If There Were No Time, Everything Would Happen at Once

Everyday we juggle what we commit to and what we actually get done. If our goals were static it would be easy to check them off and move on. It would be like shampooing your hair: Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

Our days are not static and that is both a blessing and a curse. New ideas, acquaintances, and opportunities present themselves with regularity, if we are willing to acknowledge them. And except for those of us with a crystal ball, few can predict how those new insertions to our experience will play out. The person you strike up a conversation with at the next lunch table could become a friend, a client or a drain on your resources.

How or if we react to that new idea, acquaintance or opportunity can become the curse.

New ideas are exciting. They strike an entrepreneurial chord in all of us. They are full of possibility but ideas without planning, commitment, and capital can quickly become disillusionment. New acquaintances can become new friends, but friends like plants are a responsibility. They require attention, watering and empathy. New opportunities are the lifeblood of life and business. To take advantage of them the trinity of recognition, timing and drive is essential. The cost of each is certainly worth the possible value of each.

The common curse is time and how we manage it. We struggle for balance in everything we do. We particularly struggle with the balance between work and personal time. But, is it a curse or do we make it one? Do you over commit? Do you honor the time of others more than your own? Do you give equal weight to the things you want to do and the things you have to do?

These are easy questions to ask, but not easy to answer with introspection and honesty. They are however important questions to answer for your self. If you don’t find the answers to the questions of how you commit your time, your days will be filled with frustration and anxiety. You will always be torn between what you commit to and what you deliver.

Spending Time Where it Matters

Time management is tricky. Commonly we think we can do it "better and quicker" than if we delegate. I am going through some business development exercises and I have to get better at delegating, or letting go, Monday will be a big test. But what is more interesting is dealing with clients that have no time to invest in their own business but try to write/maintain their own websites. I have had a few instances of this during this past week, someone just walking out 10 minutes ago. She was almost apologizing for the fact that she had issues. I just sat back waiting for her to breath so I could tell her how I could help. In the end she thanked me for explaining what I could do and how it would help.

I know a key factor in seeking a professional for a skillset outside of our own is money. Often the I can do it better/quicker is really a falsehood. We almost certainly don't perform better than the expert in the field and because we have less expertise it is either taking longer or we really aren't getting to the right information for our need. A core piece of my business success is "I am the expert at what I do, you are the expert at what you do, so together we will succeed." It has worked for databases, web design, and more.

Next time you try something that you know a professional can help you with don't just think about the money. Think about the time you will gain, the accuracy of the information you will obtain, and the fact that the resources will all be used where they are used best.