When you are working for yourself and creating a business or working on your goals, time and it’s value have different meanings.
When you are working for yourself, and you’ve got stuff to do, and goals to reach you haven’t got a minute to waste.
I bet you could EASILY do twice as much in an hour than you are now. I challenge you!
- You need to see be aware of where all your time-sucks are. Download Rescuetime. A guaranteed wake up call!
- Like watching the news -forget about it
- Like watching tv – an hour a day, tops
- Being reactive to the phone when it rings, or something pings, stop it! Remind your self you are in charge. Take back control!
When you are in the flow of work and concentrating, an interruption can really set you back. Studies show that it can take around 25 minutes on average to get back into the flow and back to full concentration on the task that you were doing. Double that to 2 or 3 interruptions a day, and you have easily lost an hour or two! Have you got that time to waste?!
Here’s what I do to prevent those interruptions.
I’m in the driving seat instead of being reactive and jumping when something lights up or pings (really, it’s NEVER an emergency!)
- I keep my phone/texts on silent
- I dont keep twitter/facebook open
- I don’t keep my email accounts open (and DON’T make emails the first thing you check each day. Get on with something really productive. Do your money making work. Do the work that will take you closer to your goals. The emails will be there in a few hours time!)
And if you live and work with other people, then remember it’s OK to set your boundaries! Don’t feel awkward about it, just ask people to understand and respect that you need X amount of time to work uninterrupted.
Are the people you surround yourself with supporting your goals/business? If not, find people who will. Who you surround yourself with can make or break your success!
You need to get organised in order to have the business you want with the financial results you deserve.
There is a time and a place for everything and you must start getting into a good practice early.
When you are your own boss you don’t have to justify how you spend your time to anyone. I want you to start getting serious about how you spend your time and how you value it.
Your time is incredibly valuable because you use your time to build your business. It’s when you get creative. It’s when you get STUFF DONE! It’s when you are in the flow.
Every minute is priceless. Treat it as such!
Here’s what to do…
I want you to work out how many hours you spend watching tv a week (yes, a scary thought!), and then ask yourself if all those hours are getting you closer to your goals or not?
Do the same with social media too! Obviously I’m a HUGE advocate about the power of social media – I couldn’t do what I do without it – but even I’ve got to recognise that it can take up an incredible about of time. That’s time you can better spend on your goals or your business. Make social media work for you, don’t make social media your boss!
You need to get real about where and how (and with whom!) you spend your time!
If you are running your own business, or thinking of starting one, or working on a goal…YOU ARE ON MISSION!