Daily Planning

In his wonderful book “The Ultimate Sales Machine”, Chet Holmes starts with a chapter called “Time Management Secrets of Billionaires”. How refreshing to start a sales tome on the important art of manging the scarecest resource of all – time. Other experts have suggested making lists of how you spend your time. Of course, this is a look at history. Chet recommends that you look forward planning each day, prioritizing the tasks to be performed during the day, and then not only alloting a specific amount of time for each task, but listing a start and ending time.

Too often I see business owners who operate in total chaos. They move from one crisis to another, and are never on time for anything. Because of the example they set, their employees operate in the same culture of chaos. If businesses that operate in this mode are profitable, it is purely by chance. Poductivity can be significantly improved by following the six steps of time management outlined by Chet:

1. Touch it once – take action on each e-mail or letter when you first read it and dispose of it. If you have a meeting, make sure it results in meaningful action.

2. Make lists. People who don’t keep lists are reactive – those who do are organized.

3. Plan how much time you will spend on each task.

4. Plan the day. Be specific and have a time slot for everything.

5. Prioritize. Focus on difficult projects first. Many people drown in buwywork that produces few results. Tip for sales people and one-person businesses: devote 2.5 hours per day in new business development activities.

6. “Will it hurt me to throw this away?”. 80% of all filed or stored information in never referred to again. So why save it?

Time management requires learning new habits – but is a process that can yield great rewards to a business owner.

Will Limkemann
Limkemann Business Advisors
440-871-0976