Time management in business

[fanocks2003]

I don't know about you, but I am very fond of using time management in business. My day usually look like this from a time management stand point (since yesterday):

2 hours 30 minutes - email (not more than this).
10 minutes - reading online business news.
1 hour - reading a book.
10 minutes - talk on the telephone (this requires dicipline I gotta tell you).
30 minutes - write messages on forums and also reading forum threads (a way of keeping up with other peoples ideas).

This is a typical working day for me right now. I use, as you can see if you calulate the time used above, 3 hours 21 minutes for work each day. This may seem extreme, but believe me you can get many things done in 3 hours and 21 minutes if you know how to do what really matters. Most of the working day contains pure air normally. Non productive time. Time used for chatting with co-workers etc.

In order to do this you need to become more creative and focused when you are working. This makes it possible for you to really relax the other hours of the day. For example, be with your family and use it for quality time. Resting etc. It is very important to separate work from free time of. And it is equally important to separate non-productive time and productive time.

My working day usually start at 09.00 and ends 3 hours and 21 minutes later. As you may have seen, this is a new system for me (see my late forum messages from before and you will notice). I have used it 1 day of my life and it works very well. I started it yesterday and I did more in one day than I have done for several weeks. Seriously.

Anyone else adopting such time management practices on this forum?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Runum]

OK, am I missing something? I am adding all of your time up and I get 4 hours and 20 minutes.:smxB:

 

[mtnman]

OK, am I missing something? I am adding all of your time up and I get 4 hours and 20 minutes.:smxB:

The hour of book reading doesn't count, as it is not defined as "related to business." All the others count toward improving business knowledge. My interpretation of it is kind of like getting your feet wet. Anything that is related can get the juices flowing and you never know when it will spark a great idea.

As for this technique, I have never used it or a similar one, but have realized lately that I need to improve in this area. My unproductive times are rising and I have no separation.

I can definately see how a focused times are waaaaay more productive. I need to make it a habbit.

Why the need for 2+ hours of emailing fanocks? That seems like a lot! Although 10 minutes on the phone doesn't leave much for other communication, but then again, most can talk faster than they write/type. Any particular reason why you choose this method?

 

[fanocks2003]

Why the need for 2+ hours of emailing fanocks? That seems like a lot! Although 10 minutes on the phone doesn't leave much for other communication, but then again, most can talk faster than they write/type. Any particular reason why you choose this method?

I use email as my primary choice of communication and I get a lot of emails each day. What I coud do reduce emailing even further is by installing a filter for emails I prefer and emails I would rather not prefer.

Regarding the telephone, I am not so fond of telephones. It is not because I dislike talking to people, but telephones in particular has always been the best way for me to waste a lot of time. So using only 10 minutes a day on the phone is rather difficult as you may know. You need to telephone certain people because email is something that does not exist in their world. Bad excuse by the way if you ask me. Emails are more cost effective and also the best way to get your message across without having to be interrupted. A great way of communication. I respect those who do not agree with me. That's OK:smxB:.

In my line of "work" (read: passionate lifestyle) I really need to read a lot of stuff. It makes me think in new ways of doing things. Hence the email instead of the telephone (a vaguely creative solution to an otherwise normal occurence).

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[fanocks2003]

Wow, one whole day of data...how can anyone argue with that!

Information is the way to find the best roads to be taken:smx2:. Also, we do live in the Information Age. The one with the best and most sought after information wins the game. Financially at least.

 

[andviv]

hey fanocks, did you continue following this strategy for managing your time? I'm curious about the results now that more time has passed. I'd appreciate your insights as I am working on establishing something similar in my daily routine.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Andviv - are you reading the 4HWW?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[andviv]

not yet (ordered online, kinda of late, I know, but it is coming). Part of the reason why I'm started to look into this topic was because of the threads about the 4HWW book.

 

[John]

I like your ideas and do things in a somewhat similar way. I don't have a hard and fast set schedule each day, but I sit down at the beginning of each day and plan out how much time I want to spend on each task. This can shift a lot depending on what's going on -- for example, if I've been away for a week and am way behind on my email I might have to spend an extra 2 hours per day on the email until I'm caught up again.

Most of you have probably heard the saying that "work expands to fill the time allotted to it." I find this to be very true. It's very helpful to have a large stopwatch going so that you can watch the minutes for your current task counting down. If I know that I only have 20 minutes left to answer today's emails I'm much more likely to speed through them in 20 minutes. The stopwatch technique is especially good for limiting research type tasks like reading forums, searching for business ideas, or searching for properties online. This type of task can suck down a whole day before you know it if you don't limit yourself. I like to set a time limit before I start. Then, when time's up I jot down any ideas or leads that I still need to follow up on, and move on to other tasks. Then I can resume my research during research time the next day.

I read the Four Hour Workweek a while back and vaguely remember that he talked about using stopwatches as well.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

not yet (ordered online, kinda of late, I know, but it is coming). Part of the reason why I'm started to look into this topic was because of the threads about the 4HWW book.

Ours is on order too (we got it from the library the first go around)..... 3 days to go!

Funny though - we are going through the same process....

Figuring out how to structure our time so that we are more RESULTS driven.
Seems like we are often very busy
But... at the end of the day... there are not many results.

We are doing a combination of:

Using Franklin Covey Dayplanners. (I've always used these - - - but gotten out of the habit lately)
Implementing many of the 4HWW ideas.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[andviv]

I know that I need to change my mindset. It is tough to think as an entrepreneur when you spend 10 or 11 hours with the E mentality (8 hrs a day, plus a long commute). And then it takes me a lot of time to unwind and get out of that mindset. Working on it, but I know I will need more than happy thinking about it, I will need strategy, tools and techniques. That's why I'm checking what has worked for others and I remembered this thread by fanocks, and I came back looking for more input based on his success or lessons learned.

 

[thecoach]

This is the general weekly structure that I've recently implemented into my business for time management. It takes some ideas of batching and stuff from 4HWW.

F=Free days -> 2 days/week - 2 24 hour periods that have nothing to do with work. Have structured activities if you can't stay away from work. (I use these Free Days for things like house work, sometimes include networking [that's not work to me, it's just being social]. It's not work, but still productive.)

F=Focus Days -> 3 days/week - $+REL (Cash and relationship activities only)
Sitting infront of clients making money
Jam packed from morning until night
Meeting with Referrals, annual reviews, revenue (Writing biz)

B=Buffer Days -> 2 days/week#1 Clean up the mess (forms, admin, etc)
#2 Build Systems and competency (Training, seminars, etc)
#3 Set up your next focus day

Currently my week looks like this:
Monday - Focus Day (get the week started with a solid 'money day')
Tuesday - Buffer Day (don't want to burn yourself out on the first 2 days...revamp your game plan fo the week if need be according to how well Monday went)
Wednesday - Focus Day
Thursday - Focus Day
Friday - Buffer Day (clean up the mess, plan for next week)
Saturday - Free Day (yard work one week, chillin' at the beach or somewhere the other week)
Sunday - Free Day (house work, etc one week, chillin' at the beach or somewhere the other week)

Typically, I try to batch things as much as I can (IE: annual reviews are all done on one block of time in the mornings, then referrals in the afternoon and other meetings at night or do all e-mail in one block, make all phone calls in one block, complete all admin and paperwork in one block). Keeps you from changing gears 10 times and getting lost in what you're doing.


Build systems and strategies so you don't need/do Buffer Days and turn them into Focus Days. I'm currently working out hiring an assistant to deal with most of the items on my Buffer Days, so I can change a Buffer for another Focus. If that does well I'll change the second Buffer for a Free Day.

During one of your Buffer Days, draw up a list of what you want to implement. Have a 2-3 hour implementation meeting with yourself (and your staff if you have it). I used to be bad for learning and not doing anything with it, so now I have an implementation meeting with myself within 3 days after every seminar that I attend to implement at least 2-3 items into my business.

Code the list of items in the following order of priority of implementation.

-> "A" items are free and take little time to implement
-> "B" items take a little time and a little money
-> "C" itmes cost serious money and a large amount of time
-> "D" items are major organizational issues that will cause you to restructure your business all together

Start with the A's because they are easiest to implement and can make an immediate impact on your business and work your way down.