As an entrepreneur, how do you measure productivity? Whether you manage a group of employees, a handful of independent contractors or are merely keeping track of your own productivity levels, you need to ask yourself: How productive am I? At what level are your time management skills? Was getting organized at the top of your to-dos for 2012? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, let me ask you this…Do you believe that multi-tasking makes you more, or less, productive. We will discuss multi-tasking in a future post, but I wanted you to be thinking of it while you read this information.
What steps do you take to make effective use of your time? Do you live by a calendar — whether virtual or paper copy; write your to-dos on a white board or write sticky notes to remind you of items to be done? Truly, no one can dictate which of these methods for tracking your tasks are best, but you do need to know yourself to know what will offer you the greatest efficiencies.
Getting a handle on your time is perhaps the most important thing you can do for both yourself and your staff and it is likely the most difficult item to tackle. According to productivity professional, Laura Stack, the biggest time management challenge is that individuals simply don’t take time to think and plan. She suggests adding “thinking time” to your daily calendar. If you’re thinking you don’t have time to even get your normal daily tasks done, so how could you possibly spend time thinking, you need to open your thoughts. To effectively plan a day, week or month you truly need to take stock of everything you need to accomplish and how can you do that unless you’ve taken the time to think about it? You probably can’t.
Do you rely on your technologies to keep your time in check? Be aware that many people get lost in their technologies — smart phones, etc. — and lose track of time and therefore, fall behind in their day-to-day tasks. If you’re going to rely on your technologies, make certain you are aware of the time you might be wasting while doing so. Set a timer to keep yourself in check.
Remember, once your time is gone, you can’t get it back. Use it wisely and be the most productive you can be! Look for members on Tradesource that can coach you toward productivity and success.