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.

Invest in the Growth of Your Business

Are you spending too much time on administrative tasks and not enough time growing your business? Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, however; being selective about the tasks you perform is actually what generates productivity. Overbooked calendars and lack of time simply reflects a lack of determined priorities and ineffective use of time. Never start your day without a clear list of goal-oriented priorities and tasks.