What is your relationship with time?
I loved a quote I saw recently by Robin Sharma;
‘Show me your schedule and I’ll show you your values’
We all have heard about how time is our most precious asset, and how we all have the same hours in the day, it’s what we do with them that counts.
I think this really does come down to two basic principles; 1. Being clever with your time and 2. diary management.
1. Being clever with your time
Neen James, a thought leader partner based in the US has a wonderful concept called “Folding Time”. How can you literally ‘fold’ time so that you get twice as much done in the same amount of time?
One example of how I do this, is that when I am walking to or from my office, I am either on the phone connecting with the people I need to, or listening to webinars or online programs (I am essentially an auditory learner, and don’t need to see the pictures to get a handle on what’s being discussed).
I think we also can bloat time. Recently I was trying to pop a Facebook advert up around a webinar I am hosting, and before I knew it, over an hour had passed, and I was really no closer to having the advert published. This again demonstrates the value of hiring someone else to do things you don’t particularly like.
2. Diary management
Christina Guidotti, my wonderful mentor, is an absolute powerhouse in productivity. I must confess I used to think that strict diary management and particularly color-coded diary management was a little bit anal but keeping a really, really clear idea on how I am spending my time has been fundamental to my success.Christina has helped me see that, and to use my diary, powerfully, so that I am spending focused time getting more done, and managing my days effectively,
One example of this, is that I now have two delivery days for my one on one clients, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On these days, I have back-to-back meetings with my wonderful clients. (with around a 30 minute buffer between each appointment, depending on how well I stick to the agreed hour). At the end of these days, I feel so energized, as those of you who also coach will know. I do make sure that my first appointment isn’t until 10am, so I can spend beforehand setting up my day.
On the other days, I am focused purely on selling, or working on my practice, rather than delivery. It wasn’t always this way; I used to have my coaching appointments scattered throughout the week, but it meant that I found myself not having decent carved out timeframes to really get other stuff done.
Have a think about the way that you work, and consider how you can be clever with your time, and manage your diary.
