Beating The Clock
By Sheila Hawkins
Most people hustle every day trying to beat the clock, barely getting things done. This hustle is absolute madness and a vicious cycle to be caught up in. Although the desire to stop that madness is there, the truth is that once you’re caught up in it, it’s hard to get out, especially if you just don’t know how.
The magic number is 1,440! Wondering what that is? It's the number of minutes that you get every day. The key is to not spend your time, but to invest your time. These are two very distinctly different things. If you’re spending time, you may be getting things done, but the things that are getting done aren’t impacting the future and in most cases, those particular things are not related to values or even to the goals that one has created. When an individual invests their time, the things that they spend time on are directly related to their goals and larger projects that help move them forward and accomplish the big picture that they’ve created. There really is a big difference when it comes to spending and investing your time, just as it is when it comes to money. When you invest your time, there is a valuable payoff for your investment.
If you’re simply spending your time, you’re not experiencing that larger, more valuable payoff. When you spend time, you are often busy but not productive. You spin your wheels instead of getting things done, end up reinventing the wheel many times because certain things aren’t streamlined and you don’t have systems in place to support you. With all of this going on and more things being added to your plate, it creates a noise that makes it hard to hear anything, and you stay caught up in the vicious cycle, which will definitely have anyone frustrated and ready to pull their hair out.
This daily hustle is a result of tasks and projects not being directly related to values and goals; taking on too much and jam packing to-do lists and calendars; not having or knowing priorities; the inability to or not knowing when to say “no”; and the lack of tools, systems and habits. When this is happening, there simply cannot be an investment of time because things are set up that way. Without these things in play, one is only equipped to spend their time.
To flip the script, step back and take a look at your time investment portfolio. What does is look like? Does it contain things that help support you, or is it reminiscent of someone who’s doing that daily hustle? What things have you collected in your time investment portfolio and how are those things impacting you? If it’s full of the things from the daily hustle, you need a new portfolio. Next, identify your values, then, based upon your values, create S.M.A.R.T. goals and prioritize them. The things that you do on a daily basis filter down from the goals that you’ve created. This keeps your tasks directly in line with your values and your goals.
Define regular blocks of time that you need to accomplish regular tasks then define and implement systems with processes to carry those things out to help streamline those tasks. Identify tools that will help support you, for instance, determine what tool fits your personality and start using it to manage your time. This is the foundation of your time management system. Maximize its use by employing every feature hat it affords you, and then set up the other pieces of your time management system. Additionally, create any other systems that you need for business (filing, client management, accounting, etc). To keep things flowing it’s necessary to develop new habits; ones that support you instead of hindering you. Without new habits in place, they systems and tools won’t work. One new habit that you must put into action is saying “no”. Saying it won’t hurt you; not speaking up will have you spending time and taking on too much, which is not what you want to do. Make adjustments to anything that doesn’t work by looking at why it’s not working first, which will make finding a solution easier. Each of these things is something that you want in your time investment portfolio. Doing so will have you move from the vicious cycle of spending time to investing your time.
©2012 Sheila Hawkins
©2012 Sheila Hawkins, Third Eye Group. All Rights Reserved. Sheila Hawkins is President/CEO of Third Eye Group. She has been dubbed The Do It In Time DivaTM because of her time management expertise. She's also known for her excellent organizing skills and her ability to transform and personalize the environments and systems that she creates for her clients and helping people increase their productivity.
Hawkins helps busy entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and small business owners get the most out of their time, increase their productivity and positively impact their bottom line by helping them create new habits and environments that support them, get things done and still have time left for themselves and family. Services include office organizing, time management, productivity training and coaching, and project management. Additionally, the company provides workshops and electronic products for individuals, business owners and company work teams. Sheila is a contributing writer for The New Face of Leadership magazine, the Detroit Black Pages and is currently writing her first book. Learn more about Third Eye Group by visiting www.thirdeyegroup.org or contact the company via email at info@thirdeyegroup.org.
