24 Hours in a Day

At times we’ve all wished there were more hours in a day.  It amazes me how the tv show ‘24′ can draw one day into a full season worth of shows.   The fact is, unless we find some way to alter the time/space continuum, there will always be only 24 hours.  Of that 24 hours you must find a balance: 8 hours sleep, 3 hours eat, 1 hour shower/dress, 1 hour exercise, 3 hours personal time.  Which leaves ideally 8 hours for work.

To get done what needs to get done you must set priorities.  Sounds easy enough, but most people I work with have a difficult time with this.  I stress to them that the first 20 minutes of the day is the most important and will dictate what you get done the remainder of the day.  Here’s how mine goes:

1st 10 minutes – Focus exercise.  My business coach, Spencer Combs, suggested this exercise and it really works!  Take 5 minutes meditating on what you have accomplished and immerse yourself in being thankful for what you have and what achievements you have gained, etc.  Then take 5 minutes and focus on what your goals are, actually FEEL what it feels like to be successful, see what your day would be like, FEEL what it would be like to reach your goal (ie. see yourself sitting on the beach on that vacation you want, or driving that new car you want, or spending that time with the family, etc.  Whatever is your goal).

Next 10 minutes – Prioritize tasks.  Do the most important tasks first, not necessarily the “fun” tasks.  Do what is imparative to making your business grow.  Time block the time needed to do those tasks.

If you spend the first 20 minutes of your day doing these things instead of roaming around the office getting your coffee, saying hi to everyone, avoiding doing the “uncomfortable” tasks, etc, you will find you will be more focused and will get more done.  Not because you “found” more hours in the day, but because you are not wasting time on unnecessary tasks.

Save time and money by backing up your computer

I rarely make New Year’s resolutions, but this year I have and I think it is one that is easily obtainable.  My resolution this year is to back up my computer regularly!  I’ve done a very unscientific pole and found that the majority of people I asked have NOT backed up their computer.  I confess, I’ve only backed up key files and the most recent backup I did was last September!

So how will backing up your computer save you time and money?  I’ll give the example of what happened recently to a local real estate agent where I live, we’ll call him “Bill”. Bill is a successful real estate agent and relies on his computer daily to help him with prospecting, tracking client information, etc.  He also has a side business in which he relies on his computer heavily.  Bill utilizes Facebook (a social networking tool) regularly and unknowingly picked up a particularly nasty virus which totally wiped out his computer.  Unfortunately, Bill had not backed up his computer.  He had to take it to a professional and was eventually able to get MOST of his files recovered.  When it was all said and done his computer was out of service for a full week and it cost almost $2,000 to get the files he desparately needed back.  I don’t know about you, but I can think of many other ways to spend $2,000!

The reason I haven’t performed a full back-up yet is because I really didn’t understand what all the options were.  There was a great featured article in the January 2009 SmartComputing magazine that goes into great detail on the subject (I highly reccomend this magazine for anyone interested in learning more about how computers work).  I thought I would summarize the options available and if you want any more details, feel free to contact me.  It really isn’t as complicated as I thought!

• Backup Media
  • There are several options for the media in which you save your data:  1) Disks (ie. CD’s & DVD’s), 2) USB Flash Drives, 3) External Hard Drives, 4) On-line services.
  • Each media has pros & cons.  Disks are cheap, but can be easily scratched and it takes multiple disks to do a backup. USB Flash Drives have a limited storage capacity, they are great for storing a small amount of files.  External Hard Drives are great because in the event of an emergency evacuation you can just grab and go and the storage capacity is equal to your desktop (These are more costly however, running from $150 – $300).  On-line service is great because in the event of a catastrophe you can recover the files from anywhere (price ranges from $50 – $100/year).
• Backup Software – There are many options to choose from, each with pros and cons.  The price ranges from $40 – $70 for the software.  Some of the software that was featured in the SmartComputing.com article include:  Drive Backup 9.0 Personal, True Image Home 2009, PC Backup Pro 8.0, Genie Backup Manager Home 8.0, Backup Now 5 Advanced Edition, and AutoBackup Premium.  You’ll need to look at each of the software options to decide which is right for you.
  • On-line services – Instead of purchasing software, you can subscribe to an on-line service which backs up your data via the internet.  The services featured in the SmartComputing magazine include: www.carbonite.com, www.idrive.com, www.mozy.com, www.ibackup.com, and storage.vmn.net.

That is it, really! All you have to do to save time and money is purchase the software (or subscribe to a service) and decide what storage media you want to save it to.  Once you complete the full backup (which takes the longest), you can schedule shorter incremental & differential backups regularly.

The article also details software options for recovering lost data, but I won’t go into that since everyone now knows how easy it is to save hours of frustration & lots of wasted money!  So to ensure your new year is not plagued with the hassle of lost data, make the small investment in this easily preventable solution.

What multitasking really means, and why you shouldn’t do it!

I use the term “multitasking” a lot.  I used to say it with pride in interviews, “I am an excellent multi-tasker.  I can juggle several tasks at once, blah..blah…blah”.  I’m currently reading a book that is challenging my beliefs in this being a good thing.  The name of the book is “The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing it All” gets nothing done”, by Dave Crenshaw.  It’s a really easy read but has some challenging concepts in it.

The main concept is that multitasking as we commonly use the term is actually switchtasking.  Meaning if you are working on something, say writing your blog, and a phone call comes in and you answer it (or if  a colleague comes in and asks you a quick question) you may think you are juggling two things at once but you are actually switching gears in your mind to to the other task and then switching back to work on the original task.  This switching costs valuable time!  There is a quote in the book that really brought this home for me, being the techie person I am:  “The brain is a lot like a computer.  You may have several screens open on your desktop, but you’re able to think about only one at a time. - William R. Stixrud, Ph.D.“  The book walks the main character through exercises that illustrate this exact point and shows just how much time is wasted in switchtasking.

When I really started thinking about it, many of my previous posts support this way of thinking.  This book just lays it out in a way that really “clicked” for me.  Take, for example, the time study I blogged about a couple of months ago.  If you were diligent with your tracking and wrote down every time you stopped to answer the phone or e-mail etc.  you can see what I mean.  Every time you are working on a project and then stop to answer the phone, it takes you several seconds (or minutes) to switch back to where you were when you were interrupted.  A one-time interruption may not seem like a big deal, but add it up over dozens of times over the course of the day!  Not to mention when you are not giving one thing your full attention those around you can tell.

The ramifications of switchtasking go beyond just time management.  If you work in a team environment or have direct reports, those around you can get the feeling that you are not really listening to them.  I had this exact experience when I was a supervisor.  At the time, the feedback was that I really didn’t care about my direct reports.  In actuality, I was just trying to get everything done!  I honestly thought I could finish typing my e-mail and listen to what my employee was saying and answer their question at the same time.  Usually that is exactly what I did, but I found my team’s morale dropped because they didn’t think I cared about them.  Of course I cared about them! That was why I was working so hard to get everything done!  I had to make a concerted effort to physically stop what I was doing and pay attention to each individual as needed.  Morale greatly improved when I started doing that.  One example this book gives to help manage your time is setting up regular meetings with each of your key employees so they have one designated time to get their questions answered.  This will reduce the amount of interruptions and improve the relationship between you and your employees.

This concept translates to your personal life too, ensuring you are spending quality time with family and friends.  I highly reccomend this little gem of a book.  It will really get you thinking about how you work during the day and how you can better focus your time by concentrating on one thing at a time.

Hectic holiday season

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted.  This is due in part to the busy holiday season having started.  At first I was feeling guilty not to be “faithful” to my weekly blog, but that got me thinking.  During this busy time of year most people feel some sort of time management stress.  We are all groomed to have the belief that we need to get it all done and when we inevitably fall short of this the stress level goes up completely negating the joy that is supposed to come along with this time of year.

We all need to face the fact that just because it’s the holidays, there are not more than 24 hours in a day.  It all comes down to priorities.  If you have a clear idea of what is a “must do” for your business versus “nice to do” tasks, you will have a much easier time deciding on what needs to be put on the back burner for a while.  For me, this time of year I throw a big party for my friends decorating gingerbread houses that I’ve worked for a full week to make from scratch.  This is an important thing for me to be able to give to my friends.  So, something has to give because, as I stated before, there is still only 24 hours in a day.  To get everything ready for the party I had to decide what was important to do and what could be put on the back burner.  One of the things I decided was not a “must do” is writing a weekly blog, another is I’ve not watched TV in the evenings for the past week because I’ve been busy baking.

The main point I wanted to make is to give yourself a break.  You still need to do the “must do” tasks like lead generating and servicing your clients, but do you really need to spend an hour blogging, or is there something like watching television that you can do without?  This time of year should be focused on giving thanks for friends and family and spending time with loved ones.  Don’t let another holiday season go by worrying everything must be “just right” and that you have to get everything done.  I promise if the floor isn’t ‘clean enough to eat off of’, your guests will not notice.  I’ll bet that they are just happy to spend time with you.

My next post should be an interesting one.  I’m currently reading a book called “The Myth of Multitasking (How doing it all gets nothing done)”.  I’ve always taken pride in being able to multi-task, but this book is making me think twice about whether or not that is a good thing….

I hope you all have a truly happy holiday season.  Don’t sweat the small stuff!

Parkinson’s law

While at the Shift tour last week, Dave Jenks used in one of his examples the term Parkinson’s law.  This law really hit home with me as something that everyone needs to be conscious of, as we all fall into the trap unless we consciously work to avoid it.

Parkinson’s law is the adage that “work expands to fill the time available”.  To put it in a practical example… If you have a big project and a 24 hour deadline, you will just do the essential tasks that will have the biggest impact to get the project done.  If you are given the same project and a week to do it, you will fill the time with adding “fluff” or making more out of the project that is needed.  That, or you will procrastinate until 24 hours before it is due and rush to get it all done last minute.

You can use this principle in how you plan your day.  This law shows the importance in prioritizing your tasks (essentials to growing your business vs. the extra “stuff” you do), and time blocking to get those essential tasks done.  The goal is to eliminate the “fluff”, or non-essential tasks.  If you really look at what you do and focus on performing the task in a certain block of time, you can free-up hours of your work-week, gain a sense of accomplishment, and move your business to the next level faster.

Learn how to say “no”

No one likes to say “no”.   However, it is an essential skill that one must learn to properly manage their time.   By saying ”yes” to everything, you risk falling into several traps: 1) Not living up to all your promises, 2) Not doing anything well because you are trying to get everything done, 3) Getting burned out by trying to please everyone.

So, how does someone who hates to say no learn how to say it?  First of all you need to change your mindset.  Saying “no” doesn’t make you a bad person.  There is a great article on RealSimple.com that gives several scenarios and how to say no gracefully (http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1149806-1,00.html).  The more you learn to say “no” to the things you need to say no to, the more you can say “yes” to the things that matter most to you.

Motivation is half the battle

For some, time management is less about the need to get more done in a day then is is about doing what matters most.  You can have great systems put in place, but unless you are focused on a goal they will get you no where.  This is where motivation becomes a factor.  If you’ve read my previous posts, you know I love systems and I’ve learned to love my “to-do” lists.  But all the systems in the world will not help if you do not have the proper motivation and frame of mind. 

My most recent session with my business coach, Spencer Combs (www.spencercombs.com), was eye opening.  We looked back at an exercise we did about 6 months ago and I realized I met most of the goals I set for myself back then! It was now time to do the same exercise again in order to move my business forward to the next level.  You would think that would be motivation enough to light a fire under me and renew my push for building a successful virtual assistant business.  I was surprised that instead of being productive last week, I was totally un-productive and just went through the motions.  I think I finally realize what coach Spencer means when he explains that everyone has different motivators (what “moves” you).

My motivation this week came from a conversation about vacations I had with my husband this week-end and what we can afford to do next year.  We talked about how much we need to save each month to get us where we want to go and I realized THIS is my motivation.  That’s why it’s Monday morning and I’ve already written my blog for the week, heck I might even write TWO this week!

In summary, time management is very important and the more you work on implementing things that will leverage your time and energies the better, however the other part of the equation is you have to find what motivates YOU to put it all together and MAKE IT HAPPEN!  Systems alone will not make your business grow.  You must have focus and a goal that motivates you to keep moving forward.  That motivator is different for everyone (there is no right or wrong motivator).  It’s taken me a year of coaching to figure out mine, so don’t give up if you haven’t found yours yet!  It may even change over time.  Just believe in yourself and don’t be afraid of what you learn.

Use a showing feedback tool to save time

I am always getting requests to evaluate different software programs that tout the “latest and greatest” guarranteed to help agents sell more houses for the low, low price of $— ……

More often than not, my evaluation comes back with a firm “It’s not worth your money, stick with what you have”.  There is one program I was told about by a realtor friend that I think is worth telling you all about.  It will help you organize your showing feedback requests, save you time, and best of all… It’s Free!

The website is www.showingfeedback.com.  You set up your listing (with a picture to help agents remember what home you want feedback on) and when you have a showing you simply enter the showing information (agent’s name, company, e-mail address) and send the request.  This will send an e-mail request to the agent with a brief quesionnaire about their clients response to the home.  You can even customize what questions are asked.  Their response is automatically uploaded into the program and you can even give your clients access to the feedback.  Do you have difficulty getting ahold of agents, or do they not always respond to your e-mail request for feedback?  This program will automatically re-send the request up to 3 times so you don’t have to remember to re-send the e-mail.

All-in-all a big timesaver.  Everything is kept in one place, you don’t have to continuously give your clients feedback (they can see what others are saying for themselves), and you don’t have to keep sending multiple requests to agents to try to get them to respond.

Try it sometime, if you need help getting it set up just let me know!  I’d be glad to help.

How to Manage Interruptions

We’ve all experienced this scenario: You have carefully planned out your day, knowing exactly what you need to get done and how long it should take you, then BAM! You get a phone call.  The deal you are closing next week is falling through!  You spend the next hour on the phone putting the deal back together.  Crisis averted.  Then you stay up an hour later that night to finish the things you had scheduled on your to-do list…

Why not schedule “miscellaneous” time into your day to cover these situations?  That way if you get that “emergency” phone call that has to take priority you can go with the flow, handle the situation, and be stress free!  The worst thing that could happen is that you don’t have an emergency come up.  If that happens, you can use the opportunity to work on some of the lower priority items on your list that you wouldn’t have normally been able to get to.

Leverage Mindset

I’ve done quite a bit of research lately to try to find ideas on how to help people leverage their time.  What I’ve found is that many people do not really understand the term “Leverage” or how it really works.  For this discussion I will focus on my speciality (people leverage)

To truly take advantage of people leverage, it needs to be thought of as a long term process.  It is not just something you implement once and never look at again.  Ideally the way the progression should go is something like this:

1) You work for yourself as an entrepreneur;
2) At first you are able to grow your business (working “on” the business) and perform daily tasks (working “in” the business);
3) Eventually you are no longer able to grow your business because your day is filled with working on tasks;
4) You hire someone part time (or hire a virtual assistant so you do not have to commit to an employee) to take on the daily tasks, which will free up your time to continue growing (or working “on”) the business;
5) Business grows again to a point where your part-time person can not take on any additional tasks and your day is filled with performing daily tasks again;
6) Hire your first full time assistant.

At this point your assistant should be able to handle the day-to-day tasks and you can concentrate on growing your business.  As your business grows, you simply add additional staff. 

The main point of this whole process is that you MUST get away from doing the administrative tasks and concentrate your time on growing the business, meeting more prospects, developing business relationships.  Many people start their own business because they love what they do and want the freedom to do things their way.  The reality is that owning your own business often takes you out of being the “technician” and into more of a networking/sales role.  You can’t DO the work unless you go out and GET the work.  It really is a catch 22.  If you don’t enjoy the networking/sales part of business you may want to consider continuing to work for someone else because if you don’t market yourself and your services effectively your business will never succeed.  If you do market yourself and your business effectively, you will grow your business to the point where you need to hire people leverage to continue to grow it.

If you are a real estate agent the point where you need people leverage but don’t know exactly what you need, contact me for a free Leverage Needs Analysis.  Check out my website www.LeverageResource.com to see some of the ways I help other real estate agents leverage their time.