Benchmark Business Group

Time Management - Page 3

Time management is a critical aspect to all business owners and leaders.  It is the one resource you can't make more of and the one you need to protect the most.  One of our favorite quotes is Michael Gerber's quote which is "Time is another word for Life".   Owning a business is meant to add value to your life, which includes freeing up your time.  Below are a collection of articles on time management from our weekly Business Owner Insights.

Whiteboard Notebooks

Every so often we come across a simple idea, tool or resource that we just have to share with our clients. As business owners, we know that you've got a lot on your plate and can always use ideas and tools to help stay organized. This week we've got two words for you: Whiteboard Notebooks.

 

Read More about Whiteboard Notebooks

There's an app for that: Maximizing Time

There's an App for that! Join us throughout November as we look at apps (desktop and mobile) that small businesses owners should definitely know about.

 

Most business owners, and employees, have harsh feelings about tracking their time. There are a few who actually like it, though we have found when coaching our clients, most groan! We hear all sorts of excuses with one of the main ones being, "It takes me more time to track this then it does to do the work". And yet, as business coaches, we continue to assign this to clients, not because of some sick sense of humor, but because we know the value of tracking your time, IF done right.

Read More about There's an app for that: Maximizing Time

State of Distraction

It’s December and as a business owner you’re probably in a state of distraction. Those distractions can be fun such as your vacations and holiday parties. They can also be work related as you try to close deals before the end of the year, set goals for next year, and run end of the year processes.   The pressure is on and it’s there not just for you, but for your employees and customers as well. All of this while trying to run the day to day business operations that already occupy at least 40 hours of your week.   

Read More about State of Distraction

Money and Time

Some think that there is a clear analogy to money and time. We invest our money, we invest our time; we save our money, we save our time; we spend our money, we spend our time; we make more money, we make more.... This is where the analogy breaks down. Yes, there is something to be said about the investing, saving, and spending of both money and time, but you cannot make more time so you are left with two choices: Make it count the first time, or let time just slip away. Time is relentless and continues to tick by no matter what you do to slow it or stop it. This is why what Golda Meir once said is so important, "I must govern the clock, not be governed by it."

This past month we have focused on Time Bandits. Three common Bandits identified that will govern how we spend our time when we choose to not govern them were; e-mail, over committing, and employee interruptions. The proven system of "How to Implement Do Not Disturb Time" was made available as a tool that will help you to govern the clock rather than be governed by it. Take the system, implement it, use it, and watch your time become your own to do with as you choose.

Read More about Money and Time

How to Implement Do Not Disturb Time

Last week we discussed implementing "Do Not Disturb Time" as a way of combating Employee Interruptions.   If you're like most of the business owner's we've coached over the years that might sound a lot like Never Never Land: great to imagine, not so easy to implement.

The good news is that our business coaches have worked with hundreds of business owners, just like you, with great success of implementing time to work "ON" the business and not just "IN" the business...as Michael Gerber describes. 

Read More about How to Implement Do Not Disturb Time

Three Bandits that Steal your Time.

Where does your time go? How is it that you can come in at 7 AM and then at 6 PM suddenly realize that the day has completely passed you by? How did you miss dinner with your in-laws? (Okay, you may want to plead the Fifth on that one, but you get the idea.) Time is the one resource you cannot replace but use and allocate the worst. So, what happens to your time? How does it get away from you? What steals your time?

 

Time Bandits are responsible for stealing the better part of the day away from you and your business. They can include anything from answering the phone, having a cluttered desk, or having an unscheduled meeting. They can and will be different for everyone, but in the space below, you will find three common bandits that may be stealing your time.

Read More about Three Bandits that Steal your Time.

Planning to have a life outside your business

Most people take this time of year to talk about resolutions and planning. You know, the weight you’re going to lose, the new business you will bring in, the weight you’re going to lose, upgrading your business facilities, the weight you’re going to lose, and so on. In the context of your business, planning is usually all about revenues and profits, staff, equipment needs, and even how you as the business owner are intending to use your time more efficiently.  What about you?  Aren’t you one of your business’ most important assets?  Isn’t it important to your business, let alone yourself and your family, to maintain your health and your sanity?  Did you not go into business in part to create more freedom and a more enjoyable life?  How is that working?

This is a not-so-subtle reminder to plan for your time off. Plan some short days. Make plans for a vacation later in the year. Take the time you need to put your work/life balance back in order. Encourage your staff to do the same and they will thank you for it.

Read More about Planning to have a life outside your business

Real Time

We are born.  We die.  In between is Time.  And even though Time is what it is, we try to get our arms around it by measuring it…in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years.  But more importantly, we get to decide how to use it…every single one of us.  The Time that has gone by we will never see again (at least not in this lifetime).  We don’t know how much Time we have left.  We can no longer choose how to use the Time of yesterday…we already did that.  We don’t know if we’ll have a choice about the Time of tomorrow…hopefully each of us will.

The only Time we really know we have and can choose to use in a way that brings us joy and satisfaction is the Time happening NOW.  As a matter of fact, when you really think about it, the only Time that really matters is Real Time—the Time happening NOW.

Read More about Real Time
of 4
Showing 21-30 of 31
© 2024 Benchmark Business Group. All rights reserved.