Super-achievers — no matter their line of work — don't like to waste time. They'd rather focus on the two or three activities that maximize revenue for their businesses and add the most value for their clients. Here are three tips to help ensure you're focusing your time and energy on the things that can drive your business to the next level:
- Delegate. Don't take time on tasks you can delegate to others at your office. Empower your employees to handle paperwork, applications, appointments and errands, so that you can focus on revenue-producing activities.
- Automate. There are plenty of automation tools that can save you and your staff hours each day. Tools such as CopyTalk or Mobile Assistant (to transcribe notes after a meeting), Google Alerts (to feed you specifics on important news and topics) or HootSuite (to automate social media activities) will free up time.
- Guard your time. Create time constraints for clients, prospects and yourself. Instead of offering a "free consultation," offer a "free 30-minute consultation." By defining expectations, you minimize the risk that a meeting will swallow an entire afternoon.
The first step in achieving big results is learning to stop spending your time on small tasks that can draw you away from revenue-producing activities. Take a few minutes to conduct a time audit to see where you can free up time in your busy day.
