A wise man once said,
“If you had a hundred lazy, ineffective, needy, and unprofessional people working for you, you might realize that you would spend your time more wisely if you had ten good men who were driven, disciplined, and determined to accomplish their goals.”
Your time is your most valuable resource, and it should be treated as such.
- Only do what only you can do. Delegate, buy the time of others, avoid duplication and other unnecessary tasks, and demand a fair return on your investment.
- When your working partners regularly do not produce that which they agreed to produce, replace them.
- Use the technology available, make people come to you for meetings, and avoid a physical meeting unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Travel less, think more, and insist on results.
- Hold others accountable or withdraw your time.
De-fang Time Vampires
Time vampires abound. Those with the biggest mouths usually produce the least.
- Look at your time investments carefully before committing.
- Learn that most important word, “NO.” You don’t need to provide explanations.
- Limit meetings to thirty minutes and train your staff to intervene when necessary.
- Put a sign above your desk: “My Time Is Worth More than $1,000 per Hour. Waste It At Your Own Peril.”
- End phone calls as soon as possible; scarcity is valued. “You have exactly ten minutes.” At the end of ten minutes, end the call.
“We had a meeting. I spent my irreplaceable time on you. You didn’t deliver what you promised. Why should I waste more time with you?” Get serious, get tough, and you’ll get rich. The losers that you feel sorry for won’t thank you or help you when you’re losing money. Time IS money. It’s YOUR time; you own it, and you’re not obliged to give it away anymore than you are obliged to give away thousands of dollars. People have to EARN your time by producing results - on time.
Where Time REALLY Matters
Finally, time with your family, a good book, at a lake or beach, or on the ski slopes, is time well spent, and never wasted. When you look back on your life, you will remember how fast it went, how much you missed, and how impossible it is to get back. Spend it wisely - you only have one life. Time IS life.
