Do YOU Have the Time?

We all have 24 hours in a day, right? No one has more or less. And some people are successful investors, right? Is that because they have more time than you do? Do they have 26 hours in a day?

This sounds silly, doesn’t it? Then why do so many people say that they just don’t have enough time to achieve success?

Are you one of these people? Do you say that you don’t have enough time?

Understand that time is a resource. Once it is gone, there is no getting it back. Time is not bigoted, racist, or only for the rich and beautiful. You can’t bank a few minutes. There is no going back. Everyone everywhere has the exact same amount and gets to spend it however they choose.

So how do you choose to spend your time? 8 hours sleeping… 3 hours eating…8 hours working…1 hour commuting. .. 1 hour with family… 1.5 hours getting ready to… that leaves just a short 1.5 hours to change your life. This must change if you are to succeed.

A few years ago I realized if I cut back on sleep, I could increase my time by 10%. I realized that if I was diligent, I could bundle my travel to include time viewing houses. I realized that the old saying is true: If there is a will there is a way.

Poor time management is the number one reason individuals aren’t successful. We waste a tremendous amount of time looking at e-mail, standing in line, leaving ineffective voice messages. playing telephone tag, going to ineffective meetings.

I have a challenge for you: How can you make better use of your time to get the results you want?

Time Management Techniques

People with poor time management don’t know where their time goes. Time is like money; if you don’t tell it where to go, it will be gone and you will have nothing to show for it!

1. Before you can save time, you have to know where you are losing time. How do you find this out? Starting on Monday morning, write down everything you do, (yes, everything) and how long it takes you. No cheating! Have you been on Facebook? Write it down. Did you stop at Target while you were out looking at properties? Write it down.

   On Sunday night, review your days, your hours. I guarantee that you will be surprised at how much time you wasted. Now, do this for a month. Cut things out. Combine tasks. Ask others to do things for you. Once you know where your time is going, you can spend it somewhere else.

2. Another technique is to rank your tasks from high priority to low priority. I find that most low priority tasks can be hired out. Another way to rank tasks is in the following chart.

   

   With this chart, you can see if much of what you are currently doing is low effort/ low reward. This includes things like email, laundry, cooking, eating out, travel time. What should be in the priority box instead? Getting your name out there; showing that you are ready and willing to buy real estate.

   The high priority/high reward box has to do with people. You should be building relationships. You should be leveraging your positive skill set for your highest return in value.

3. A third way to keep track of time is to decide how long each task should take, and set a timer. This will keep you on task rather than checking FaceBook or deciding that an oil change has to be done RIGHT NOW.

4. Plan your day before it starts. Make a list. Then ask yourself two important questions:

   1. How can I get this task done faster, better, more efficiently?

   2. Do I need to do it now?

   Then, stick with your plan!!

So what does this really mean? Stop eating, sleeping, and going to work? Of course not. It means that maybe you could pack your lunch so that you don’t have to wait in line. Or you could spend that lunch with someone and network at the same time. It could mean that when you commute, you do many tasks that are close to each other rather than making multiple trips to the same area. It means eliminating time-wasters, hiring out tasks that someone else can do faster, and getting more people involved.

What Do You Value?

Do you value television, sports, exercise, vacations, gardening, reading, learning something new?

The more we value something, the more we make time to do it. When we have a choice, we do the task which we value more. If a task is not fun, we avoid it. If the punishment for not doing the task is high enough, we get it done.

The next time you decide to do something—anything—ask yourself: Will this give me the results I want? Does this fall in line with what I value? Then decide: Should I do it or not?

When you decide to dedicate yourself to what you value, you increase your opportunity to succeed. That is why I know that you will contact me. I am looking forward to meeting you and helping you on your way to a successful 2015! Call for a free one hour consultation.