Yesterday I led a follow-up group Q&A call for women who participated in my Virtual Master Business Planning Retreat. I expected the questions to focus on business planning, marketing, list building, launch, and even how to choose products and services.
Surprise, I was not asked about any of these topics.
Apart from the two budgeting questions, the questions asked were all about managing time, setting priorities, focusing, dealing with overwhelm, and hiring and working with virtual assistants. The majority of the questions were related to time management and business operations.
You can create a 6-figure+ company with minimal effort by setting up systems and strategies to manage your time. This will allow you to focus on tasks that will help you reach your goals. It also allows you to get more work done in fewer hours and generate income faster.
These are the three most important, yet simple-to-use time management principles that I use in my business every day.
1. Flip it …
A flip chart is one of the tools that I use to keep my attention on the most important activities and to manage my time. This tool allows me to identify the activities that will have the greatest impact on moving my business forward.
Two criteria are required to maximize your time:
* They can help you move your business towards your goals
* They are the closest to the cash
My method of organizing my to-do lists is to write down all tasks on the left side. Next, I count them and mark 20% with an *. This is in line with the Pareto Principle which says that 80% of our results, in this case revenue, are derived from 20% our actions.
Next, I move the problematic task to the right side. This helps me focus on one task at a given time and prevents overwhelm. Once I’m done with the task, I move the next asterisked task to my right-hand column.
2. Keep it simple
We are women entrepreneurs who love to be creative and create programs that have lots of “bells & whistles”. We want to provide services that help our clients. This component is added, and then another. Although this is a good intention, too many programs can lead to two problems.
When we…
* We overload our clients and ourselves by cramming too many things into our programs.
* Overcomplicating creating a new program is a waste of time.
The result is that we wait for a new offer on the market to come in, which lowers our income and makes it less than it should be.
Keep in mind that simple products and services should only be designed to solve a single problem. They shouldn’t have too many features and can end up consuming our time and life.
It is easier to create the next product you want than to make it complicated.
3. “Please clarify or bottom-line the following:
Sometimes I can over-explain and sometimes repeat points to ensure my clients “get it”. 🙂 I completely understand when my clients do the exact same thing.
Over-explaining can lead to confusion and can even be time-consuming, especially if it is done in email.
One of my favourite ways to use my time is to ask my clients for clarification or to simply give the facts.
If someone sends you an e-mail or voicemail and you are unsure of what they mean, don’t waste your time trying to understand what they meant. This is a waste of time and you will most likely misinterpret.
Send an e-mail or call to clarify. Better yet, call your assistant. You could say, “I don’t understand what your message means.” Please clarify. The other person should be clearer and get their message across in a proper way.
These strategies will help you to leverage your time so that you can focus on tasks that will propel your business toward your goals.
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