Why should I time block if I only have this little bit of work to finish and then I'm done with what I have... what's that over there?
It is very common to be distracted during the course of your day. You get up, go to work and while your morning is commencing you have your plan about what will happen that day. Then you get to the office and your fate has already been decided by a coworker, a client or there is a problem with your car, babysitter, or school. Sometimes it is all of the above happening the same day.
Once you are ready to work (if there is such a thing) you sit down and start what you planned. Then more distractions happen like the phone ringing, email alerts and someone asking what is for lunch. If you time block your day, you know exactly what is ahead of you and if you are distracted you know where you left off.
Most clients do not want to be called early in the day so I make most of my calls after 10:30am. By then, my email is clear, my lists of things to do is made and I've had three cups of coffee. I time block 10:30-11:15 to call people back and set future appointments. For the next twenty minutes I assist and check with my staff about whatever needs they may have. Then lunch for two hours and then to the golf range for a bucket of balls before going home.
If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. Here is your homework: get out a calender having days broken down by 15 minute intervals. Decide when you feel the most comfortable to do each item and assign it an amount of time during the day. When your day is full you can start and when you do a new item, do it to the best of your ability. If you finish early, plan on when you will do it again the next day or week. Don't be afraid if you didn't have success with something in the morning to move it to the afternoon. Make adjustments to make each item count.
It's your day and you only get an undetermined amount of them so make it count. What will you do with your next 15 minutes?
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Nothing to do?!%#@!*)
The other day at work, a business associate came and told me she had nothing to do. My initial thought was "great, glad you got it all done." Then I started to realize what this meant to her business and looked deeper into mine and wondered if there would ever be a point where I am actually done.
A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.
A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.
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