said, "You |
| Set a time limit on meetings, especially with people | | | | can ask me for anything you like... except my time. |