Time management system for successful entrepreneurs
As Business Coach to successful entrepreneurs, I have come to the realization of how some business owners reflect about time, and the reasons many of them are not great time managers. For many, time is always running out. In this post, I will share a simple proven time management concept that can change the way you work, and double your outcomes in less time, if you apply it.
The popularity of time management has increased so much because even the people who struggle with managing their own time claim to be expert in time management. Regardless these claims and proliferation of time management systems and tools in the marketplace, lack of time has been the Number One challenge facing majority of small and medium size business owners around the globe. This often results in various forms of complications that inhibit growth in business.
Similarly, the temptation to get involved in every activity that goes on in the business further takes time away from entrepreneurs to focus on their core entrepreneurial functions. Rather than channelling their Unique Strengths only in money-making activities, they tend to become the proverbial “Jack of All Trade,” and get stuck in “Activity Trap.”
Dealing with Entrepreneur’s Time Management Complexity
Time is at the center of every business activity. Successful entrepreneurs understand the secret of effective time management and use it to create massive value in the marketplace that produces the enormous freedoms they enjoy. This is not the secret about “To-Do listing,” management of calendar, diary or some forms of mobile devices.
Entrepreneur’s Time System is a concept that totally transforms business owner’s mindset to consider and use time differently. Focusing on Unique Strength and pleasure, it lets you channel your energy on executing only the activities you love and are good at in your business.
The starting point is to simply divide your entire week, month or year into just three days; Open Day, Vision Day, and Clean Up Day. Each day is unique and presents you with an important outlook, specific to the day. This helps you to maximise the opportunities that come with it. The downside is that you may struggle if you do not structure your activities in a way that maximise each day’s opportunity.
For example:
Day 1 – Open Day
An Open Day refers to a day, when no business activity is to be undertaken. The day is kept completely free for you to rejuvenate. Open Days are useful because they give you the freedom to take enough rest from the hustling and busting of business in order to increase your creativity and performance.
Day 2 – Vision Day
A Vision Day is the day you leverage your Unique Strength to do only the aspect of work you love and know how to do best in your business that also produces the highest outcomes. In The EntreCoach™ Program, we call this type of work your Money-Making activity. Unique Strength could be talents or key motivations that inspire you to enjoy what you do.
Vision Days are not the same for every entrepreneur. They are days when you focus on accomplishing only about 80% of your core money-making activities. The activities may range from attending speaking engagements, conducting business coaching sessions with clients, designing client’s websites, writing a book, or composing a song. It could also be making a sales call or consulting for a client; those activities you do that give enormous value to your customers and actually pulls money into your business bank account.
Day 3 – Clean Up Days
As the name implies, a Clean Up Day is a day to clean up all the messes and clutters around you. Obviously, Clean Up Days are useful to help deal with everything that could potentially sabotage your ability to achieve 80% of your Unique Strength in a typical Vision Day.
Clean Up Day’s activities range from reading business books, replying or deleting backlog of emails, emptying the drawers or wardrobes, decluttering your workspace, learning new skills, or meeting with your team members. For example, if you were in public speaking business or business coaching, part of your Clean UP Day activities could be reviewing of your speech, preparing presentation slides, or researching new coaching tools. It could also be a day for attending networking meeting, conducting interviews for new employees, or negotiating JV partnership with prospective partners.
Since time management is important to entrepreneurs, I would like to challenge you to apply what I have shared with you on this post for about 3 weeks and let me know the results you achieved.
Nkem Paul is President and founder of Cognition Global Concepts, Cambridge. Nkem specialises in supporting entrepreneurs and business leaders to develop high performance capacity to build self-sustaining enterprises and multiply profitability. He’s author of many books and Creator of The EntreCoach™ Program.