How to Build Your Business and Still Take Time Off
We all know people who are like human dynamos. They seem to make an art form of building their business and still enjoy quality time with friends and family. It isn't magic, you can do it too. The world of business ownership or management is inhabited by two main personality types. There are people who never miss deadlines, who can be replied upon to deliver the goods whatever the odds and, who seem to thrive under pressure. Then there are people who achieve very little and yet seem to be permanently in a rush. The first group actually manage to build their business or practice and do even more, whilst the others often struggle to stay afloat. So how can you learn from those who are able to create success while they still take time out for holidays and quality family time? Consider your working time. You can spend it in two ways. You can be working in your business or, you can be working on your business. Working in the business means doing whatever is necessary to provide your products or services to existing clients. Working on your business is the creative time that you spend developing a clear strategy for the future, planning the tactics that will make it happen and, building relationships with clients. You will be well rewarded if you take some regular time away to think clearly about this business building. There is a wide variety of branded 'time management systems', many of them will be used during an initial flush of enthusiasm and then end up as very expensive bookends or doorstops. The reason is obvious. Time management is a false description of self management. There are some very simple techniques that you can start using today to build your business and still enjoy time off. Use them as you consider your 'in business' tasks and then your 'on business' activity. Consider the task
- Is it necessary to do it at all?
- If it is a major task, 'chunk it down' into smaller elements or steps
- Is each step necessary?
- What is the result or outcome of doing it?
- How else could this result be achieved?
- What is the cost of not doing it?
Even if this step seems too simple to be effective, almost every organisation, large or small, perpetuates time consuming tasks that are no longer needed. There is little point in demanding a log of every photocopy made in an office if nobody ever checks it. Do you spend time on needless meetings, memos and emails when you could deal with a matter in a brief phone call? Consider the person
- Who does it?
- Why that person?
- Who else could do it?
- Why that person?
- Who else should do it?
The objective here is to delegate downwards to the lowest level with the ability to perform the task satisfactorily. It is pointless to send a highly paid PA to the Post Office if the office junior can take your outgoing mail there just as easily. Better still, investigate the possibility of having your outgoing mail collected. Remember the old adage that 'nobody is indispensable'. Examine ways to take time out from your business, secure in the knowledge that it will run just as well when you are not there. Consider the place
- Where is the task done?
- Why there?
- Where else could it be done?
- Why there?
- Where should it be done?
Perhaps your printer has just delivered your latest brochure for final proof reading. You need a quiet environment with no distractions. Go home an hour earlier to do it in peace. If your home environment is noisy, find a quiet lay-by or car park. Out of the dilemma Of course, it is easy to consider aspects of what, who, why, when, where and how ...when you have time for yourself. And that creates a Catch 22 situation. You will not have the time until you do it, and you cannot do it until you have the time. Fortunately, there is a practical and effective way out of this dilemma. You invite a business coach to help you. All coaches are not equal. Some are specialists in the art and science of self management and developing a sound balance between leisure and work. HRM Coaching Ltd has a wide network of experienced and qualified coaches and can select the specialist who is most appropriate for your situation. An initial discussion is totally free of cost or obligation. Call Hannah on +44 20 8544 8024 for more information. This could be your first significant step towards building your business and still taking time off. You can find more information on http://www.hrmcoaching.com where you can also sign up for Hannah's regular business coaching newsletter.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Reflections in the Glass Ceiling
The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman ceo's being removed from office has raised the discussion about gender bias, again. It disappoints me that in 2005, I still hear women clients talking about "the old boys' network". They say "glass ceilings" are holding them back in terms of advancement, pay equity, recognition and career satisfaction. While I have no doubt their assessments are valid; it's important that we don't generalize too much. There are other reasons as well.
Group Discussion Guidelines
DISCUSSION METHODS: There are two basic types of discussion methods; the conference method and the workshop method. The conference method involves meetings of staff members, usually from the same organization, and is convened to pass on information, communicate management policies or decisions, or to solve organizational problems. These meetings are usually held for only one or two days, and generally consist of large discussion groups. The workshop method, on the other hand, is usually utilized when there are participants from a range of companies meeting for periods of longer than two days, for the purpose of devoting their attention to a specific problem or shared interest. The discussion groups tend to be small, and techniques such as role playing, case study, critical incident are commonly used.
Intercultural Management
The role of a manager is evolving in response to the needs of companies operating on the international stage. The complexities of globalisation brought to the area of management are great and require the 21st century manager to adapt in order to offer modern solutions to modern problems. One area in particular of growing importance is intercultural management skills.
Effective Meetings by Phone - Part 1, How to Plan a Teleconference
Teleconferences can be a boon or a bust. On the positive side, they allow people at
different locations to attend meetings without having to travel. On the negative side,
they can degenerate into frustrating struggles with uncontrolled babble. This occurs
because people lack visual contact, which hinders effective communication and
provides opportunities to misbehave.
Invoice Factoring for Goverment Vendors
Assignment of Claims Act of 1986"....What does this mean for you?
Disaster Prevention Tips For Hiring A New Manager
It happens over and over in businesses every day.
What Every HR Manager Should Know About Hiring Productive Employees
The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on whether or not they get hired. Their characteristics also indicate the level of their productivity. If you are about to hire employees, consider the characteristics listed below in checklist form. The candidates who possess them are probably the ones who will be readily accepted by your staff. This acceptance plays an important role in the team-building process and the productivity of the staff.
Having Your Phil
February 2nd, at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Gobbler's Knob in a small town in western Pennsylvania, 20,000 people and a national radio and television audience anxiously await the prognostication of America's favorite furry forecaster. In a tradition dating back 119 years, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from hibernation?and if he sees his shadow, it's back into the burrow for six more weeks of cold weather.
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Define the Problem First
Define the Problem First.
It seems obvious, but how many times have we gone to a problem-solving meeting and the discussion started with either whose fault was it or an assertion about the proper solution?
The Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone
I have a friend named Gene, a serial entrepreneur who currently runs a software business. Like many people, last year was a tough one for his company. They survived largely by providing add-on services to existing customers - a decent response to difficult circumstances. They even grew revenues a bit. But here's something else that happened: They got comfortable. They decided they could exist on their base of customers, and then they "realized" there would be no new ones.
Summertime Blues
It's hard to believe the year will be half over in just a few weeks. All the planning you did is either turning out great, coming along slowly but surely or hasn't really gotten off the ground because other issues keep getting in the way.
Project Management - Are You Done Yet
What happens when a Project Manager asks one of his team members "Are you done yet"?
Talent Recruitment Challenges of High Technology Companies
As a result of the dot com meltdown and the decline of the NASDAQ in 2001, many organizations had no alternatives but to lay off many talented IT professionals. Currently, the pool of available talent in the labour market is large. Over the long haul, the impact of shifting population demographics on the labour pool will be staggering. As the baby boom generation continues to age, we can expect acute labour shortages similar to the ones we experienced in the high technology sector during the dot com boom. While there is still a surplus of talent in the market, it is important for organizations to take proactive steps to attract the brightest and the best and thereby fuel their organization's growth. The days of placing ads in the newspaper and receiving a flood of resumes from qualified applications are drawing to a close. Companies that want to ensure that they have a steady stream of applicants will have to think outside the box to broaden their repertoire of talent recruitment strategies.
Presenteeism: The Hidden Costs of Business
(prez.un.TEE.iz.um) n
Running Successful Meetings - The Key Steps To Getting It Right
We all complain about meetings which are a waste of our time and the truth of the matter is that so many are exactly that. We've also seen the "corridor" meeting that takes place afterwards where it seems the real decisions are taken, or the agreed decisions are overturned.
Difficult Employees-Poor Performance - 10 Tips for Dealing with it in the Workplace
I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because I firmly believe that people cannot be managed ? only processes and systems can. How many times have you heard it said ? "Why won't my employees just do as they are asked?"
Miracle Max On Market Breakthroughs
Successful enterprise building requires seven elements. These are:
This Old Business
Not long ago I was asked to come out and take a look at a business that had been around for about 10 years... but the owner was frustrated with the amount of money he was making.
Top 7 Methods to Empower Employees
How many times have you asked someone to do something like "draw up a plan for such and such project"? Your employee completes the plan, but then you say, "That is not what I wanted" or "That is not how you do it". And so the employee thinks: you didn't tell me exactly how you wanted it done.
Money, Motivation, Success and Who?
It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was setting
up to do the opening keynote for the conference. For some
reason--I have no idea why--the sound man thought his ten
year old daughter would enjoy my presentation. He'd brought
her with him to work.
|
