For most, if not all, entrepreneurs who decide to start a business, the goal is usually the same, success. One thing that will make most entrepreneurs believe they have achieved success is profit, or in other words money. This leads many to believe that monetary status is the most important aspect of keeping a business running with positive momentum. However, while the importance of cash flowing into the company is obviously very important, nothing is as important or should take precedence over the value of time.
Time Management Defined
Time is difficult to earn yet very easy to spend. It is more common to hear someone complain about not having enough time than having too much time. In the business world there is never enough time to do all that needs doing. Time is an exhaustible resource that must be replenished daily before it can be used again. Time is also volatile and is rarely ever under tight control. Although many plan to use their daily allotted amount of time for various tasks, rarely by the end of the day has it turned out that way.
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”
William Penn
What is the Value of Your Time?
In our personal, everyday lives, although we don’t always value our time, we get through each day fine and wait for our ration of time the next day so we can try to use it better. However, in the business world, time must be managed more efficiently. Owners, managers, supervisors all the way down to employees spend the whole working day trying to produce as much as possible (or at least look like they are) before the day’s time runs out. Every hour and minute (and in some cases seconds) are usually calculated ahead of time to determine how much can be accomplished within that day. Those who truly value time will manipulate its usage in such a way as to always seem to have more of it than others with the same workload. This is better phrased as “time-management”. This is one overlooked skill that should be given more attention by hiring managers during interviews and supervisors who try daily to get the most productivity available out of their workforce. As important as time-management is to the everyday effectiveness of a business, there are still some who don’t quite understand what it is or why it is a benefit to use it and not just another task.
An Explanation of Time Management
Tools for Managing Time
There are many tools that were specifically created to help people keep time in check and make its management more tolerable to those that see its value. Watches help us see how much time we’ve used, the current time we are present in, and how much time we have left. Alarms remind us of important events whether big or small. Radio alarms wake us up in the morning. Calendar reminders are set for specific dates for ourselves or even groups of people. Some of these tools are just to remind us when to take medicine, when transportation is expected to arrive, or even how long something will take to cook. In the business world, these tools can sometimes play a huge role in the characteristic of the company and even its reputation.
Take Control of Time
Time is a precious asset. While we are given it every day, it is still a rare commodity. The value of the time we are given is defined by what we do with it. For those at home or in a business, the use of a project management system is a great tool for taking control of the time you have available for tasks and goals. Using a project management system not only helps supervisors and owners monitor the effectiveness of their workforce, it also allows them to make future plans and expansion in the business by knowing what they can produce in their daily allotted amounts of time. A business running without a project management system is like riding a horse without reins. Sure, it will continue to move forward, but probably not in the direction you desire. For some, there is no better way to value your time then to outsource specific tasks to third-party companies or even usie a white label agency to share your workloads, especially if you are selling services, such as SEO or PPC. For those in business and even those at home who don’t recognize the value of time, or their responsibility to control it, they quickly find themselves….out of it.
Written by: Kevin Phillips