3 Ways to Get MORE Out of Your Most Valuable Resource
In my 40+ years of experience in sales, business development, and consulting, I’m blessed to have met more incredible entrepreneurs than I can count. Some were respected business leaders in their fields with decades of experience, while others were just getting started.
They all had a certain set of qualities and characteristics in spades: passion, drive, discipline, dedication, and perseverance to name just a few. These are essential components of the equation that yields a successful career in business.
But despite the abundance of these common qualities, there is one thing many if not all entrepreneurs wish they had more of: TIME.
TIME – The Most Valuable Resource
Many of the entrepreneurs I’ve spoken with since launching Celeste Giordano Coaching have opened up to me and shared their motivations for starting a business. Not surprisingly, many want to pursue a life filled with the material comforts that accompany success. If you’re reading this, you can probably relate. Most of us yearn for the ability to take luxurious vacations each year, purchase and furnish a beautiful home (or two), spend freely on our family and friends, and donate generously to the charities and causes that matter to us.
But without a doubt, the most coveted reward of business entrepreneurship is being a master of your time. Take a survey amongst entrepreneurs and you’ll discover that time is perceived as their most valuable resource. Yes, you read that corrected. Time is more desired even more than material wealth. Here’s why:
The gift of time enables entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a life by their design. With time, you can work your business, executing the daily, weekly and monthly actions necessary to create RESULTS and enjoy material success. When time isn’t scarce and you aren’t faced with the mounting pressures that accompany a hectic life, you can act with greater focus and the creative problem-solving capabilities necessary to build a thriving Legacy Business and enjoy the perks that come with it!
Time Management – A Common Struggle
Building a Legacy Business can feel like a superhuman feat sometimes for many reasons. It demands juggling a myriad of responsibilities from sales and marketing to leading a team and shaping a vision for the future. Business entrepreneurs need to hit the pavement and do their best work each and every day, all while managing a plethora of personal and family responsibilities. It’s no wonder that entrepreneurs complain that “there aren’t enough hours in the day”.
So, what can entrepreneurs do to create more time?
While you can’t change the number of hours in a day, you can focus on learning time management strategies that empower you to use your time more productively, effectively “creating” more time.
If you regularly feel there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish your goals, I challenge you to implement these time management strategies:
Strategy #1: Learn to “Chunk” Your Time.
One of the key reasons people procrastinate starting a task or allow themselves to get distracted while working on a task is because the task is daunting. They fear that they will fail at the task or simply struggle to complete it. When you have to undertake an important, challenging task or project, you may feel so overwhelmed by the pressure that you either delay getting started altogether or procrastinate by allowing yourself to become distracted by social media, emails or phone calls. Sound familiar?
At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I teach my clients the importance of breaking large, daunting tasks down into small, more manageable tasks tackled in 20 minute time “chunks” or increments. Doing so will empower you to have the confidence to face tough tasks head on, knowing that you will have a break to recharge and refocus if necessary.
Celeste’s Time Management Action Challenge:
Identify an important task that you have been avoiding but need to tackle. Situate yourself in a quiet environment and set a 20 minute timer. Until the timer rings, give that task your undivided attention. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted or switch tasks during this time period. Knowing that you only have to focus for 20 minutes should make it easier for you to resist the urge to shift your attention. When the timer rings, take a short break if you feel you need one, then repeat the process until you have completed your task.
Strategy #2: Ask Yourself – Do My Actions Reflect My Core Values?
Using your time “wisely” or “effectively” means ensuring that your actions bring you closer to achieving that which you set out to achieve in your personal and professional life. In order to ensure that time works for you rather than against you, you need to align your actions with your core values, the values that guide your internal conduct and how you relate to the world. When your actions reflect your values, everything you do will bring you one step closer to achieving your goals and provide a sense of fulfillment and achievement.
Celeste’s Time Management Action Challenge:
Take a few moments right now to evaluate whether your actions bring you closer or farther away from reaching your goals. Let’s say you have a goal of spending 10 minutes meditating each morning so that you can start each day with greater focus and clarity of purpose. When you mediate, it helps you recharge and have a more productive day. Unfortunately, you find days and even weeks passing without this goal being met. Your actions aren’t reflecting your values.
To re-align your actions with your values, you need to eliminate distractions that pull you away from your intended task. In this case, you can create an environment conducive to meditating by closing your door, putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign, and setting your phone on silent. These small action steps help bring you closer to achieving the goals that reflect your core values.
I encourage my clients to take a few minutes each week to:
- Make sure you have clarity about the things you value most in life by asking “What do I really want?”
- Eliminate activities in your schedule that aren’t closely connected to your goals and values
- Regularly evaluate whether your actions align with your values and identify strategies that will help you reach your goals
Strategy #3: Learn the Value of Saying “No”.
By and large, successful entrepreneurs are passionate, enthusiastic people who are energized by new opportunities. Embracing challenges and being open to opportunities that come your way can be advantageous, but not when doing so comes at the expense of you being able to achieve your goals.
Many of the entrepreneurs I have worked with have shared with me that the reason they are so overwhelmed with their schedule or “To Do” list is that they have a hard time saying “no”. When opportunities present themselves, they take them on out of fear that they will either miss out or be rejected or judged for failing to step up to the plate.
Have you ever felt a nagging internal voice tell you that you’re making the wrong decision by accepting another responsibility? When that happens, you’re saying “yes” against your better judgement. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to opportunities that compromise your values or take you away from time dedicated to the activities and people that matter most to you.
Celeste’s Time Management Action Challenge:
If you are accustomed to constantly saying “yes” to everyone and everything, you have to develop the ability to say no, just as you practice other important new skills. One strategy I teach my Celeste Giordano Coaching clients is to recall a time in your life when you reluctantly said “yes” to something you knew would be difficult for you, and immediately regretted it. Reflect on the emotional stress that your “yes” decision caused you. Maybe accepting a responsibility made you feel overwhelmed because you already had too much on your plate. Or perhaps you felt resentful toward the person who asked you to fulfill the responsibility. Before you say “yes”, stop and reflect on whether you’re experiencing a gut feeling telling you that you’ll regret your decision. Saying “no” isn’t always easy or comfortable, but I can promise you this: It’s easier to muster up the strength to say “no” than to say “yes” and suffer the consequences of that decision.
The Road to Personal and Professional Fulfillment
Mastering time management strategies will empower you to lead a more productive, prosperous and profitable life. And make no mistake about it: time management doesn’t begin and end with workplace responsibilities. Those who successfully manage their time as business leaders also enjoy happier, more fulfilling personal lives.
Remember – time is your most valuable resource. There are just 24 hours, 1,440 minutes or 86,000 seconds in a day. You can’t change the time clock, but by implementing strategies to align your actions with your goals, you’ll produce better RESULTS and enjoy greater work-life balance.
Contact me today at celeste@celestegiordano.com to become a master of your time so you can “Double Plus” your income THIS year and create a life you love.
I am excited to announce the release of my first issue of The Blueprint: For Building a Legacy Business.
Sales is near and dear to my heart. Many small business owners hate selling but over and over again I’ve proven that anyone can learn to sell if they just have the right tools.
I love to lead my clients to success and as a business strategist my desire for this magazine is to help you in all aspects of your business. Several of my high-level clients, from various backgrounds, have contributed articles with tips, ideas, and insights for overcoming the struggles and challenges small business owners face.
The tagline of my business is Learn • Grow • Achieve • Prosper which are the steps to take to become successful. It is my desire as a connector and international business consultant that anyone who is struggling in business finds the help they need.
Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “double-plus” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with almost 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.
To learn more about Celeste, click here.
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