In building a business, there are certain steps we need to take to get the business to where we want it to be one day. Whatever the end result may be that you want, there are certain steps we need to apply to get there. Now, the first and most important step is what we call the foundation, just like you’re building a home or commercial building, you need that cement slab, that foundation that you can build everything upon to work up, and it’s no different in business. That foundation, that slab, and business is called mastery.
There are four components you must master. You have Time Mastery; being very effective and efficient with your time. Money Mastery; knowing your numbers of the organization inside and out. Destination Mastery; what does it look like with your company and where are you actually going with it. And Delivering Mastery, delivering your goods and services with excellence to your customers and clients. However, one area I find most people really struggle with is time mastery, where time becomes a liability versus an asset. There are many reasons why this happens. The first reason is that you haven’t figured out how to dominate your schedule.
Do you just wake up Monday morning, go to work, and whatever happens, happens? Or do you have a default calendar of exactly what your week looks like? Color-coded when you have certain meetings, when you have scheduled calls, or when are you working on your stuff. Do you have a schedule when you’re going to the gym? Something many people don’t schedule is, do you schedule what the first hour of your day looks like? Are you getting up brushing your teeth, having a cup of coffee and just rushing to work without getting set mentally? What do you say to yourself in the morning after you wake up? Are you programmed? Are you rehearsing the day in advance? There are actors who write a script, study the script, then go out and perform, lights – camera – action.
Questions to ponder. Can you lie in bed before you get out in the morning and think about the whole day in advance? Can you rehearse the conversations you’re going to have? Can you think about how you’re going to show up to those meetings, whether it be with people on your team, your customers, or purveyors? Are you thinking of exactly how the day’s going to go in a perfect world or how you are going to show up very confident, secure, and calm?
Do you have that calendar that you could always back off and default to in case you get a little overwhelmed? Are there certain times of the day you’re checking your phone messages, your emails, and your texts, or are you letting them interrupt you throughout the day to take you off your game? Do you have a yearly plan? Do you have your quarterly plan? Do you have your weekly plan or daily plan?
Are you having the proper meetings with your team and articulating clearly so they know exactly what they need to do? Instead of running into an office saying, “I need this now,” and then running it out. Are you being present with everything you’re doing? Are you focusing on only that and that only, or are you having conversations with people on the team where you’re thinking about what you just did or what you have to do next? These are all little things that you need to master to dominate your schedule.
Time is an asset. It’s a commodity. That little phrase, time is money, is not a cliche because it sounds good, it is absolutely positively true. If you lose money, you can go make more. You lose time, it’s gone forever. It’s like ice, just melting and evaporating into the air, and that is your money evaporating into the air.
There are many practiced skills, tools, systems, and solutions to get more intentional with your time, but most importantly, figure out where you get the most return on investment of your time. Once you’re clear on that; put your time, energy, and effort into that area, and you will become more intentional.
If you want any more help, feel free to reach out, either read my blogs or watch some of my other videos on time. Get clear. Create a schedule that you can dominate. Dominate your time, it’s an asset. Don’t let it melt away or evaporate into thin air because you’ll never get it back.
COACH MICHAEL DILL is an Award-Winning Certified Business Coach, global speaker, and published author. He is a proud Action Coach Franchise partner as well as the President of Power & Ice Wealth Creation a strategic leadership company that works with business owners, leaders, teams, and entrepreneurs to both develop a systematized and structured organization while accelerating their mindset, efficiencies, and effectiveness to grow both personally and professionally to achieve extraordinary results. He brings more than 40 years of business and entrepreneurial experience in his leadership, team training, and mentoring practice. Businesscoachmichaeldill.com