Slaying Your Time Vampires

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
–  Carl Sandburg

Time is precious, and can easily pass us by. The problem is this:  Time, if not properly managed, can cause stress and anxiety. If you spend a greater percentage of your life feeling stressed instead of cool, calm and collected, you’re always going to lose out. When there are projects to be done and deadlines looming, tension is always just a step behind.

The key is to apply some simple principles of time management, so you can get rid of things that suck the life out of you.   To get rid of stress and anxiety, take steps to slay your time vampires.

Many self-employed people waste their entire day simply because they wake up in the morning without having any kind of plan at all. This usually happens when you simply don’t know what your priorities are, or should be. These days, it’s far too easy to get sidelined by unimportant emails, phone calls and texts, mindless TV shows, endless searches on the internet, watching online videos or wasting time with social media.

Self-discipline is the key.   Here are some solutions:

• Set aside some time at least once a week to work out what’s really important to you.
• Use a calendar to keep track of all your appointments.
• Write a To Do list every day. Based on the priorities you’ve identified, attack the most difficult jobs first, or those items or projects that really need to be completed. Label every task as either “Urgent” or “Can Wait.”
• Don’t fill your entire day with activities – leave time for breaks.
• Plan time for family, recreation, spiritual and social activities, so you don’t burn out. Constantly remind yourself that time is a commodity – once gone, you can never get it back.
• To avoid feeling out of control, don’t put off important tasks until the last minute.
• Set deadlines for yourself – and stick to them.

Common Time-Wasters

Have you ever sat down to work, and then before you know it, the time is gone?  There are so many distractions competing for our valuable time every day.  Check the following time-wasters and know what your weaknesses are…

• Text Messaging
• Social Media
• Forwarding email jokes, etc. to your friends and family
• Gossiping during coffee break
• Doing too much paperwork and other mindless, repetitive tasks yourself
• Not saying the word “no” often enough
• Computer games
• Crossword puzzles
• Excessive television or video viewing
• Wasting telephone time with idle chit-chat

All of these activities are fine – as hobbies.  But any of them can be disastrous to your personal productivity and profits, if you allow yourself to waste valuable money-making business time engaging in them.

Remember:  As an entrepreneur, the good news is that you’re your own boss.  But the bad news?  You’re your own boss.

Now go “manage yourself” properly, and watch your income and spirits soar!