- Are you full of great plans for what you’re going to do this year – or even this quarter?
- Are you quickly deflated by the fact that time just seems to fly by and your good intentions still haven’t quite materialised?
- Have you even given up on some of your big dreams? Are you telling yourself they are just ‘fantasies’ and you’ll never get them so why just make yourself feel bad?
Some business owners blame themselves for not being good enough to achieve their goals, ‘there’s never enough time!’ and I’ve even heard some say ‘why bother setting goals? I’m always just too busy and we never achieve them anyway’.
Oh dear . . . . if that’s you then read on – it doesn’t have to be like that. Stop letting your time get stolen out from under your nose. Here’s a favourite quote of mine:
“People treat you how you teach them (to)”
So if your most precious (and non-renewable) resource . . . yes your TIME – is getting stolen by others it’s because you’re allowing it.
Sorry if that sounds harsh but I promise you . . . If you prioritise yourself you can reclaim your time for what matters to you.
HERE ARE THREE SHORT & SIMPLE TIPS I URGE YOU TO USE . . .
Tell me in the comments which is your favourite.
- REVIEW . . . before you make any changes.
Take time to look back and ask yourself a few questions. Where is your time going? What/who are your time stealers? Are you continually working harder when you know it’s time to work smarter?
You CAN make a difference – but first you need to see what you’re allowing to happen that’s stealing your time away from you. This is your chance to learn the lessons of the last few weeks/quarter (or life!). When you learn, you can change.
As part of this REVIEWING/REFLECTING make a list of what you really want to get done in this quarter – that’s January, February and March. And remember – we are already a couple of weeks in. Time waits for no man, or woman.
Identify the top 3 things you want to achieve THIS QUARTER then get your calendar/diary/whatever you use to plan your time.
Tip: if you’re usually reactive – it’s time to start claiming time for YOU FIRST.
- MAKE APPOINTMENTS WITH YOURSELF!
You probably already know that a favourite tip of mine is to make appointments with yourself. Claim some time in your week so that you can do the things you always hope to ‘fit in’ somewhere. If they’re important to you, CLAIM TIME to make it happen. Protect that time and use it wisely.
If you leave your calendar blank you can be sure that someone or something will claim it. Get in first and TAKE IT FOR YOURSELF. I learned to do this many years ago. Book time slots (daily if possible but minimum 3 x a week) for YOU to work ON your business, a key goal or project and get stuff done.
You might want to start with 30 minute slots – and treat them as you’d treat an appointment with your best client. Over time you can work up to more time slots or longer ones. It’s like a muscle – stretch it.
Every time I share it I thank Peter Thomson – he gave me this advice 20-25 years ago – and it’s made a huge positive difference to me (and many others I’ve shared it with – always crediting Peter!).
He recommended it as the perfect way to say ‘no’ nicely. “Sorry, I can’t do that, I’m busy then” – you don’t have to say you’ve carved out that time for yourself! But you can if you want to share this gem of an idea with others!
- YOU SET START TIMES – SET END TIMES TOO!
How easy is this? I can’t believe how long it took me to actually start doing it.
You always note the start time of a block in your calendar. From now on – add an ‘end time’ too.
Work out how much time you’re allowing for something and stick to it. Treat it like any other ‘appointment’ – this is especially helpful if it’s a task to do. Think ‘I’ll start at x o’clock, and I’ll have it done by/stop at y o’clock’. Small change, big difference in results.
BONUS
Still reading? Then you deserve this bonus – it’s saved me so much stress, time, energy and money!!!
Spending too much time trying to remember passwords?
. . . or worse – using the same basic password – slightly tweaking it or using different numbers/adding a few extra fancy characters . . .
Then forgetting what you’ve done. Yikes!!
Hey – you might even have them written down. I hope not!!!
**WARNING – STAY SAFE!!**
This needs a face palm emoji here – or a head in hands one! . . . hackers LOVE people who do this! They can run a simple password through AI and generate multiple versions and hack you faster than you can say “I’m IN!”.
Better cyber security is to use a simple password manager.
I can personally recommend Dashlane.
Here’s the feedback from someone who took this advice:
“Oh Mary – I’m using Dashlane and I can’t believe how quick and easy it is. Once it’s open it asks me if I want to store the passwords for each site I log into. I can’t believe how quickly I’m creating my safe password library! Thank you for telling me AND REMINDING ME!”
I know what she means.
This tip alone has saved me not just time but a heap of stress! And it makes me safer and organised. And it’s MUCH more professional.
This is particularly good if you use the same password over and over again, or slightly different versions of it. Please . . . if you are . . . STOP putting yourself and your data at risk.
It’s also good if you have a little book with your passwords written down in it (again – you might as well have a sign saying: ‘’hackers this way’!).
I’m not affiliated to @Dashlane but it’s been a game-changer for me. Stay safe online.
If you think it’s too much trouble – just try NOT using a password manager.
There’s a free version if you want to test it out. But if you’re serious get yourself a Premium version – it synchronises all your changes and updates across all your devices and new logins get stored in there too. Then it remembers your details next time.
There’s even a password health check built in.
I wouldn’t be without it. Check out ‘Dashlane Personal‘ (or visit the Business options). Yes, it’s a deductible business expense!
3 SIMPLE TIPS, PLUS A BONUS – THEY’VE ALL HAVE BEEN GAME CHANGERS FOR ME.
Let me know if these tips help you and which is your favourite?
Mary Collin
Your LinkedIn Business Tip:
I’ve always said that even when you’re not an expert you can still put out great content.
How? Simply by sharing what you are learning.
And, today I have the perfect example for you:
So, you see how simple John’s post is?
Yet, it generated a ton of attention because he was sharing something valuable he learned while going through the process of applying for a job.
You could be doing the same.
If you constantly struggle with knowing what to post, simply share what you’re working on.
What are you learning? What are you trying? How are you trying to achieve your goals?
That’s valuable content as well 😉