If I Could Put Time In A Bottle!

Do you know that song? If you do, sorry! It's probably in your head now. It's in mine, so I just had to share the fun. It's a '70s classic, though hardly the best song from that era. It was an antidote to disco: sappy, slow and sentimental. But who thought disco needed an antidote?!! Isn't it already perfect? Hard to improve on songs with titles like “Le Freak” and “It's Raining Men,” if you ask me. If you don't know “Time In A Bottle,” I'd suggest you check it out on YouTube, but you might fall asleep before making it back here, so don't! Just take my word for it and save the lullaby listening till bedtime. Because it's a classic, it came to mind when I started contemplating this week's blog and my topic of time management — also a classic fave in terms of topics that business experts love.

If you're wondering why “If I Could Turn Back Time” didn't jump into my brain, I'm wondering that too! I'm a huge fan of women who can pull off the one name thing and Cher is much more my speed. (OK, maybe I wouldn't wear her outfit from that video, but damn, she did look amazing!) Anyway, there's no shortage of songs about time, and they're usually about not having enough of it. Or wanting a do-over. Or stopping it entirely. While I have yet to hear one about wishing for better time management — and let's just all be thankful for that! — that's probably what we'd be singing about if, well, life at the office was a thing we sang about.

If I Could Turn Back Time! If I Could Find A Way... To Fit More Meetings In My Day!

I read an interesting article recently that said we should rethink the traditional approach to time management. Instead of trying to manage time, we should manage our energy. Sounds good, right? The first order of business is to get enough sleep. Easier said than done, but you probably don't get enough sleep and you probably already know that's not a good thing. Next, exercise. Do I need to say anything else about that? Didn't think so. After that, the damn smart phone and other devices! They're great because they keep us always connected, but that's also the problem. We can be left always "on", but not actually productive. So we need to be mindful about when and how we use them.

And now to the more obvious ways to channel our energy, set goals that energize you. Figure out which activities — both at work and at home — energize you and try to spend more time doing those things. Same goes for scheduling your day. Whenever possible, arrange your day to suit your energy levels. The more energetic you are while doing something, the better you'll be at doing it. (Again, don't Google “Time In A Bottle” till your day's over.)

Good Time Management Means Being Protective Of Your Time!

While I'm passing along advice, I may as well share some tips from a past blog of mine on the subject of time. It's been a while since I wrote this, but it's all still very applicable.

• Guard your time with your life. We can always make more money, we can NEVER redeem lost time.
• Triple confirm everything. It takes 30 seconds to send an extra text or email saying, "Just making sure we're still on for tomorrow at noon at your place."
• Double check the time zone! Want to really feel lame? Set an appointment based on your time zone, only to find out your customer is 3 hours ahead. You've got to speak THEIR language, not yours.
• Hire people who value their time like you do. If someone is late, sloppy or just dense, no matter how hard you try, you're never going to convince them to get with it. So hire right in the first place.
• Predetermine the value of your time. What's your hourly rate? Maybe not the rate that you make right this second, but how much do you want to be making? $50/hour? $100? $350?
• Force yourself to assess the real cost of wasting time. Hillary had to drive to the White House, probably got there a bit early to make sure she was on time and settled, probably had blocked 90 minutes for the meeting and then had to consider the time to drive to wherever she was headed. This was easily 3 hours in lost time, right? What's her hourly rate? Last I heard her going rate was $275,000 a speech and that was probably for 60 minutes, plus some meet and greet time built in for the event.

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

Good time management isn't the only factor contributing to your success. Want to eliminate frustration and increase cash? Discover 8 simple ideas to get clients, identify the three types of clients and create your sales system. Get Our Top 5 Strategies right here for FREE!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Time Management – Tip #1:

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"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." – William Penn

Time Management – Tip #2:

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"The key is in not spending time, but in investing it." – Stephen R. Covey

Time Management – Tip #3:

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"One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time." – unknown

Time Management – Tip #4:

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"Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else." – Peter F. Drucker

Time Management – Tip #5:

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"The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: “I did not have time." – Franklin Field

Let's talk! I'd love to hear about your approach to time management!

When it comes to time management, do you manage your time or your energy? Or both? I would LOVE to hear from you! Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week!

Oh by the way, in case you're looking for something to help with time management, we've got this fun little quiz to test your productivity. Are you a Vodka & Red Bull? A Dirty Dirty? Or a plucky Blue Sapphire? Find out which cocktail you are by taking our quiz right now!

And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M

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