Time Management: How to Find Time
We live in a busy world and time is always of the essence. There is so much to do, so little time to do it. We often find ourselves saying “If only I had more time!” Well, if like most, you are on the constant hunt for more time, read on as we highlight some key points from Darren Hardy’s recent article “How to Wind the Ward Against the Clock” published in Success Magazine.
Hardy points out that, really, we ALL- Oprah, the guy who never gets anything done, the busy mom who somehow raises 9 kids and get them everywhere on time, top CEOs, billionaires and bum- have the same amount of time. There are 24 hours in each day and there’s just simply not any way to change that. What we can change, however, is how we use that time and learn to do what Hardy calls “manufacturing time.”
Hardy lists three ways in that we can “manufacture time.”
1. Invest Time
Invest time now to manufacture time later.
Hardy gives the example of getting Global Entry- an all access pass to breeze through security and customs when traveling. In order to get Global Entry you have to fill out a lot of paperwork (time!) and then go in person to an interview (lots of time!). At first glance this seems like a waste of sweet precious time that you never have enough of but once the initial time is invested and the Global Entry is granted, you SAVE time. From then on, each time you travel you “manufacture” time, precious minutes you would otherwise have spent in long security lines. Hardy estimated that the application process took him 5 hours and that the Global Entry saves him 15 minutes each time he travels. Since he travels 100+ times a year, that 5 hour cost is well worth the 25 hours “manufactured” in the course of a year.
So, lets apply that to your life. What little things can you do now to manufacture time later? Maybe its setting up auto deposit on your bank account or auto bill pay for utilities. Maybe its leaving a bag of travel toiletries already packed, therefore saving you a few precious minutes each time you pack for a trip.
2. Get Help and Delegate
Hardy uses the goal of earning $250,000 this year as an example. Working full time for that amount of earnings, your time is worth $125 an hour. There are plenty of things most entrepreneurs do that are not worth $125 an hour, think filing, mailing things, updating Facebook or Twitter accounts, sorting through endless unimportant emails, etc. You would never think of paying someone $125 an hour to do those things but that’s essentially what you’re doing when you do them yourself. Hire help! Delegate. Even paying someone $40 an hour to do those things you would manufacture time. For every 1.5 hours they work, one full hour is manufactured for you. If they work 15 hours a week, you now have manufactured 10 hours at your rate that you didn’t have before. Over a year that adds up to 520 hours or 65 days! You do have to take some time to create the job description, find, hire and train the staff but the payoff is still sweet.
3. Set Up Systems
Its estimated that you and each person in your business spend at least 40 percent of the workday on recurring tasks. Set up systems to handle those tasks and –bam– time is freed up allowing you all to do more in the same number of working hours.
For more tips on how to increase your productivity and what to do to start systemizing your business, check out Darren Hardy’s free video series Wicked Awesome Tricks.