How The Most Successful Business Owners Manage Their Time Part 2

Hello again, friends. We are all now eating frog for breakfast, yes? You better be! If you do and make it a habit I guarantee you, you will experience noticeable results in your business and in your life!

Haven’t read part 1? Get caught up here.

The graph below will help you gain a deeper understanding and perhaps take on a new perspective into how you are presently managing your time. Which quadrant are you spending the predominance of your day in? Are you putting out fires or are you making time to become more efficient and competitive as a company? Isn't it time you understood where your daily hours on average are spent?

Hint...if it does not include a good percentage of Quadrant 2 then you likely are stuck and unsure why. Well, here is the reason! You need to learn how to be growing as an owner/leader and learning how to better manage your time! We’re here to help.

Quadrant 1

Quadrant number 1 is both Important and Urgent. Here is where I found most business owners spend the majority of their time. Here you are dealing with putting out fires (metaphorically speaking -- also called "fire drills"), deadlines, and perhaps long meetings. While it is certainly possible some owners can be very effective here…WARNING: if you spend too much time in this quadrant I promise you, you will at some point experience burnout. It is important therefore for you to spend a good amount of your time as well in...

Quadrant 2

You are in Quadrant number 2 when you are working on things that are Important but Not Urgent! Here is where much (if not all) of your growth and saw-sharpening will take place. Sharpening your saw is what you must do. All super successful owners do this! They spend time positioning the business to be more efficient, viable, and competitive. They are constantly educating themselves. Learning new things to grow and scalethe business. Deploying new and improved methods and technologies to run the operations and more.

Interestingly, it is here where you will find true success and happiness. Look at your business and see what specific things are holding you back from spending time here. Make the changes necessary to make this happen!

Quadrant 3

Quadrant number 3 is the place where you are spending time on Not Important but Urgent matters. Talk about wasting time! If you find yourself here (and here too often), clearly recognize this and shift! Lack of focus on what is important and consistently dedicating time in either of these bottom two quadrants will neither make you a successful nor happy owner/leader. Same goes for sure in...

Quadrant 4

If you are here, again notice it and Shift!

So now ask yourself: where do you (on average) spend the majority of your time? If you don't know, track it each day for two weeks. Examine the results and make the change. If you need help making the change, find a business coach...they will for sure help you get there. And, if you need advice on who to look for and how to hire one, feel free to contact us here at Optimum!