Business owners around the world have the same issue – so much to do and so little time available. Rushing from one meeting or crisis to the next, it’s easy to get to the end of the day or even the week and feel like you’ve achieved very little.
There are a number of killers to a business owner’s productivity and it’s not all about time management but more the management of our attention.
With the increase in technology we have become increasingly available. Team members come to your office door, you have email, mobile phone, and skype, just to name a few of them!
Like you, I have often struggled with my time management, or more specifically, my productivity. One of the big opportunities I identified was to reclaim the time between appointments. I realised I wasted anything from 15 minutes to an hour between meetings thinking it wasn’t worth starting a new task and as a result, frittered the time away.
During a coaching session with one of my favourite coaching clients we talked about breaking things down into 30 minute segments of time. I decided I needed to give it a go too.
I now call it my ’30 minute business dash’.
When I have a segment of time to fill, I pick a task from my list, turn off all the distractions by closing my email and turning my phone to silent, and set a timer for 30 minutes (if I only have 15 minutes then I just set it for 15).
If I am in my office I use a kitchen timer that ticks, the rhythmic ticking seems to help set the space and reminds me that I am on a mission.
You will be amazed at how much you can get done in the time frame.
Then what? When you complete the ’30 Minute Business Dash’ you’ll either have finished the task or be part way through the task.
If you’re on a roll and have more time, reset the timer and do another 30 minute dash – either to complete the unfinished task or start a new task.
The key is not to stop working for the whole 30 minutes. If you finish your task in 20 minutes start the next one and use the last 10 minutes well.
I have found this strategy a good way to beat procrastination. 30 minutes doesn’t seem like a big commitment and when facing a huge task, 30 minutes to tackle a small part of it can be just what’s needed to create momentum and ultimately get it done.
