It’s incredibly easy to be busy.
It’s also incredibly easy to convince ourselves that we are busy doing the most important stuff that we need to do. But if we unpicked how we were spending our time I’m very sure most people would find they have squandered a large percentage of it.
Are you?
Time is the scarcest commodity that exists as we cannot create more of it, so why do we find it so easy to let it drift through our fingertips?
Make a conscious decision
I’m a working mum and I have been ever since my eldest daughter was born in Dec 1999. When I first went back to work I made a very key decision.
I had the choice of sleep versus work.
I chose work! I made a very clear conscious decision to get up earlier so I could get to work sooner and finish earlier so I could spend more time in the evenings with my daughter. I could have chosen sleep but I knew I could cope with 1 hour less sleep a day but I didn’t want to compromise on the time I had with my baby girl as I knew that was more precious.
I take the same approach now.
I totally recognise that I can’t bend time and space to create more hours in the day, but I can choose exactly how I am going to utilise the time I have been blessed with.
I make a very conscious decision about how I am going to spend my time based on what is important to me, and that is my family and then my business.
I take control of my busy-ness!
I live my life very purposefully so I plan out my diary. Here’s what I do to help me stay productive but also to enable me to do the things I really want to… inside and outside my business.
First Step – Family Time!
Like you, I have certain things that I must do each month and which are already set in stone. These range from school fixtures (as I always want to be on the side-lines cheering my girls on), speaking at events, family occasions etc. These go in my diary first.
Second Step – Your Time
Next I layer in the additional time off that I want to take during the month (if you don’t you’ll soon find you’ve filled every space with ‘busy stuff’!).
Third Step – Client Time
I have a very vibrant client list so I always know how many client hours I need to allocate through the month to ensure I continue to deliver an excellent service to them. I allocate the meeting spaces into my diary so I know I can fit everything in.
Fourth Step – Business Time
Next I book out my “Biz Dev” time and “general stuff” time so I know I have the head space to write content and develop new programmes, do some personal development too, and also to send emails and the usual business related stuff.
The Result
The end result is a full diary which balances everything so I don’t have to stress about having enough time to do everything as I know I do.
I detest inefficiencies
As my business grew, and with it my busy-ness, I evolved my ability to squeeze every minute out of my diary.
I make every minute count by not allowing myself to deviate from what I have to get done.
I work in my car when my girls are at practice sessions and driving to and fro seems inefficient (you’d be surprised how much work you can get done when you have no distractions!).
I always have a list. I find if I’m a bit tired I easily end up being busy but not productive so I use a list to keep me totally focused on what I have to plough through.
I outsource all I can, to people who are better at that particular thing than me, so not only do I save myself time I end up with a better output.
I work when it impacts the least on my family rather than making them suffer because I have to work. Does that make sense? So I make the most of term time, and I might get up early on a Sunday to get a jump start on the week ahead while they have a lie in.
I stay focused on what’s important
I’ve found that the older I get the more adamant I’ve become about the hours I don’t work.
I really hate missing my youngest daughter’s bedtime (my eldest is so old now that I sometimes go to bed before she does!) so I avoid obligations that mean I need to.
I enjoy picking them up from school so I make sure I have the time to do that when they haven’t got clubs on that they want to stay for.
Quality family time is a huge driver for me. I grew up in a family business which meant my dad always worked very long hours and we didn’t have much time together except on family holidays. I don’t want my girls to be programmed to believe that you have to work yourself into the ground to run your own business or to be successful so we always have a chunk of time together every weekend.
But I do work hard…
I find my balance by making every minute I am working count fully, otherwise my business simply wouldn’t thrive. It would be sooooo easy to be so busy getting all the usual business stuff done that I wouldn’t have the time to grow my business. I just don’t let that happen.
I focus in ~6 week chunks and set out where I need to get to and then I simply blast through it all and make it happen.
You always make time for the things that are important to you.
Growing my business and spending time with my family are very important to me so I make both work. Neither one is out of balance with the other, because I work hard at keeping it that way.
Is everything in balance in your life? What changes could you make to balance things better so you are happier?
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