Time Management

News Flash – there is still only 24 hours in a day. Why then, do business owners plan their to-do list as if there were more? In small businesses there is never a lack of work to be done. And yet, there’s tremendous pressure on business owners to get more...

We hear it all the time from small business owners, "I'm just too busy." And we get it, because we are busy too. But in order to get what you really want from your business, it is important for you to take a good look at what you are busy...

There’s a popular story about time management. Chances are you’ve heard it. The short version is… a professor shows his class a glass container, he adds big rocks to the container until they reach the top. He asks the class if it’s full. Some say yes, some say no. He...

Proactive Procrastination. It may be an oxymoron. It may even be a phrase we've coined. But the practice of it works.

In our previous Business Insight, we identified that interruptions can be costing you and others in your business up to three hours of productive time every day. Let's repeat that - Interruptions can cost your business 3 hours of productive time every day! They draw you away from what you are focused on and take you into what others are focused on, reducing your ability to effectively achieve your priorities.

"There isn't enough time in the day!" We hear business owners say this all the time. Followed with, "If only everyone would leave me alone, I could get some work done!" Or, "If I could shut-off my phone and email, then I could focus!"

Last week, we discussed the "Busy Trap" in which many small businesses get stuck. We discussed the pitfalls of being busy, and the impact it can have on your business. What we also know is that most small business owners that we work with have excellent customer care regardless of how busy they get.

It seems like our society, now more than ever, uses phrases such as, "I've been busy" or "It's been busy" as a badge of honor. It has quickly become the standard answer for, "How are things going" or "How's your business been?"

Here we go again. It is January and another new year. Time for those well-intentioned New Year's Resolutions most of us never seem to be able to keep. Do we lack so much discipline, or could it be our resolutions are just a wee bit unrealistic in the first place? Are we trying to bite off more than we can chew, or have we just now come to expect failure and disappointment when it comes to our "resolutions"?