Help!!!! Resolutions 2008

The days of 2007 have come to an end — if yours were like mine, the time has flown by and you wonder what happened to the spring, then the summer, and finally fall. Snow is on the ground and the Christmas holidays have come and gone. That, of course, means that it is now time to look ahead to the shiny bright new year where the cycle starts all over again.

For entrepreneurs and small business people that can be a scary thought. “How am I going to get it all done?” you may think. “I want to spend time with my family and friends, but I want to have money to pay my bills and do the things I enjoy doing. And of course that means I have to work.” A few years ago, people were talking about 4 day work weeks and having time for travel and time for relaxation. Now, it seems that we’re working well into the night and through the weekends just to start all over again the next week. There is too much work, not enough time and far too much stress. It all is never ending.

With the coming of the new year, tradition often has us thinking about setting new goals and objectives. We make our New Year’s Resolutions to go on a diet, stop smoking, get more organized, and on and on. For the business person who is the “chief cook and bottle washer” for their company, such resolutions probably contain thoughts like those above with getting more organized being at the top. But how do we do that? We’re faced with streams of e-mails, phones ringing off the hook and paperwork flowing non-stop, not to mention back-to-back meetings. Productivity goes out the window as we sit there and worry about how to get it all done.

But there are ways of helping yourself through this dilemma. And with the new year just around the corner, now’s a great time to put this plan into action. Start by sitting down and setting some goals for yourself. Make it something that you really want to accomplish because the motivation will help see you through. It is much easier to do something when motivated to do it, than when you’re not. Next, create some activity logs and for a week or so, write down exactly what you do and when you do it. How long does it take to complete? What else could you have been doing when you were trying to accomplish this task? Is it an important task that ONLY you can do, or could you delegate it to someone else? When you really take a look at how you spend your time, you can see what you do with your day. Then, once you know how you spend your time, you can create prioritized to-do lists and schedule when and how to complete those tasks.

Finally you need to remember that something like this does not become habit overnight. You must work with these time management tools for at least 30 days for them to set in as regular parts of your work life. But once you start, you won’t regret it. You will find that you have more time for your personal life, while your business life becomes more effective, efficient and productive.

I wish you a happy new year and a busy, successful 2008.

— Nancy Sherman, The Work Place
Business Consultant