"If I Only Had More Time..."

 

“I just don’t have enough time to get everything done.” 

“There’s so much to do and so little time.”

“24 hours just isn’t enough time to get everything done.” 

Have you ever found yourself uttering one of these phrases (or something similar) during an exceptionally busy period of your life?  Perhaps you feel that way all the time, as our increasingly busy culture is always on the go, trying to squeeze as much activity as possible into our already crammed schedules.  Just imagine how nice it would be if you in fact did have more than 24 hours in a day!  What do you think you would do with all that extra time?  The answer may be closer than you think.

Our nation received a time management “pop quiz” a few weeks ago (except in Arizona & Hawaii), and yet most of us didn’t even realize that a test was being administered.  At 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 4th, something magical happened…an hour was added to the day.  As most of you know, there is a single day each and every year (at the end of daylight savings time) when there is actually 25 hours.  So, that begs a very serious question for each and every one of us.  What did you do with it? 

I woke up at the exact same time I always do on Sunday, right around 6:00 a.m.  Only today it wasn’t 6:00 a.m., it was actually 5:00 a.m., so I had a free hour with which to do whatever I wanted.   When the alarm went off, I was faced with the aforementioned pop quiz, and it answered a very important question.  If I was given extra time in my day, would I actually use it to do something productive, or would I squander it?  Much to my satisfaction, I got up and cleaned out my garage, while everyone else in the house was asleep.  However, I must admit that it was the first year that I remember actually taking advantage of the extra time.

Many of the same people who complain incessantly about needing more time in the day rarely do anything significant on the one day that they are given the additional time that they so earnestly desire.  In fact, every year numerous online polls are conducted asking folks what they plan on doing with the extra hour, and the most common answer is “get an extra hour of sleep.”  These people received an extra hour in the day, and yet accomplished the same amount (or less).  Unbeknownst to them, they are victims of what is oftentimes referred to as Parkinson’s Law. 

Parkinson’s law states that the amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task.  My wife and I joke about it all the time, and it’s never more evident than when we are getting ready for church.  If we wake up late on Sunday morning, and only have 30 minutes to get ready for church, we race around like wild people and leave precisely at 9:30 am.  If we wake up on time, with 2 hours or more to get ready, we get the same things done (though with slightly less stress) and STILL leave at precisely 9:30.  Rather than hurry up and get ready in 30 minutes (which is obviously possible) and use the extra 90+ minutes for important tasks, we tend to take our time and get ready at our own pace.

Entrepreneurs have a tendency to do the same thing with their task lists, allowing the tasks for the day to fill the entire day, instead of compressing them into a block of time that allows for other portions of the day to be used for brainstorming, business building, long term projects, etc.  Their theory of needing “more time” is completely erroneous.  In fact, they don’t need more time, they need to learn to utilize the time that they have in a more efficient manner.

The entrepreneur’s first (and biggest) time management mistake is starting their day with the easiest tasks first.  They do this because it gives them a sense of accomplishment, as they are able to quickly cross things off the list.  However, the problem with doing the small tasks first is that (per Parkinson’s law) it tends to take up most of the time you have allotted to work, 8 hours or so.   This leaves very little time for the big projects, which are typically the most important, and the ones with the most profit potential.  Every small business owner says that they want to spend more time working ON the business, rather than IN the business, because they realize that’s what it takes to make the company grow.  But big projects take big time, and because we don’t get the satisfaction of drawing a big, bold line through it on the to-do list for days or even months, we unfortunately have a tendency of putting it off. 

As you can imagine, I wear a lot of hats in my life…husband, father, blogger, entrepreneur, pastor, and the list goes on and on.  So, like many of you, I oftentimes find myself in the unenviable position of having what SEEMS to be more work than can be accomplished in the time I have available.  For a long time I fell into the trap of trying to get all the little things done first, so my mind was clear and I could focus on the big things.  But I never seemed to get around to the big stuff, and by the time I even THOUGHT about the long-term projects, the day was practically over.  I always thought I would get to it “tomorrow”, but after 100 tomorrows, I realized it wouldn’t happen unless I changed my strategy. 

After getting advice from some other successful businessmen, I found that the best way to accomplish my big goals is through a time management strategy known as “time-blocking”.  On Sunday evening, I have a planning session in which I set my schedule for the upcoming week, including time for small items like e-mails & phone calls, but also time for blogging, strategy sessions, and what I call business builders…the BIG vision stuff.  When my phone vibrates letting me know that a new time block has started, everything else is shut off and I eliminate all distractions.  I turn my phone to silent, I close my office door, shut off my e-mail account (so I won’t be tempted to check new emails) and I spend all my allotted time on that specific project.  This allows me to have focused intensity on the project at hand, and it has produced amazing results in regards to my productivity.

So, if you are guilty of wasting the extra hour you were given last month, or if you have a tendency to allow insignificant daily tasks to steal valuable time away from building your business, then give time-blocking a try.  Take one week, and schedule EVERYTHING you do in your calendar, setting aside a 1 to 3 hour “block” for important projects that require focused intensity.  You will be AMAZED at how you’ll be able to complete projects you’ve been trying to get done for months, and you will end each day with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. 

Come back and share your results in the comment box below…and then check out these great articles on time management from Entrepreneur.com
Work Smarter, Not Harder -- and Other Time Management Tips from Jen Groover
Get More Done & Sleep Better at Night
 

The Election is Over...Now What?

The day has finally come and gone. The long, arduous battle between the Democratic vision of bigger government versus the Republican vision of smaller government has come to a decisive and abrupt end. The political spin, half-truths, and endless campaign commercials have ceased, the fat lady has sung, and we as a nation have finally decided who will be the next President of these United States. After “the most important election of our lifetime” (which every election in my recent memory has been labeled) about 50% of you are pleased with the outcome and the rest…well, not so much. The far-right extremists on the losing side are once again threatening to move to Canada, while those on the winning team are making equally hyperbolic statements in victory. But those of us in the real world are back to work, and many entrepreneurs are left to wonder how this election will end up affecting their businesses, their families, and their future. And as much as both sides would like to convince you otherwise, the truth is, it probably won’t affect you much at all.

 

I fully understand that tax policy, the impending “fiscal cliff” and Obamacare can have a tremendous impact on both large corporations and small businesses alike. I don’t have the time, inclination, or room in this blog post to dive into a political topic as deep and murky as that one. However, one thing that I am more than certain of is that waiting around for a president to help you achieve your dreams will leave your broke, disappointed, and unfulfilled. Free market capitalism is an effective economic model that creates enormous opportunity, not because of the man at the top, but because of the ingenuity and creativity of all those working within its system. If the participants in capitalism start using the president as the scapegoat or whipping boy for their own lack of success, they have revealed a great deal about themselves and their inability to take responsibility for their own actions.
 

I have studied the lives of countless millionaires and billionaires, and they all have one thing in common. Their businesses were built through hard work, discipline, and determination during (& in spite of) numerous presidential administrations from both major political parties. Sometimes they paid more taxes, and sometimes they paid less. Sometimes there were incentives and tax credits to take advantage of, and sometimes there were not. However, through it all, their success or failure was determined by their own actions…not by who was sitting behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.
 

Though the “hope & change” message of 2008 was largely absent from this campaign, President Obama still spent a great deal of time in his victory speech on how hopeful he is for the country’s future.  While many Republicans view that “hope” with a great deal of cynicism, after what they view as an unsuccessful first term, I still believe we should all look forward to the next 4 years (as well as the next 40) with a great sense of hope and optimism about our lives. Not because the President or the current Congress is going to issue tax cuts for our businesses or give handouts to our families, but rather because we are going to tap into the God-given “power to create wealth” (Deut. 8:18) granted to us by a loving Father. As the body of Christ begins to embrace this creative power that comes only from Above, we will find ourselves implementing new ideas and fresh vision that will catapult our businesses to greatness and increased prosperity in the days ahead.


Other Recent Posts....
Vaulting to Success, Part 1 - The Right Track
Vaulting to Success, Part 2 - The Safety Net
Vaulting to Success, Part 3 - The First Step

Vaulting to Success, Part 3 - The First Step

Whenever the fact that I pole vaulted in college comes up in a social setting, it’s a great conversation starter. It seems like everyone is interested in the event, though very few people know much about it. As I’ve explained the steps of a successful vault over the years, I’ve realized that there are some terrific business lessons buried within the process that apply to both entrepreneurs and small business owners alike. In part one of this series, we talked about making sure you’re on the right track, because the last thing you want to do in sports or business is to start climbing a ladder only to find that it’s leaning against the wrong wall. In part 2, we discussed the importance of having a safety net to help protect you from the unexpected. In this post, I want to address the biggest obstacle to success that we face in just about any area of life, and that is taking the 1st step.

A few years ago I spent some time traveling and teaching at real estate seminars throughout the southeastern United States, and without fail the most attended workshop was always, “Getting Started”. There is no question that the first step in virtually anything is always the hardest, whether dieting, relationships, or business. In the pole vault, when your name is called and you step out on the runway, looking ahead at what you are about to attempt can certainly be an intimidating sight. Many good people (and otherwise “tough” guys) have been frozen in fear by the task at hand, unable to take that all important 1st step. The key to a successful vault, however, is to push those negative feelings aside, aim towards your goal, trust your training, and start moving forward. Speed is not important at the beginning of your approach (you’ll get to that at the end), it’s simply time to get moving, and begin building momentum.

Many entrepreneurs are oftentimes too worried about having everything perfect, with every single kink worked out of their new idea or business that they spend years “perfecting” it, but never actually get started (check out my post on perfectionism here, and how it limited me for years). I’ve seen timid pole-vaulters unwilling to take a jump because the wind wasn’t right, or they needed powder for their hands, or the coach wasn’t there spotting them…and that same attitude is pervasive in many aspiring small business owners. You have to understand that the conditions will NEVER be perfect, and you can’t keep waiting for your website to be “just right” and the economy to be “just right” and your new business stationary to be “just right”. Give me a break! Everything is never going to be “just right” and it’s time we stop letting these excuses keep us stuck in park, never moving forward to accomplish our dreams.

When I got radically saved (of course, isn’t it always radical when someone finds Christ?) after my freshman year of college, I didn’t want to return to my secular school for another semester. I knew the pitfalls that were awaiting me there, and as a young believer, I was terrified that I would backslide and lose the new freedom and peace I had found in this spiritual awakening. I knew I wanted to do something for the Lord, but I didn’t know if that meant full-time ministry or something else, and so I went back and forth for months trying to figure out my next step. I allowed what is commonly referred to as the “paralysis of analysis” to cost me the entire fall semester as I tried to decide where God wanted me next. This indecisiveness kept me from doing anything PERIOD, much less anything worthwhile for the Lord.

After watching my trepidation keep me immobile for far too long, my pastor finally stepped in and shook me out of my fruitless funk with one very simple phrase. He simply stated, “Son, you can’t steer a parked car.” Boom! The light bulb switched on, fireworks went off in my heart, and for some reason that analogy is all it took to get me off the fence to finally make a decision. All I needed to do was to get the wheels rolling, and even if I began to notice I was steering in the wrong direction, as long as I was moving forward I could easily make adjustments on the fly.

A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs have a passion for something, or a leading in a certain direction that they feel is inspired of God. Yet they have waited years, if not decades, waiting for some kind of prophetic confirmation or lightning bolt from the sky to see if it’s REALLY Him. They are stuck in park, and rather than start moving forward with a sincere heart, allowing God to shape their direction as they go, they simply sit idly by doing nothing as life (and opportunity) passes them by.

Nike had it right with their now infamous slogan, “Just Do It!” Woody Allen is often quoted as saying it in a slightly different way, “80% of success is just showing up.” When asked about that quote in a 2008 interview for The Collider, Woody elaborated, “I made the statement years ago which is often quoted that 80 percent of life is showing up. People used to always say to me that they wanted to write a play, they wanted to write a movie, they wanted to write a novel, and the couple of people that did it were 80 percent of the way to having something happen.” A lot of people TALK about doing something, but Nike’s slogan isn’t “Just Say It.” Woody’s point was that if you just do it, you’re 80% of the way to having success with what you’ve done. Yet so many people with that next big idea, or a best-selling book in their minds, never actually act on them.

So, the question is now left with you…what kind of person are you going to be? Will you be another silent tree in the forest of mediocrity, with “perfect” rattling around in your mind, but no one ever hears it, and nothing ever comes to fruition? Or will you take that first step, and actually get something done, even if it’s just “good” and not exactly how you wanted it? You’re on the runway and your spikes are on, you’re pointed in the right direction. Now let this post officially serve as your friendly “nudge” to start moving! Today is your day and now is your time…so take your idea, and get started.

Then you can work on making it great.