Written by: Lotta Spjut, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Have You ever felt that You wanted more hours in a day? If so, this article is for You.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. — Albert Einstein
First, no matter how much You want the days to have 26 or 28 hours instead of 24, it will not happen when it comes to the number of hours. One of few “fair” deals in life, no matter who we are, is the 24 hours we get each day.
Though there are ways how to manage the hours we have in a time-effective way, and that will make us "feel" that we have the extra hours we want and "need." This is called Time management!
Time management is not just important for You in your business, but in your everyday life as well. Remember, EVERYBODY IS GIVEN THE SAME 24 HOURS – How you use it is up to you! You have probably heard someone saying, "Time is money," and that is true and, in another way, time and money are far away from each other. Money You can save for later or get new ones. Time, You cannot save for later, and any “wasted” time is gone – forever! So, make every second count.
Why Time Management?
16 years ago, when I decided to retire from my employee profession and be my boss and employee full time, I did not actively think about time management. My schedule was more than full of a 100% profession as a teacher, study and writing my master’s degree 50%, consulting people about health in the evenings and with a family at home. Before I took this decision, I had my home-based business parallel for 5 months. At that time, I did not think about when to do it; it was only one more thing that I put into the calendar when there was some space.
Then, my first time with "only" my own business, what happened? I got paralyzed and didn´t know what to do or where to start. Suddenly I had an "empty" calendar to fill up.
Going from employee and know exactly what to do to be your boss and employee working from home can be a challenge for many of us in the beginning. Suddenly You see that there are things at home that You "should" fix and bang, the hours have run away, and the day is over, and You haven´t done the things that Your business needed You to do. Then comes the
bad conscience and feeling of stress.
My savior out from the paralyzed stage was understanding and applying time management tools and to get my time organized. And that is not as boring as it might sound like.
It is almost "impossible" to accomplish anything without being organized to some degree. To eat breakfast each day, you must have all "products" before you can eat it! The same is when baking a cake. Make sure You have the ingredients before putting anything into the bowl. Your business is no different – so let’s put everything out to make sure we have all the ingredients! Days are expensive. When you spend a day, You have one less day to spend. So, make sure You spend each one wisely.
Time is a created thing. To say, “I don’t have time” is to say "I don't want to". — Steve Jobs
Where to start?
The most successful entrepreneurs use their time wisely, and the tool for manage Your time is very simple. So simple that most of us tend not to do it because we believe it make no difference. Though it will! It might not make a difference over one night, but if you stay consistent and use these tools, You will see a big difference, not only in Your business but also when it comes to managing the rest of Your life.
The first thing to do is to get an overview of your time; You, use, do an inventory of Your hours for one week.
We all have the same number of hours in one week, 168 hours. You can´t save it, and you can't get it back, so use it wisely. How are You using Your 168 hours?
Many people today have a full-time job or studies and have their own business on the side. Then it is even more important to do the inventory step:
When this step is done, You know how many hours/week You have for Your business and the other parts of life.
Now it is time to use the 2 most simple but powerful Time management tools.
1. WEEKLY PLANNING – COLOR-MARKED
Use a weekly plan sheet from Word or use Your calendar or any other weekly plan sheet. Now You are going to color Your time and subjects. Start to put in Your business working hours each day and mark with, for example, yellow. If You have another work or studies, You also fill in these hours with another color. Then You fill in Your hobby/free time/own time each day with, for example, orange. Next to fill up is family/friend time with, for example, blue and weekly “must do” with grey.
You do this every Sunday, and it doesn´t need to be precise on the minute, but this is Your base for the next step and tool. Remember that if You don´t fill up and mark Your calendar, someone else will, and You are no longer captain of Your business and life.
2. DAILY 6 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS-TO-DO LIST
Take a sheet (paper, notebook, calendar) where You write down the six “action” items that You will do the NEXT day. You write them down BEFORE you go to bed so you will have a clear plan of what you will do the next day. You are making a list like the boss of Your business.
The items should be in priority order. The 6 most important things list is designed to put your most important item at the TOP of the list and knock it out first… then everything else will feel much easier. You don´t jump around in the list. Doing that will always leave You with the most challenging task left, and that one should be done first.
The 6 items should be items that you can do in one day, and You match Your list with the working hours You have marked in your weekly plan, tool 1 (long projects is not for the daily list unless broken down into daily tasks).
They should be the items that matter for Your business and not mixed up with private/family life. If You want, You can use the same tool for a private Six most important To-Do lists.
Notice that each task should be specific and can be measured and done the same day, not things like “grow my business” or things that do not produce results like “think about ways to increase customers”.
You want to be able to check these items off. And if an item is not completed for some reason, move it to the first point for the next day.
In the morning (or when Your working hours start the next day), You take the list and start to do Your work. Now You are the employee.
Then you repeat the same thing in the evening for the next day and so on. Also, remember to review Your lists to see if any adjustments should be made.
WHY IS IT SO EFFECTIVE?
The man behind this tool/method is Ivy Lee, and James Clear, the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones," elaborated on why Lee´s strategy has stood the test for over 100 years and here's his summary of why it is so effective:
It's simple enough to work.
It forces you to make tough decisions.
It removes the friction of starting. The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. Lee's method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. It's simple, but it works. In the beginning, getting started is just as important as succeeding at all.
It requires you to single-task. The myth of multi-tasking is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. Study world-class experts in nearly any field—athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs—and you'll discover one characteristic that runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You can't be great at one task if you're constantly dividing your time ten different ways. Mastery requires focus and consistency.
The bottom line? Do and follow the 6 Most important things every day. It's the only productivity trick you need.
13 Summary Tips to round up with
Create Your daily “Six Most Important Things List”! Learn to Prioritize - Prioritizing your responsibilities and engagements is very important.
Make a weekly plan sheet. Fill in every spot possible and place it on the fridge or somewhere that all family members can see it. Make sure their time is on the sheet so that they get used to telling you ahead of time when it is Your time with them.
Set aside a specific time weekly to run errands. That way, you’re not running all over town several times.
Update a datebook or calendar app on your phone. Write everything in it. The busier you “look, remember have,” the more you will get accomplished.
Be your boss. Set your alarm and get up, get dressed for business, and be ready for whatever. Walking around in sleeping clothes will not make You into a working mood.
Set a time for non-business work. Even if you must set a timer, remember you remember have, to remember to have a schedule to follow. On non-business time, get whatever you must do done, and do your best to “leave” the business during this time.
Don't extinguish small fires. This means that don´t run after the things that come up if it is not something You should have run after if You were at a workplace as an employee. You cannot just leave the workplace place to go home and take the laundry, for example.
Don't take personal calls during business work time. Don't do things during the business time that is not business-related.
Delegate! What things do you currently do that you could delegate?
Listen to inspirational, educational videos/audios while driving, cooking, etc. Get into a habit.
Double booking has been a lifesaver. If You are in a people-connected business, this cuts down on becoming discouraged when someone cancels or postpones. Especially use this for someone that has canceled before or is not dependable!
Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being busy. The question is: Busy doing what?
Learn how to say NO. Don't let your mouth overload your back.
And last but not least, remember to give the tools some time for it to become a routine. Your first days and weeks You might feel that it is not working out, but it will work for sure with consistency, and just think of the day when You feel You are the captain of Your time.
You can Do it! And why not join the TNT- group with me? Today Not Tomorrow!
Never leave ’till tomorrow which You can do today.
— Benjamin Franklin
To learn more from Lotta, you can visit her website and connect with her social media accounts; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.
Lotta Spjut, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Lotta Spjut has a passion and drives to inspire and empower people around the Globe and to use the skills they have, learn new skills, grow themself and become successful entrepreneurs.
She has made hundreds and hundreds of lectures, private and public training, always built on empiric knowledge. Only sharing what she has experienced herself and that inspires many people also to do the same. Not to compare with her or anyone else but to get inspired and understand that if she can, they can. Lotta has done it for one person, smaller groups, bigger groups, and she has done it for millions of people online. The amount is not important for her; it is what each person gets out of it.
Lotta is a TEDx speaker, and she was nominated to one of 20 Global Women Leaders to Look up to 2021 by Passion Vista & Unified Brainz. She has today hundreds of thousands of people all over the world that she mentor and train in leadership, personal development, and entrepreneurship.
Her background is as an Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working with leadership. She has a Master's Degree in Didactic and Bachelor of Education and many years of experience as a teacher in elementary school and at University. ICF Pro Executive Coach, coaching CEO´s in different businesses. Bachelor's degree as a health and nutrition developer. Worked and educated people in the health, nutrition, and fitness industry. Lottas main business over the last decades has been as a full-time Professional Networker & Business Coach, and Global speaker.
Lotta is skilled in Leadership, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Team Building, and Management. Strong business development, and from 2015, she has also developed good knowledge in the area of cryptocurrency.
Her favorite quote is from Arthur Ashe: Start where You are, use what You have, and Do what You can!
You don´t need to be great to start, but You need to start to be great, and Lotta´s mission is to help as many people as possible to convert their dreams and goals into action and to be the captain of their lives.
