One of the worst problems most small business people have is not enough time. This is especially true if they have a family that depends on part of that time. Trying to juggle the two often means that that business task slip through the cracks, resulting in lost income or gaining a poor reputation.
There are certainly a lot of time management systems out there and I’ve tried many of them to try and be more productive. But if you are like me, they are often more complicated than they are worth for most small business people. Yet, unless you have some kind of system, it is so easy for projects to get pushed off until “tomorrow” and you find yourself forever behind. Procrastination is bad for business.
A few years ago, I came across a way to get a handle on projects that finally works for me. One day, I read an article that told me to throw all of the systems away if they aren't working for you. Instead, each day, pick out the three most important things that you need/want to accomplish that day. Then let everything else just fall into pieces of time between them.
So, each evening, I jot down the three things I needed to accomplish the next day. I didn't block the time out or deadlines that it had to be done by. I just told myself, if I accomplish that tomorrow, it will be a good day. If nothing else got done, that's okay also. The difference was amazing. By only concentrating on a couple of things a day, I ended up doing better work and was enjoying doing it more.
Now, this disagrees with most of the time management systems out there. But for anyone who has a problem with procrastination, (as I have), will find this the easiest way to begin breaking yourself of that habit. By telling yourself that your goal is to just do these three things today and whatever time you have left you can spend doing anything you want, you will start feeling a sense of accomplishment instead of stress.
Sometimes the simplest things are the best things.
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