What Am I Doing?
If I had to list the top ten deterrents to success that business people face today, the number one issue, hands down is time management. It is time management plus the business persons ability or lack thereof to prioritize their tasks! Have you ever found yourself asking, “What am I doing right now?” You catch yourself doing something that has no impact on your day or life, but you utilize your precious time with the useless task anyway. I see it every day as a business coach, struggling business owners, executives, sales people, managers of all kinds and teachers, parents and students. All working incredible amount of hours and still not getting everything that they think needs done, done!
I believe that the skill of time prioritization is one that is absolutely essential to personal and business success at all levels. There is a very specific system that can be implemented to get control of time and task prioritization and it all begins with what Brian Tracy calls, “The Law of Priorities.”
In his March 11, 2011 Time Management Success Newsletter Mr. Tracy writes, “The very worst use of your time is to do what need not be done at all. The Pareto Principle says that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of the value of your activities. This means that, if you have a list of ten items to accomplish, two of those items will be worth more than the other eight items altogether.
To achieve great things, you must always be concentrating on the small number of activities that contribute the greatest value to your life and your work.
The value of anything in your order of priorities can be measured by assessing the potential consequences of doing it or not doing it. Something that is important has significant consequences to your life and your career. Something that is unimportant has few or no consequences of significance to your life or career. The mark of the superior thinker is your ability to consider possible consequences before you begin.
Continually ask yourself, “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?” And whatever it is, work on that. Your ability to discipline yourself to work on those few tasks that can make the greatest difference in your life is the key quality that makes everything else possible for you.
Imagine that you are going to receive a $100,000 bonus at the end of the month if you can work on your highest priority items every minute of the day. How would that change your behavior? What would you do differently?”
Utilizing a proven yet simple time management process is hard because it requires a heavy dose of personal discipline. Just doing the seemingly easy things can be the hardest things that you’ll ever attempt to do. You’ll really be challenged and find out how “tough” you really are. But when it comes to time management and task prioritization I have found that your life and business can be improved even if you’re just thinking about time management and task prioritization.
So make an effort to understand the basics and implement something, anything. Lost time cannot be retrieved or reacquired and lost time to a business person is lost opportunity and I honestly don’t know anyone that can truly afford that!
If you need help, call me today for a free preview of a powerful, proven and simple time management and task prioritization process. It can change your life….It will be worth your time!
Coach Dan