How many business owners do you know that are forever telling you that they are ‘just SO busy’? Are you one of them?
In business, there are two types of ‘busy’. The first is the genuine busy where you really are busy doing things that are highly productive and profitable. The second type of busy is the one where you are busy, but the things you are doing are not profitable or productive items. Of course we want to avoid the second type of busy, but how?
Awareness as the business owner is key. Be aware of the activities and the items that you are prioritising in your day. A simple action to take is to set an alarm to go off every hour. When the alarm sounds, stop and ask yourself this one simple question – ‘Is what I am doing right now, the most effective use of my time?’ Do this for a day or two and you will discover all of those things that are distracting you from what you really should be doing in your business.
We all know when we are doing activities that could be delegated to someone else, or an activity that is a total distraction and we need to stop doing or when we are simply procrastinating on the things we know we should be doing, but for some reason we are avoiding them. Being busy can make you feel good as a business owner as you think you are working hard, but the challenge is that if the items you are doing are not productive or profitable, then you are working for nothing. Stop right now and think about what you did today or yesterday? Were all of your activities high priority, effective items that will help you grow and build your business or create profit in your business?
Time management is a myth because you can’t manage time. Whether you like it or not, every 60 minutes means an hour has passed and with every 24 hours a day has gone by. You can not stop, speed up or slow down time. You can’t manage time. Time management is actually the process of personal management. It is making sure that you are carrying out the activities that are the most productive and hopefully profitable activities in your business.
So as this month continues to tick by, stop and ask yourself if you are using the time available to you in the most effective, productive and profitable way. Then of course, if the answer is no, change what you are doing!
If you are a ‘busy’ business owner, one of the ways you can gain back some of their time in an effective manner is to outsource your bookkeeping.
Remember all our Bookkeeping Specialists offer a FREE initial consultation so the next time you hear a business owner complaining that they are just ‘SO busy’, please give them my details.
