6 Tips for Getting Maximum ROI from Your Time
The New Year brings with it a host of tasks: tax planning, financial reporting, contract renewals, HR assessments, staffing evaluations, investment decisions, and strategic and financial planning for the year ahead. All too often those vows to work out more often, spend more time with employees, do more reading, play more golf, get more sleep, or network more with clients and associates are pushed aside as deadlines loom large.
It’s foolish to think that you can accomplish more just by making better use of your free time. For most people, the idea of “free time” is a myth anyhow. The fact is that to do more of one thing, you have to do less of something else. Focus on applying personal time management for maximum ROI: it boils down to making choices about what’s really worth spending time on.
Here are six tips for improving your personal time management and spending time on what matters.
Plan: Set aside time regularly to review, adjust and think ahead. Be realistic about your commitments and your available time, and plan accordingly. Not only will this help you manage your time, but you’ll feel more focused and in control.
Delegate: You do not need to do everything, be everywhere and solve every problem that arises – so get over it and get in the habit of delegating those things that do not need to rise to your level of involvement.
Just say no: It’s very easy to get distracted with minutiae or become consumed with trivial things that do not produce real results. Learn to ignore the unimportant stuff and say no to requests that deliver little or no return on investment.
Set goals: Be sure the goals you set are realistic and achievable, and not so large, so ephemeral or out of reach they only lead to frustration. While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to adjust old goals.
Let go of what’s not working: If there’s something that’s slowing you down or making your working life harder, get rid of it. Whether it’s an obsolete piece of equipment or a business relationship that isn’t working for you, let it go and move on.
Embrace technology and techniques that will make you more productive: If there’s something you lack or something you need to upgrade to be more productive, now is the time.
Never forget that your time is valuable, limited and non-renewable, and not everything is worth your precious time.
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