Basic HTML Version
Chances are good that, at some time in your life, you've taken a time management class, read about it in
books, and tried to use an electronic or paper-based day planner to organize, prioritize and schedule your
day. "
Why, with this knowledge and these gadgets
," you may ask, "
do I still feel like I can't get everything
done I need to?
"
The answer is simple. Everything you ever learned about managing time is a complete waste of time
because it doesn't work.
Before you can even begin to manage time, you must learn what time is. A dictionary defines time as "the
point or period at which things occur." Put simply
, time is when stuff happens
.
There are two types of time: clock time and real time. In clock time, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60
minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. All time passes equally. When someone turns
50, they are exactly 50 years old, no more or no less.
In real time, all time is relative. Time flies or drags depending on what you're doing. Two hours at the
department of motor vehicles can feel like 12 years. And yet our 12-year-old children seem to have grown
up in only two hours.
Which time describes the world in which you really live, real time or clock time?
The reason time management gadgets and systems don't work is that these systems are designed to manage
clock time. Clock time is irrelevant. You don't live in or even have access to clock time. You live in real
time, a world in which all time flies when you are having fun or drags when you are doing your taxes.
The good news is that real time is mental. It exists between your ears. You create it. Anything you create,
you can manage. It's time to remove any self-sabotage or self-limitation you have around "not having
enough time," or today not being "the right time" to start a business or manage your current business
properly.
There are only three ways to spend time: thoughts, conversations and actions. Regardless of the type of
business you own, your work will be composed of those three items.
As an entrepreneur, you may be frequently interrupted or pulled in different directions. While you cannot
eliminate interruptions, you do get a say on how much time you will spend on them and how much time
you will spend on the thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success
Practice the following techniques to become the master of your own time:
Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you
understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are
going. You'll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on
unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions. Any activity or conversation that's important to your
success should have a time assigned to it. To-do lists get longer and longer to the point where they're
unworkable. Appointment books work. Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks for
high-priority thoughts, conversations, and actions. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the
discipline to keep these appointments. Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the
thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results. Schedule time for interruptions.
Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing. Take, for instance, the concept of having "office
hours." Isn't "office hours" another way of saying "planned interruptions?"
By yussif bade`a (aka ability )