Time is the most valuable resource entrepreneurs have; yet many of them take it for granted and fail to take advantage of it properly, eventually ending up in ruin.
The author says that disorganisation leads to poor time management, and that this is intrinsically connected to poor earnings and limited success: only by re-evaluating our time and managing it effectively can we improve the state of our business and finances, and start to take advantage of every productive hour at our disposal so we can feel good and get rich.
This success-oriented approach starts with a small change in our perception: we must become aware of how important our time actually is, and demand other people to respect it too. We can do this by putting into practice a few simple methods that will first and foremost allow us to become aware of the passage of time, for example making sure that we can clearly see at least one clock in each room of the office, so we can pay attention to every second, minute, and hour that passes.
Another tip to focus our attention on the worth of our time is to count the productive hours at our disposal and calculate the cost that any delay or distraction has on our budget. We are so used to thinking that working days are made up of eight hours or more, but the truth is that nobody can be productive for such a long time all at once, especially if we need to simultaneously perform the multitude of tasks involved in being an entrepreneur or creative professional. So we can actually expect to have just a few hours of solid productivity per day, and in order to earn well, we need to focus on getting the most worth out of those hours. To understand this value, all we need to do is divide the amount of money we would like to earn by the number of hours we are able to work when we are at our best. This number will clearly show how much every minute of unproductivity costs us, when we are distracted or when our time is wasted by demands from other people.
It is worth remembering that today’s new technologies make it increasingly hard to concentrate or to maintain focus. Once upon a time, it was possible to shut the door to our office and declare that we were not to be disturbed, and we could be sure that nobody would interrupt us or come knocking on our office door. Today, distractions are embedded in our working tools: emails, text messages, notifications, and unscheduled calls make it extremely unlikely that we will be able to work undisturbed, and can even prevent us from concentrating for the duration of an entire working day. As a result, our time management and the quality of our work suffer, as does the amount of money we are able to earn.
To put a stop to this situation, we must start focusing during our working hours, and put into practice a few good habits that will help us support our productivity.
