“Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“I just don’t have the time!” How often have you found yourself lying awake at night, unable to sleep, in a state of panic with an overwhelming fear of there just not being enough time to get everything done and meet those deadlines? It’s a challenging place to be in and one that is both mentally and physically draining.

Time is a powerful thing and it has the capabilities to restrict and constrain us. Many a plan for growth and development has been quashed by time and, “If only’s…’. Ineffective use of time can effectively hold us prisoner and can lead to us constantly playing catch up and hinder achievement or progression towards our goal. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Time and in particular, time management can be mastered and, the rewards for doing so can be significant.

Just think about it, there is one thing in life that is limited and that is time. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have – you can’t buy more time. In a way it is the great equaliser. We are all granted the same number of hours in our day. But, it is what we choose to do with that time that makes the real difference. So how is it that some people appear to utilise their time better than others whilst the rest seem to flounder, working exceptionally hard, but achieving very little.

The starting point is being consciously aware of how we use our time and to make sure we use it as effectively as we possibly can. To do that we need to understand that we can‘t manage our time we can only manage ourselves. Below are some helpful tips and advice for taking back control of you and your time.

Have a Plan –

If you are to make effective use of your time, you have to know what it is you should be doing and when. Always have your end goals and long-term plans in sight and utilise reverse-engineering in order to identify the necessary steps you need to take in order to achieve your objectives.

Keep it efficient, effective and goal driven.

It may seem time consuming and rather dull, particularly when time is of the essence, but planning your calendar will ensure that you are working productively and not being bogged down by the menial tasks that keep you busy, but don’t actually move you forward towards your long-term plan. It also means you don’t have to waste time and energy thinking about what it is you should be doing and you can just get on with it. When planning be as specific as possible, be disciplined and hold yourself accountable. This also saves time between the end of one task and the beginning of another (a critical void where time can be lost). It avoids procrastination, helping you become proactive rather than reactive.

However, this isn’t just a ‘To Do List’ containing things

you would like to do but rarely complete, thus leaving you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Instead think about creating a ‘To Day List’. This is a closed list with items whose value and importance has been prequalified against your long-term, big picture goals and will move you a step closer to achieving the outcome you have already decided is important for you. One way of doing this is to use the ‘Urgent-Important’ Quadrants (see graphic above) to assist you. Focus on the crucial tasks first and remember to always ask yourself, is what you’re doing conducive to producing the results that you crave? This will help you to feel organised and relieve stress. But, don’t be a perfectionist. Sometimes the ‘minimal viable product’ is good enough for certain tasks, leaving you time to focus on the important tasks.

This process will also mean that you will become more protective of your time and less vulnerable to distractions and procrastination. Frame your calendar and life to reflect how you want it to be by being intentional with your time and making each day count.

Remember, if you don’t have your own plan, you’ll quickly become part of someone else’s.

Become more protective of our time – Be conscious!

We’ve all heard the old saying, ‘time is money’ and in business this is true; time is our most valuable commodity.

If I were to take £100 from your pocket, how would you feel? Angry, annoyed, shocked? It is highly likely that you would hold negative feelings towards me and feel wronged. Yet, if I were to disrupt you from your work, break your ow of concentration and cause you to disengage from the task you were working on for what is usually a trivial matter, you probably wouldn’t think too much of it. It’s a common occurrence in any workspace. But, although the two scenarios may appear unconnected, there is very little difference between the two. By interrupting you mid- ow, you are being robbed of your time and with it the opportunity of utilising it effectively and productively in order to move your business forwards. I’m not saying you have to become cold and heartless and avoid all human interaction, but, you do need to think about how much of your time is being ‘stolen’ by the time vampires as Dan Kennedy calls them and wasted on trivial matters. Learn to say NO! It is not just the interruption itself, but the amount of time it takes for us to re-engage with the task and get back to where we were before the interruption. One way to avoid this is to time-block and block out periods of your day or week so that you have the necessary peace and quiet to perform the necessary tasks to better your business.

So, a question to think about is, ‘how much is your time worth?’ Or, perhaps more importantly, how much are you worth? Think about what you could be doing with your time and ask yourself, ‘Is what I’m doing going to give me the highest return for my investment of time?’ In other words, is it the most effective and productive use of your time in moving your business to the next level.

The 80:20 Principle – Work Smart!

Following on from above is the 80:20 Principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, after Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto. This principle purports that 80% of your outcomes and results come from only 20% of your inputs and actions. Thus, making it essential that you know where your sweet spot is and what work produces the most return for your business.

Devote the appropriate focus and time to these tasks and don’t allow yourself to be distracted by drains on your productivity such as telephone calls, emails and checking social media etc.

What is the 80:20 in your business that provides the greatest return for the time and energy you invest?

Looking After Yourself –

If like me, you have a bit of a sweet tooth this one is unlikely to go down too well. But, it is an essential point. In order to make effective use of your time you have to be running at optimum capacity – mentally and physically. How often have you tried to do a task that should only take a few minutes yet it turns into a mammoth task, simply because you were either, tired, hungry or distracted? Listen to your body and what it is telling you and plan breaks into your calendar.

So, even if it is a quick home workout or a walk around the park, make sure you do something to get the heart rate up. This is important, it gets the blood owing and helps us to feel energised, focused and much more switched on and engaged. Also making sure you get enough sleep and ensuring that your body is getting the nutrition it needs is essential for you and your business’ success. One way to do this is to view your body as a car and the food you are consuming as the fuel. Would your car pass its M.O.T or is it time for an oil change?

After all, what is the point in having a highly successful business, if its owner isn’t around to see it flourish!

Finally, make sure you create an environment around you that is conducive for productivity and growth. The people we surround ourselves with and our working environment all play a part in whether we achieve our goals.

In closing, when we say that there isn’t enough time, are we being truthful with ourselves or is it a lack of preparation and effective use of that time – are we not looking closely enough at how we ‘spend’ our time? There is an old proverb, ‘More haste, less speed.’ When we effectively manage ourselves we are able to concentrate, focus and spend more time on what is important to us and ultimately, this is what will lead to a feeling of fulfilment and significance in both our personal and professional lives.