You can't buy time.
Mega rich Warren Buffet knows this and he protects his time fiercely. There's a YouTube video of him chatting with Bill Gates about this. Bill is amazed that Warren's 'old school' paper calendar is practically empty. He needs his time for thinking and making decisions. Lots of meetings and appointments won't help with this so he avoids them. You can't argue that it hasn't worked for him.
I've been busier than usual lately and it forced me to think carefully about how I manage my time. I re-read Tim Ferris's, '4 hour work week' for inspiration and changed some of my working habits. I'm a long way from a 4 hour week but I have become a bit more productive
Here are some of the things which have worked for me:
1. Chunk your week
Break your week up into time slots where you do specific things. For example - client work in the mornings, sales calls in the afternoons, admin and queries on Mondays etc
2. Shut out all distractions
If you have time blocked out for a purpose, do that and don't get distracted by email, social media, phone calls etc. Let your phone go to voicemail and check email at set times during the day rather than being, ' Always on'. Tim Ferris takes not checking his emails to further extremes - checking only weekly or even monthly if he is travelling. Only one or two time slots a day is a good starting point.
3. Say no
We all want to please. Say yes to that lunch with the nice chap trying to sell you a photocopier, say yes to being on that new committee, yes to that meeting that someone else thinks you really should attend. No wonder our calendars get full. Before saying yes to an appointment a good test is, 'if this were tomorrow or the day after and not in two weeks time, would I still want to do it?'. If you find yourself hesitating you should probably (politely but firmly) say no.
4. Don't be too ambitious
We all have long lists. For business owners, the list is endless. There is always something you can do to make the business better. So we have a tendency to be ambitious with our lists. 'I'm going to get these 10 things done before lunch, then grab a sandwich, prep for that meeting, do the meeting and then finish off some other stuff'. We end up doing only half of it (often not very well) and leaving the office frazzled and exhausted. If you have just 2 or 3 'must do' things rather than a massive list you are less likely to be disappointed and can feel satisfied with a day well spent.
5. Have some chill out time
It's good to make some time during the working day to chill out a little. Whether that's a morning run, a lunchtime walk or a short break in between tasks, it's important to manage our own stress. Like Warren Buffet, have those little gaps (in his case big gaps) where there is nothing scheduled and you can think or take some time out.
I hope these tips help a little if you are feeling super busy and overwhelmed. A final thought is when you have finished your important but not too ambitious activity list, if you're the boss, why not call it a day? You don't need to stay every day until you have done your allotted hours.
Tim Ferris managed to get down to 4 hours a week. Most of us might not get there but a 40 hour week would be nice, right?
Let's finish with a quote from the great man, Warren Buffet, 'I really like my life. I’ve arranged my life so that I can do what I want'.
Now that's time management.
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