Proven Time Management & Productivity Techniques for Entrepreneurs -- Part II

The following techniques work incredibly well for me. You
should read and adapt them for your own personality and
work style. Techniques 1 and 2 were in last week's article
and can be found at Proven Productivity and Time Management
Techniques for Entrepreneurs - Part I.

3. Understand the *urgent* versus the *important*.

Every day we are bombarded with *must dos* and *have to
have asap* requests. You should understand what will move
your business forward and help you reach your goals.
Before you accept ANY of these, ask yourself the following
questions:

1/ "Is this my unique brilliance (meaning: Does this task
fulfill you? Is it in line with your mission?)?" and
2/"Will this bring me closer to the money (defined as new
clients, marketing, etc. in your business)?"

If the answer to either of those questions is "no", you
should not take on the task.

I realize that it's simple for me to say "just don't do it"
and that, in reality, it's not always so simple. You must
learn to erect boundaries between you and every request
that saunters in the door. Otherwise your business will
never move forward.

As Stephen Covey states, you should focus on tasks and
projects which are "Important and Urgent" and "Important
and Not Urgent". "Important" tasks are defined as the ones
which move you forward and generate revenue.

Another way to look at this is by using Paredo's Principle
-- also known as the 80/20 Rule. 80% of your income, joy
and success comes from 20% of your current activities. The
trick here is to figure out exactly what the 20% is and
delegate (see Give Yourself a Raise -- Get an Assistant) or
creatively procrastinate the rest.

Take some time this week to figure out which things
contribute the greatest income to your business. Do you
have multiple clients? If so, evaluate which ones spend
the most money with you and what services/products you are
providing to them. Then see if you can either expand those
services for that client or find other clients who want the
same work.

4. Have a single focus and know your energy peaks.

As an entrepreneur, you have some control over when, where
and how you work. Depending on the services you perform,
you may have some qualifications to that freedom, but you
are still able to be more flexible than if you were in a
J-O-B.

Use this flexibility to your advantage. You should work
within your peak energy times. For me, that's early
morning and late afternoon. My perfect day has me up
around 7am, working by 8am, napping after lunch and then
back to work before and after dinner.

Try tracking when you have your best energy and see if you
can work within those times. Take a look at your
environment. Does it suit you? Do you require quiet or
prefer music when you're working? Can you work from home
or do you prefer having other people around you? Do you
prefer to have your clients call or email you? It's your
business, design it to work *with* you, not against you.

When you are working, focus on one outcome at a time. It
takes much longer to do something if you need to start and
stop and then start again. I have a large clock in my
office and it helps keep me focused on what I planned to do
at any given time. I also keep a sheet of scrap paper to
jot down whatever pops into my mind so I can keep going on
the current project.

5. Remember to book your quiet time and your fun time.

If all you do is work, work, work -- even on your own
business -- you will not be nearly as productive as you
otherwise could be. You need to give yourself permission
to have down time and to stop working.

Plan a vacation and purchase non-refundable tickets so you
*have* to go. Can't quite afford a vacation yet? Then
create one in your own home -- and leave your computer OFF
and in the office. You will get your most creative ideas
when you are away from the office.

Personally, I get my best ideas when I'm near water -- the
ocean, a lake, sometimes even in the shower. Is it any
wonder I spent two weeks in Hawaii last fall?

As an entrepreneur, we are never done working. There is
always something else you can be doing, one more email you
can send, another call to take or make, but you need to
take vacations and get out of the office for at least one
day a week to keep the juices flowing. You can do it, I
promise the world will not implode!

Are you ready to get things done more efficiently than ever?

----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Success Coach & Entrepreneur, Sandra
Martini teaches small business owners how to create more
success in their business while maintaining their sanity
and having fun. For more information and to receive the
FREE special report, '7 Wealth-Building Secrets of
Successful Entrepreneurs', go to
http://www.Online-Biz-Coach.com .