Becoming a "respecter" of time

Most of us can agree that one of the most valuable things we use every day is time. And as small business owners, we often have a shortage! And I am not sure there is anywhere that I can 'buy' time.

Over the years, people have often marveled at my productivity. I personally disagree - I never seem to get that 'list' of to-do's completed.

But recently, having become more balanced (hopefully) in my life/business time ratio, I became a better 'respecter' of time. I have made a concerted effort to value the time of others and also to respect the time that I have. What does that mean?

When we respect time - we treat it well - we do not ignore it or throw it away. We handle it carefully - and pay attention to it. Instead of treating it like a fleeing enemy, robbing us of peace - we treat it like the friend that it is - bringing us opportunities.

To do this - I had to change how I spoke about time. There were no more 'fleeting moments' but instead 'precious moments'. Instead of saying, "where does the time go?” I began to say, "wow, good thing there is more time coming my way!” To respect time - I had to not only think of it in a positive way, I also had to speak positively about it.

The next step - was to gather the tools together that might help me manage myself better - to use my time well. And so I began with my email - the ultimate time gobbler! Organizing folders to effectively sort incoming mail and adding filters helped to keep the in box cleared out! That came the calendar.

I took my online Google calendar and had all my other applications synch with it. My phone pulls my calendar up - my appointment booking software works with it - and even my to do list synchs with it.

After this was done - I scheduled time off, lunch time, time to exercise and then I took a look at all my repetitive tasks and scheduled them in over the week. So I scheduled writing time, web work time, pay bills time, twitter time and even email time. Once this was done - I was all set. Now I could see how much time I had every day to offer coaching and other billable services.

Finally, synchronized my calendar with my appointment booking software. Now my clients know that to get my undivided attention - they need to book into the schedule. No it is not impersonal to do something like that. In that way we both respect each others' time.

The result? As a great respecter of time - I actually have more time off - get more done and am far more relaxed knowing there is time booked for everything that I have to do - so there is no need to panic!

Want to learn more about hos you can do the same? Find info here!