In my last post, we explored how “time management” is a misnomer because time flies without our ability to manage it at all. What we can strive for is designing how we’re going to spend our time, on a regular basis.
In today’s story, a solo entrepreneur felt that he was slipping into semi-retirement mode without intending to do so, and to the detriment of the quality of his work.
It started with his increased focus on self-care (for which he gets a gold star – more of us should do the same!) But the time and energy he spent on self-health activities was squeezing his work responsibilities into an impossible timeline for running a business.
While he is brilliant at his profession, this scheduling problem caused him to cram like crazy to make his client’s deadlines. In his hurry, he found himself making important mistakes in his work. Then he spent hours re-working his deliverable so the client had clean results. And those re-work hours was time he couldn’t bill. It was frustrating for him, and he saw himself caught in an awful spiral, feeling out of control.
As I mentioned in my last post, I had been working on improving this elusive principle for myself, so I was happy to share it with him.
First, we worked together to craft a list of his most important priorities. The self-care he had built for himself must be at the forefront, and he had classes and appointments to keep. The health and growth of his company was also crucial – retirement was still far away. He loved his business and wanted it to grow.
Next, we made note of the actual non-negotiable constraints on his time, which revolved around his energy levels during certain times of the day, and the deadlines and deliverable for clients who had depended on him for years.
The third piece was to track the use of time for at least 5 days in a row. He did an outstanding job here – wrote it all down, and even graded himself on how he did with his goal of being more efficient and keeping to a schedule.
Now we put all the puzzle pieces together: priorities, constraints, the “stuff” you do day in and day out. What’s a better way to re-position the pieces?
This business owner came to the realization that when he attended health classes in the morning, it would leave him in a state that didn’t allow for his most productive work to get done for the rest of the day. So he switched his appointments and classes to late afternoons and evenings. And he enjoyed them so much more, knowing his business work was taken care of.
Working on client tasks mornings till mid-afternoon gave him the focused work time he needed, and he could look forward to his late afternoon and early evening health classes. His schedule fit his energy levels so much better, and he was organized and energized during his set client time so work went smoother, with no need to crunch to make a deadline.
Designing our time takes time and patience. You may not get it right the first few times but keep at it – it’s important! Know when your energy level runs high and when you are best suited for detailed work and decision making. And isn’t it great to be the business owner – the boss – the one who sets the rules? Use that to your full advantage.
Now do yourself a favor and consider working with a strategy partner. Someone to unload these challenges to and craft solutions with. Reach out to me for a discussion on what you need to get you from here to where you want to be.