Is your personal time your own?  Likely you will answer yes – is it really?  How much personal time do you have? 

I don’t mean with your family and friends but with yourself?  Do you ever wonder why some days you feel so frazzled?  Why is that?  Is it because you don’t pay enough attention to yourself?

People say that they think about themselves and what they should be doing and what they should be saying and how they should be behaving – thoughts are just that – thoughts.  But how much time do you give yourself – real caring time just to be?

How much time are you taking just for a walk by yourself in the woods or by the water – just for no reason at all – not exersize, not walking with a friend or for no other reason than to be with yourself? A time out . . . .

How much time to you give yourself every day?  Even 20 minutes? How much time to you give to your family needs, your job, your commute, your friends every day?  Is there a space for you? 

In the next few days, become aware just how much time you give yourself just to be – you’ll be amazed!

If I look back at all the time I’ve invested in Chrometa since we founded it, most of the things I’ve done haven’t mattered at all in the long run.  I’ll bet just 5% of my efforts have yielded 80% or more of our benefits.

This struck me after we closed our first deal.  It was a Friday, and driving back to my home office, I thought: “Wow, what a monumental leap forward.  Actually, does what I do the rest of the afternoon even matter?”  In the long run, it didn’t – I have no idea what I “worked on” that afternoon. 

Since then, I’ve tried to sit back and think that if I only had one hour to work today, what would I do?  That usually helps push a sales/marketing activity to the forefront.  It’s never administrative work, that’s for sure.  That said, I would like to share our second time management principle with you.

Entrepreneurial Time Management Principle #2

Don’t get too busy – fake it if you feel guilty.

Resist the urge to fill up your day with meetings, phone calls, and items that you need to get done.  I constantly ask myself: “What’s the worst that will happen if I don’t have this meeting?  If I don’t get this done?”  If it’s not that bad, axe it.

And if you want to project a busy façade for the rest of the world to see?  Go for it – nobody’s going to know you’re not really that busy.  Heck, Ben Franklin used to run through the streets of Philadelphia carry reams of paper by hand back to his printing shop.  It was all for show – because not only did Franklin value hard work, but he also valued the appearance of hard work.

Sure, it feels great to be busy, and to “get a lot done.”  But I think as an entrepreneur, this is a trap.

To read Part 3 of Brett’s time management principles, click here.

Brett Owens is co-founder and CEO of Chrometa, a company that provides automatic time tracking.  A graduate of Cornell University, Brett is an expert in time management and employee productivity and is currently focused on the application of operations research techniques to help organizations and people manage time more effectively.  He would love to hear suggestions and thoughts about that you have on this subject and can be directly reached via email at brett@chrometa.com or you can visit his company on the web at http://chrometa.com. 

All posts on “My Future In Focus” Weblog are the intellectual property of T.A. and are licensed under a

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“Never confuse activity with achievement.” – John Wooden

Has it ever been more challenging to get work done than it is today?  It’s quite ironic that, as fortunate as we are to have all of the technological innovations we enjoy today, these “productivity boosters” can be too much of a good thing.

Sometime earlier this year, I found myself really looking forward to a free weekend where I had nothing planned – which would allow me to get “a lot of work done”.  So starting Saturday morning, I plowed away at my “to do” list.  Same thing on Sunday.  I knocked off more things than I would have during a normal work week, and in only two days.

These weekend work sessions have become a real boon to my productivity.  And many people I’ve discussed this with have shared my experience.  “Absolutely, I can’t get anything done during the week, there are just too many interruptions.”

But recently I got to thinking – wait, there’s something really wrong with this picture.

(Continue reading…)

First off – I love what I do.  I’m building my own company and I’ve gotten to choose everyone I work with – so absolutely no complaints.  BUT – is it healthy to work for consecutive weeks on end, without breaking away?

I don’t think so.  Hard work is great and absolutely required for entrepreneurs.  But often our best ideas will come when we least expect it – when our mind is free to relax and drift.  This can’t happen if we work 24/7/365 – we just never get the opportunity.

So recently, I’ve started devising a system that would help optimize my personal/business productivity, AND bring a little more balance to my life.

I started by immersing myself in many of the time management and productivity methodologies out there – and there are no shortage of them.  I’ve traditionally avoided these, because, well, I fancied myself as being relatively productive. 

One thing I learned is that, as an entrepreneur, my playbook is always changing.  So I need to develop a very flexible system – beyond just optimal efficiency. 

In this series, I will share an overview of a hybrid system I’ve developed.  Here is the first of three principles that I’ve been successfully incorporating:

Entrepreneurial Time Managemenent Principle #1

Always be prioritizing – most things don’t matter.

Classic 80/20 rule – 20% of the things you do will provide 80% of the value.  If you have 10 things on your “to do” list, the top 2 are much more valuable than the next 8 combined.

I’d encourage you to chew on this concept a bit – it’s simple, yet very powerful.  I try to reprioritize my top items on a weekly basis (this is a better use of weekend work time).  I’ve found that many of the “next 8″ are no longer important anymore.

Sure, it’s great if I get a lot done, but if it’s not the right stuff, who really cares anyway.

Please make sure to check back on tomorrow for Brett’s second time management principle. 

Brett Owens is co-founder and CEO of Chrometa, a company that provides automatic time tracking.  A graduate of Cornell University, Brett is an expert in time management and employee productivity and is currently focused on the application of operations research techniques to help organizations and people manage time more effectively.  He would love to hear suggestions and thoughts about that you have on this subject and can be directly reached via email at brett@chrometa.com or you can visit his company on the web at http://chrometa.com. 

All posts on “My Future In Focus” Weblog are the intellectual property of T.A. and are licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivative Works 3.0 United States License

It is actually fairly commonplace for people to become overwhelmed by everything that they have to accomplish in a day, especially when they are lacking in the necessary time management strategies.  Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything that you set out to accomplish in a day?  People who are overwhelmed accomplish far less than those who are confident about their workload. So if you are feeling overwhelmed by what is currently on your plate, these three time management strategies may help you feel far less overwhelmed, which will help you get more accomplished in the process.

1 – Delegate and Outsource. One of the biggest things that you can do to improve your time management is actually simple to understand.  You do not need to do everything, let alone do it all in one day. Rather than try to take everything on by yourself, learn how to delegate and outsource by offering parts of projects to those who can help. If you believe that someone can manage part of a project more efficiently than you, ask for their help. Focus on the parts of projects that you know that you can complete, and do not allow yourself to become overwhelmed by the details.

2 – Set Time Limits and Time Budgets. Every task that you tackle should have a realistic time limit or time budget set for it. This way, you can better work productively on each and every task based on individual time limits. When you give a task an indefinite amount of time, or when you try to tack a single time limit onto a very large project, it is much more difficult to get things done in a timely manner. Instead, allow each facet of a project to have a time budget and you will be able to get a lot more accomplished.

3 – Learn to Say No. You need to learn how to say no not only to your own self, but also to other people in your life who have unrealistic expectations of you. People often take on far too much and that is one of the largest causes of things simply not getting accomplished. Don’t take on more than you can handle, letting yourself and other people down in the process. Instead, simply learn how to say no when you do not think that you can accomplish a given task, rather than taking it on and allowing for it to overwhelm you further.

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If you want to improve your work performance these time management strategies can help you to work more effectively and achieve a lot more. Better performance isn’t just about doing a lot more, otherwise you could end up just working far too hard. Improving your performance helps you to work more effectively, focusing on the right things to do in alignment with your goals. It means that the time you invest in work is put to its best use. Learning the strategies needed for this can be done quite simply and worked on more deeply as you become accustomed to them.

1 – Planning. This is essential to improved performance and planning helps you to identify in advance the things that need to be done, when they need to be completed, and what you need to accomplish them. Thinking this through and writing it down beforehand prepares you better and allows you to focus 100% on the tasks as you’re doing them, rather than getting distracted when you’re unsure. Planning also helps to avoid interruptions to your work flow when you have to find necessary tools or paperwork. Once you have a clear plan outlined, now you’re ready to work through it diligently.

2 – Review and reevaluate weekly. Each week take a little time out from your normal work tasks, perhaps about 15 minutes and carry out a review of your previous week. Take a look at what you were able to get done, the things that you weren’t able to complete and most importantly notice the times when your performance was at its best. Identify what helped you to perform tasks better. Perhaps your energy was higher, you felt more relaxed and rested, or perhaps you felt very enthusiastic and motivated. Its from these things that you’ll learn the most about how to improve your own personal performance. From this review, re-evaluate how you’re going to approach the following week and what specifically you’re going to implement.

I encourage you to be continually aware of your performance so that you identify how to have more of the peak times and less of the low-performing times.

Now imagine performing your work at a high level, and achieving your goals and dreams.

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The Importance of Personal Time Management

(or get the white paper on business time management training).

Are you an individual who knows how to make good use of your time?  If you are not, you may want to learn ways to make improvements.  This is because time management can have a negative impact on your personal life.  Unfortunately, many individuals only believe that poor time management hurts those in the workplace, but this isnít the case.  In fact, there are a number of ways that your personal life can suffer from poor time management.

If you do not know how to manage your time, there is a good chance that you will be stressed out.  You may also feel a wide range of other emotions, including anger, frustration, and fear.  With that said, if you know how to properly manage time you are more likely to live a happy, healthy, productive, and stress free life.

Although we often associate poor time management with missed deadlines and showing up late to work, it is important to remember that the same can be said with your social life.  Do you have friends?  How much do you stay in contact with them?  How often do you get together for coffee or lunch?  If you do, do you show up for your meetings with friends late or do you forget to make regular contact with them?  If you do, you may end up putting your friendships at risk.

In addition to having a negative impact on your friendships, poor time management may also have an impact on your relationship.  To have a healthy and happy relationship, time management is important. You need to know how much time you should devote to your spouse, as opposed to spending it working, watching television, or hanging out with friends.  Time management is also important as you want to make sure that you arrive home or at dates on time.

If you are a parent, having poor time management may also impact the relationship that you have with your children.  When you are a parent, you have responsibilities to your children.  The most common of these responsibilities is to feed and clothe your children.  Depending on their ages, you may also be reasonable for getting them ready and sent off to school or daycare.  If you do not have proper sense of time or if you do just choose not to use your time wisely, you can end up hurting your children, like by making them late to school or other important events.  All individuals are encouraged to have good sense of time, but it is vital for parents.

In keeping with being a parent, if you are a parent, poor use of your time also sets bad examples for your children.  Whether your children are teenagers, toddlers, or elementary school aged, they will likely make note of your behaviors.  If you want your children to get good grades at school and later get good jobs, it is important that you teach them all about time management and its importance.  One of the best ways to do so is by setting a good example for your children.  The good news is that this is a lot easier than it sounds.  You can set a good example for your children by getting ready for work in the morning on time or by arriving at scheduled events on time.

Another one of the many ways that having a poor sense of time management can hurt you is with your credit.  Those who have poor time management also often have poor credit.  This is because those who are unable to properly manage their time often pay their bills late.  With credit cards, this can result in expensive minimum payments that just cannot be paid.  By knowing when all of your bills are due, you are likely to have better credit, but time management is important.

As you can see, there are a number of ways that poor time management can negatively impact your personal life.  For that reason, take steps to make sure it doesnít impact yours.

The Importance of Time Management

How are you at managing your time?  Are you good at it?  If not, you may want to take steps to improve your time management.  Doing so may involve creating a to do list for yourself, prioritizing your goals, and so forth.  

As important as it is to hear that managing your time is important, you may be curious as to how so.  Did you know that there are serious consequences to not managing your time, both at the workplace and in your personal life?  To find out what could happen if you donít know how to manage your time or if you donít care to start, please continue reading on.

As for your personal life, this is where many individuals stand to lose the most if they have poor time management.  Your romantic relationships and friendships can suffer.

As previously stated, poor time management can have a significant impact on your romantic relationships.  In fact, it may cause your relationship or your marriage to fail.  For example, those who donít know how to properly manage their time often have problems managing their money.  Not paying your bills on time and other similar problems may be more than your relationship can handle.  

Also, as previously stated, your friendships may suffer due to poor time management.  Those who do not have a good sense of time often show up late for important events.  This means that you may find yourself showing up late to lunch dates with your friends or parties.  Doing so, especially time and after, can have a negative impact on your friendships.  In fact, it may put too much stress on your friends.  

In addition to having an impact on your personal life, poor time management can also have an impact on your ability to hold down a job.  In fact, that is just one of the many consequences of not being able to manage your time at the workplace.  For example, you may end up losing your job.  When you donít have the ability to stay focused and stay on task, you are likely to follow behind with work responsibilities.  This can put your job at risk because employers know that if you canít do the job, someone else can.

In addition to putting your job at risk, poor management in the workplace, will also put your good name at risk.  It is no secret that being let go from a job is not good.  In fact, you may find it difficult to get another job in the same field.  If you have spent years working, there is a good chance that you will likely aim for the high paying jobs.  Even with a lot of education behind you, work experience and reputation is important.  Unfortunately, if an employer chooses to fire you, you likely will not get a good recommendation.  This may essentially leave you stuck with a low-paying, dead-end job.

Since there are a number of serious consequences to not properly managing your time or at least making important improvements, it is important for you to take action right away.  As for what action you should take.  You will find that you have you have a number of different options, a few of which are outlined below.

One of the best ways to learn how to effectively manage your time to is create a to do list for yourself.  When making your list, be sure to prioritize your tasks in order of importance.  If you must, ask for help or rely on the use of time management tools.  These tools come in a number of different formats and may include something as simple as a daily planner or something as elaborate as an automated alert system for cell phones and computers.

With a large number of serious consequences and the fact that it is easy to manage your time, there are a number of reasons why you should take steps to make an improvement.  That is why you should get started on improving your time management today. 

You may be a goal oriented person, but that does not necessarily mean that you have the time management strategies that are required in order to achieve those goals. Do you feel like you could use some assistance in developing better time management? While everyone may not be inherently good at managing their own time, there is no reason why you cannot teach yourself to manage your day better by employing the right strategies for efficient and effective time management. These three time management strategies can be learned in order to help you better achieve the goals that you set out to accomplish.

1 – Prioritize. The best way to meet your goals through the management of time is to prioritize all of the facets of your life. Prioritize the projects that you need to complete, the various tasks that exist within each of these individual projects, and your daily list of tasks to complete as well. By setting priorities for everything that you intend to accomplish in a day, you can be sure to accomplish the most important tasks, leaving the less important tasks for last. This is an excellent way to manage time and to ensure that your goals are met.

2 – Planning. One of the best ways to manage your time for the achievement of your goals is to effectively plan out the things that need to be done, when those tasks need to be completed, and what is needed in order to accomplish those tasks. By putting some forethought into the tasks that you intend to complete, you can better prepare yourself for them. This way, as you address each task, you will be ready to complete it in a timely manner rather than scrambling around looking for necessary tools or equipment.

3 – Get a Clear Picture. By creating a clear picture of the ways that you spend your time today, you can better make improvements on your time management skills. You can only make improvements in your time management strategies if you have a clear picture about what you are doing now and where improvements need to be made. If you do not have a clear picture of what you are doing, or more importantly, what you are doing wrong, there is no way for you to know where improvements need to be made.

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