10 Ways to Measure Your Time Effectiveness and Efficiency

It’s true that what we focus on tends to expand. When we watch the clock, time moves at its slowest pace. However, when we are conscious of what actions, tasks and activities we give out time to, we have more of it. If you don’t know how your time is spent, keep a time log for one week. Track how much time you spend on each activity throughout the day. Once the week is done and your notes are complete, sit down and analyze how you’ve been spending your time and make the appropriate adjustments. You should be able to identify pockets of time that are being misused on the phone, on the internet, with non-clients, too much networking, in front of the TV, sleeping, chatting on non-relevant, etc. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be doing these things, but you do want to make sure they are not stealing valuable time.

Conduct an honest evaluation of yourself and your daily work habits. An honest reflection on your daily work habits will reveal exactly “who, what, where, when and how” contributes to your productivity or lack thereof. Ten ways to measure your time effectiveness and efficiency, ask yourself:

1. Am I being productive or just active? Know the difference.
2. Am I inventing things to do to avoid the important tasks and activities?
3. What are my non-negotiables? (i.e. how late am I willing to work, do I really need to attend 3 networking events a week?)
4. Are you willing to train your unconscious with new techniques? If I keep doing what I’ve been doing, I’ll keep getting what I’ve been getting.
5. It takes longer not to write things down than to write them down. My plans, goals and activities don’t need to be complicated, but they need to be written. That which is written, gets measured.
6. What have I learned and am I willing to correct what needs to be corrected? This should include mistakes that should not be repeated. Get it right and move along. Time allocated to actually serving clients earns money. Time allocated to administrating and soliciting clients, costs time and money.
7. What am I currently doing? What actions have worked? Not worked? – Detail the effectiveness of specific tasks. Did each task achieved do what was intended to support the larger goal? Detail actions taken that did not provide the expected benefits.
8. What progress has been made, if any, by my current system? Does this system work for me? Does it meet my needs?
9. What adjustments to my plan are necessary for maximum results?  What can I plan to do differently? What should I do less of, more of, and what should I stop doing altogether?
10. What should I add to my plan that I now realize is missing? 

These questions used to measure your effectiveness are critical to not only establishing a functional system, but getting rid of time consuming non-revenue generating activities and maximizing your work efforts; while strengthening your business. And finally:

• Deal with procrastination – “what if I do it, what if I don’t”
• Establish a standard starting format
• Plan and schedule
• Delegate and trade
• Break down projects
• Set and calendar deadlines
• Consolidate like tasks (i.e. return calls, checking phone/mails, emailing/filing, answering letters, sorting

 

 

 

How to Get 80% Out of Your Day

We’ve all heard about the 80/20 rule – 20% of the day is spent on productive activities, 80% on non-productive. To shift this so that 80% of your day is spent on productive activities and 20% on non-productive activities we need to first determine your priorities. At a very basic level, you should ask yourself? – What if I do it? What if I don’t? Understand that:

• If it’s important and urgent, it may be considered a crisis … these activities almost always costs more.
• If it’s unimportant, but urgent, be careful, these activities can be deceiving. You can get caught up in these types of activity fairly easy and they are usually what consumes the majority of unorganized micro/small business owners time.
• If it’s important, but not urgent, it can be planned appropriately. You can put it on your to-do list or if it has a deadline, put it on your calendar.
• If it’s unimportant and non-urgent – it is likely a time waster. Delegate it or get rid of it.

You should consider what is more valuable to you, to perform the act or pay someone to do it for you? (i.e. non-revenue generating activities, appointment setting, travel arrangements, meeting arrangements, marketing campaigns, website maintenance, etc.) What is your hourly rate and what would it cost to have someone else perform the same activity?

Learn how to be more selective with your time.

• What activities take the majority of time during the day?
• What activities should be give more time?
• What activities should be given less time?

Build a high-impact week by time-blocking your high priority tasks. You can also schedule “client block” time to ensure the revenue generating activities of tending to your clients’ needs get completed with the appropriate amount of time and attention. There is a variety of software and platforms that track specific work performance—tasks, assignments, responsibilities, milestones, goals and deadlines:

• http://www.nozbe.com/gtd/signup
• https://www.mailstreet.net/
• http://www.ringcentral.com/
• http://www.jifflenow.com/

Are You Proactive or Reactive?

Do you wake up in the morning and immediately check your emails and voicemails? Do you immediately proceed to putting out fires for the rest of the day? If so, you are in need of serious organization and prioritizing.

There is a big difference between “running” your business and “operating” your business. Running your business usually involves just that running. Operating your business means you have a system in place that keeps you guided and directed even when the unexpected happens. A plan that is not so stringent that you have tunnel vision, but flexible so that you CAN minimize and handle interruptions, yet stay on task.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

So you have a great product or service and you love what you do, but business is slow and your client base hasn’t grown in months. What’s the plan?

If you feel like your business is stagnate and the economy is proving to be your worst enemy, work smarter, not harder. There are 5 steps to get you back on track and give your business the boost it needs to shift into drive and prosper!

* Organize with a written plan of action

* Determine and know your priorities

* Focus your resources on connecting with your niche market

* Implement functional ofifce systems

* Power Partner

If you want to discover how to implement time saving techniques and processes visit http://www.addinghourstoyourday.com/ or call us today at 916-287-1432 and ask about our business support packages.