Have you heard of the phrase, ‘Time is money’? I'm sure we all have. While I don't think time is ALWAYS money (especially when it comes to time with family – that's priceless), I do believe when you are building a business, making sure you're focusing on what is important (such as money generating tasks) is crucial to your growth.
In this day and age, technology has become a necessity, every aspect of life is being dominated by it. I mean… hi, my name is Shay and I run an “online” business. But what is important is taking the technology we have and make it work for us. Agree?
Remember – this isn't about time management. This is about losing the time wasters so that you can focus your time on your goals and your end results. Let's talk about some ideas and actionable steps you can take to bring on more time for you.
How To Avoid Time Wasters
Don't check email or phone when you're in the middle of tasks – So you're working on something and you're getting “in flow” and all of sudden your phone vibrates. You pick it up, you answer the ext you receive and then you try to get back to work but, oh wait, since I'm not working again, let me check my email, let me check this or that.
Your concentration is broken and now its pretty hard to get back to it. Turn your phone on silent, shut down your email tabs and stay focused.
Set time limits – Let's say that your job needs to check job (if you get orders or work through email), create time limits. For example, go through your morning routine first and then check your email for up to 30 minutes so you can start focusing on getting your goals done. It's easier to turn a timer on your phone and when it goes off, have enough self-control to leave the inbox and move on. Remember, you are the CEO of your business, it's time for you to rock it like one.
Use Social Media at set times – Social media connects you to friends, family and potential clients but it can be one of the ultimate time wasters. It is fabulous to build connections, following and if done right, it can help you grow your business! For me, after I'm done with my morning routine, I give myself 15 minutes for email and 15 minutes for social. It allows me to see if I've gotten any messages from potential or current clients. It also lets me do a quick overview of what's going on in and making sure there are no emergencies that need to be dealt with.
Then I go into creation mode for an hour or two and then I check all my client FB Ads or if any of my coaching clients need me to check copy or opt-in pages, I review that. By then its usually lunch time and I allow myself to check FB, interact with my group that I manage and start building relationships.
The key again, is to be mindful of your time, what your end results are and how you want to feel throughout the day. My Core Desired Feelings are: ease, feminine, cozy, abundant and joy. If I am not getting what I want to accomplished done, I don't feel those, I feel anxious thinking about how much more I'll have to do the next day and I really want to make my life as easy as possible.
If that doesn't work, there are extensions for Firefox and Chrome that let you block out social media for certain times throughout the day so that you can get stuff done.
Do not switch between work and internet – When I'm blogging or writing or working on client work, I do my best to shut out the internet. Unless I have to do specific research for what I'm working on, I open up a new browser that only has one tab so that I can focus on getting done what I want to do get done. I'll do online shopping later. I'm sucker for Amazon and I've been known to be sucked in a time or two. One of the things I do my best to remember while I'm not focusing is to ask how much my time is worth. Will buying that motivational book or that new salt lamp right now (if its during my work hours) move me closer to my end result or can it wait until I'm done?
99% of the time it can wait.
What do you do to help you with time wasters? Do you have a set schedule that you work on so that you're more productive? I work best in the mornings so I try to get mos tof my work done then. I'm not perfect and I'm not saying I don't slip up, I do. I give myself grace and do my best to get back on track.
