Before you start to plan every minute of your day, remember there are no gold stars for being busy. You do get gold stars when you honor your time and that includes giving yourself time to focus on the big things that keep your business moving forward. Extra credit is given when you take time away from your business to take care of yourself and dream big.
It’s especially important to keep this in mind during the holiday season when we have so much on our plates. It sounds easier said than done, but the key to honoring your time is to keep things simple.
Importance of Time Management
If you’re not being intentional with your time, you lose focus and the end product suffers. When you’re too focused on busy work, your attention is divided and you fail to gain momentum.
Having a plan in place keeps you grounded and gives you the ability to focus on what really matters. Not only will you feel more accomplished and a sense of satisfaction, your business will grow. You might not see a massive impact immediately but the long term effects of planning your time will lead to great benefits.
Keep your schedule simple. If having a to do list helps keep you focused, try keeping it to no more than 4 tasks per day and break larger projects into smaller, bite-sized pieces. While 4 tasks might not seem like a lot, as business owners, things are constantly changing and new things are popping up. It’s important to make space for those tasks too!
How you can honor your time
Business owners have a lot on their plate and it may feel like the work is never ending. But if you don’t respect your own time, who will?
Say ‘no’. If there’s an event you don’t want to attend or don’t have time for, it’s okay to pass.
Set boundaries. If you wake up dreading the tasks on your to-do list, delegate or outsource them.
Make time for yourself. Our calendars fill up so quickly with projects and things for others that we fail to make ourselves a priority.
Don’t overcommit. One of the fastest ways to burn out? Being everything to everyone. Limit your interactions to those family and friends that support you. Busy a busy entrepreneur can sometimes mean missing family events, holidays and other social events. If attending isn’t in your best interest, it’s okay to say ‘no’. Those that love you will understand.
Have patience with your business. Slow and steady wins the race. Before adding another project, ask yourself if it’s really necessary for your business and if now is the right time. You may want to consider postponing the project until you can give it your full attention.
Stick to your priorities
Reevaluate your activities. Does your workload feel simple or overwhelming? If you’re dreading a task before you’ve even started, then you should outsource or delegate it. Successful business owners don’t need to burn the candle at both ends.
Keep your life simple, be clear on your priorities and essentials. You are in control of your time, honor it instead of letting life or others dictate how it’s spent. Take inventory of what you’re spending your time on, is it busy work or high impact activities that are in alignment with your goals?
Importance of rest
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. One of the biggest challenges business owners face is taking time to rest or for self care. We cannot stress this enough!
Block out time for rest on your calendar. If it’s not on your calendar, it won’t get done. Rest can be a 15 minute walk between conference calls, or even a 20 minute nap in the middle of the day. Be disciplined with your schedule, plan out your sleep if you can!
Create a culture for your employees to honor their time
When you’re clear with how you will spend your time, it sets the tone and creates a culture where your employees will do the same. And that makes everyone feel fulfilled.
When it comes to managing your time, keep it simple. Be realistic for how you will spend your time. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel good to have a long, never ending to-do list at the end of each day. Plan out what you can get done and be disciplined to get it done. You’ve got this!
Tell us, what’s one thing you will do to better honor your time?
