eTip #16

Time and Money

“The difference between poor people and rich people is that poor people spend their money and invest what's left over; rich people invest their money and spend what's left over."

This being a true statement, then it would follow that rich people's time management must begin with a focus on income-producing activity and that any remaining time would be spent on what's left over.

Try dividing your calendar into 3 kinds of days.

A. Focus Days
What are the 20% of your activities that account for 80% of your income? Focus Days are spent EXCLUSIVELY focused on these high-profit activities. That means no interruptions, no phone calls, no e-mail, and no admin (unless, of course, interruptions, phone calls, e-mail, and admin are how you and your business make the majority of your money).

How on earth can you run a business without interruptions, phone calls, e-mail, and admin? You can't! That's why you have...

B. Support Days
Support days are for doing all the things you need to do to maintain your business, honor your commitments, and take the follow up actions generated on your Focus Days. These are the days where you return phone calls, clear your in-box, file your papers, and set up actions and appointments for your next Focus Day.

If you want to have a life worth living, you'd better factor in...

C. Free Days
When's the last time you took a day off? Not "time off", not an hour for lunch or a couple of hour's for a movie, but a whole day where your body, mind, and spirit were focused, guilt-free, on connecting with loved ones, enjoying nature, or just engaging in some purposeless fun? Free Days are exactly what they sound like - days where you are free to do anything that appeals to you that is not connected to your work or your business.

It is recommended that you schedule at least 100 Free Days in your first year of implementing this time management system. If that sounds like way too many days off, you're probably still stuck in the notion that the longer and harder you work, (as opposed to the more focused and systematic you are in the way you work) the more successful you'll become.

Can’t do an entire day of your 20%? ….Then do the first 2 in half days. Learn to make this work for you and how you and your company earn money!