Are you taking on too much
and sabotaging your creativity? It happens. Take a look at your time schedule
today. Is it so jam-packed that you don’t have room for lunch or even a
bathroom break? Something is wrong if you answered “yes.”
You are part of an elite
corps of business managers who work long hours, take little or no vacation time
and work during your time off. In a recent study of tire dealer owners and
managers, more than 50% of those polled said they worked more than 40 hours a
week. While that is not necessarily unusual, the line between company and
personal time is fuzzy. Check out these statistics:
• One in five (21%) work
while eating dinner.
• More than a third (37%)
couldn’t remember their last vacation.
• One in five (18%) admit to
reading work-related e-mail and documents while in the bathroom, and nearly
half (49%) work while driving.
Can you relate? With
increasing demands from consumers, the Internet and globalization, a long day
every once in a while is almost a guarantee for most successful business
owners. With the 24/7 nature of our society, everyone is trying to do more with
less time. Even children, whose schedules are so full with extracurricular
activities, don’t seem to find the time to go outside and play.
It’s true that packing your
schedule to the hilt may offer a short-term solution to getting work finished,
managing responsibilities and handling growth spurts, but it can and will
generate diminishing returns for you and your business. You will undoubtedly
feel rushed, cranky, distracted, forgetful or simply burned out.
Here are some suggestions to
help tame the beast:
• Delegate. Hand off some of
your responsibilities to your most trusted and qualified employees. Even if not
knowing every detail of what is going on in your business drives you crazy, you
may still need to let go.
• Just say “no.” If you want
to grow, you must take advantage of new opportunities. But, unless you set
priorities, you stretch yourself so thin that you will eventually ‘deep six’
your productivity. Be willing to say “no” sometimes to extra work that won’t
enhance the bottom line or to goals that don’t match your own. Throw out work
plans that drain you and your staff and are no longer useful. Update or trash
them.
• Practice balance.
Sometimes marathon days, even marathon weeks, are necessary to wrap up a
business plan. We already know that Americans spend more time working than
people in any other industrialized country.
But, being a workaholic,
while necessary in your youth, will soon take its toll on your passion and
creativity. Make room for other interests and people in your life besides your
business and employees. As you schedule your day, allow some flexibility for
interruptions, surprises, rejuvenation and relaxation.
• Take a vacation. A
weeklong vacation on the beach or in the mountains can be an invigorating
escape that will give you the clarity of thought and inspiration you need to
reclaim your productivity. Sometimes the best ideas come when you’re doing
nothing. If you can’t afford to get away, take a mini-vacation. Often, a long
weekend helps. Don’t take your Blackberry, and don’t call the dealership. Be
unreachable.
• Hire or ask for help. If
your business is growing, and you have the budget, hire more employees to
handle your schedule. Yes, you’ll have more staff to manage and people to pay,
but you’ll thank yourself down the road when you feel comfortable enough to
take a long lunch with a business prospect or spend a few days at a workshop
you’ve always wanted to attend in another city. This is all about staying
fresh. Come back to your people ready to brainstorm, have fun and make money.
- Source: Tire Review
Business Toolbox