Being a successful business person or salesperson involves being able to effectively manage our time.  We know we need to spend most of our time on marketing and other income producing activities, we need to spend time masterminding with the leaders in our field, time visualizing and meditating on our goals is necessary, and of course we can’t forget to spend time on personal development.  All of these things need to be done on a consistent daily basis while holding an expectation of leadership in ourselves and others.  We know what we need to do to be successful, so why do we find ourselves working endless hours burning the candle at both ends?   In order to properly manage our time, we first must evaluate and understand where our time is being spent now.  Everything we spend our time on falls into one of the four following quadrants: 

Quadrant I  Urgent and Important

Examples:   -a crisis  -a pressing problem  -a deadline driven project -a family emergency 

Quadrant II  Important  

Examples:   -relationships -daily method of operation for your business  -planning  -prevention -recreation -procedures 

Quadrant III Urgent 

Examples:   -some phone calls -some meetings -popular activities-proximate (within your peripheral view) 

Quadrant IV  Neither Urgent or Important 

Examples:   -some MSN chats -endless solitaire -constant gaming -time wasting 

In order to explore this further we must first define what we mean by Urgent and Important. 

Urgent:  Something that has the APPEARANCE of requiring immediate attention. 

Important:  Contributes to our vision and significant goals. 

Based on the examples of each quadrant you will notice that we have to say ‘Yes’ to Quadrant I, it doesn’t require much thought.  It is also very easy to say ‘No’ to Quadrant IV without thinking about it too much.  The hard choices are between Quadrants II (what is Important) and III (what Appears to be Urgent).  How we spend our time between these two quadrants is what makes the difference in our efficiency and effectiveness.   

So how do we get ourselves in the habit of spending our time on what is important and in support of our vision and goals versus what appears to be urgent?  First, we need to identify and focus on our goals.  What are we working towards?  What are we trying to accomplish this week, then we can decide what the most significant things are that we can do this week to move us towards those goals.  This applies in all aspects of our lives.  By simply asking ourselves one question,

‘What is the most significant thing I can do this week that will have the most dramatic impact on my role in my Business, or on my role as a Parent or on my role as a Spouse, or on my role as a __________’ fill in the blank. 

Now that we have our priorities straight, we are ready to create our schedule or time diary, or to do list (whatever you want to call it) for the week.  Remember that everything that is important to you must fit into this schedule not just your business.  It is very Important that we always make time for ourselves and time to just plan have some fun, after all that is why we got into this Industry in the first place. 

Technology such as our computers, cell phones, and blackberries can be a time management blessing or a curse depending on how we use them.  They come with great time saving and management tools such as calendaring systems, to do lists, and contacts/address books.  They also give us a great opportunity to multi-task effectively.  We can talk on our portable phones while doing mindless tasks, or check our email while sitting in the airport waiting for our flight.  The trap many of us fall into with the portable electronics is feeling the need to answer every phone call or email as soon as they come in.  Soon we realize the day is done and we haven’t accomplished anything but talk on the phone to our Aunt Betsy for two and a half hours and send a few reply emails.  What we need to ask ourselves is which Quadrant am I operating from by doing this?  Quadrant II which is Important and in support of my goals, or Quadrant III which is something that APPEARS to be Urgent.  Try scheduling time to return phone calls and listen to and reply to emails.  Obviously there will be calls and emails that you will need to take immediately, but leave the Unimportant ones for the scheduled allotted time and you will notice you have more time to concentrate on what is Important (the achievement of your goals).   

Many times it is the simple things that make a big difference in how effectively we use our time.  If we put the keys in the same place every time we don’t waste ten minutes looking for them when we go out.  We can use the contact or address book on our computer to avoid shuffling through a stack of papers to find a phone number when we need it.  We must learn how to say no when necessary.  We tend to take on more than we can handle.  It is much better to do a few things very well than to do a mediocre job on many things.  Do not be a perfectionist, do every job to the best of your ability, and then walk away.  Multi-task where appropriate, it is ok to talk on the phone while cleaning your garage, but it is not ok to talk on the phone while sending an email, each deserves your equal undivided attention.  Before we leave the office each day, we should clean and prioritize our desks so that we are organized and ready to start the next day.   

If we are not careful we can find ourselves getting caught up in all kinds of distractions.  We have to remember that being consistent and persistent with our daily method of operation is crucial to ensure our success.  Most of our allotted time for the business should be spent doing our income producing activities.  A great way to start the day is to spend time on your personal development and meditation and visualization of your goals. When you leave the office for the day, leave the office for the day.  Resist the temptation to run back, or call in, or check emails from home, you and your loved ones deserve uninterrupted time together.   

In summary keep these suggestions in mind to help you get to that place of successful use of your time:   

• When making your schedule each week, concentrate on spending most of your time in Quadrant II working on things that are Important and move you towards the achievement of your goals.
• Ask yourself what are the most significant things you can do each week that will have the most dramatic impact on each of the Important roles in your life.
• Schedule time for answering phone and email messages don’t get into the habit of allowing this to waste your whole day.
• Multi-task when and where appropriate.
• Stay organized keep things like phone numbers etc. in one central location so they can be easily found when needed.
• Avoid taking on more than you can handle. 
• Do each task to the best of your ability and then walk away, being a perfectionist means wasting a lot of time.
• Clean and prioritize your office space at the end of each day.
• Make sure your time spent on the business is productive.  Income producing activities need most of your time. 
• Mind set is so crucial in business.  Start each day out right with the visualization of your goals and some time for personal development.
• When you leave the office for the day, don’t go back until the next day. 
• Last but not least, remember to have fun!  After all, isn’t that why you got into your business in the first place?