Time Management – Seriously Important, Just ask "The Donald"
I recently read the book “How to Become Rich”, by Donald Trump. I highly recommend it, if you only read it to understand that The Donald doesn’t have any more time in a day versus any of the rest of us. But his net worth has lately been reported at $3 billion dollars. That’s not too bad for a man who just 10 years ago owed almost 10 billion dollars to over a 100 banks.
The ironic part of life is that we all have different wealth, job, and health conditions; but at the same time, we all have the same amount of hours in a day – that is one thing nobody can change. The interesting thing, I discovered about Donald is he spends around 3 hours a day just reading newspapers, biographies, and books on philosophy. I also noticed he really doesn’t begin work until around 9AM every day. He also doesn’t have to commute, as he is smart, and lives in the same building where he works.
Another thing I recognized that helped me realize why this man is so successful was that when he does begin his workday he rarely takes any breaks. He pretty much works from 9AM – 6PM every day. He also claimed several times throughout the book, that he loves what he does. Have you ever noticed that rarely will you ever meet a successful man/woman who doesn’t truly enjoy what he does? You cannot work consistently and become successful if people don’t sense your passion. Even professional athletes and movie stars have to have passion about what they do, and for the successful ones it shows.
The other key ingredient, especially in business – is how you manage your time. I once had a boss who would ask me to do the impossible, and my comment was always “do you realize that we only have 8 hours in a day”? One thing business owners can never expect is for an employee to work harder than them, it’s not their business. Even though I didn’t always hit my quota, or my daily tasks, I did walk away usually knowing that I did my best most every time.
Knowing full well that you cannot change the amount of time in a day, how does one manage their time? I recently discovered since working out of my home, I currently get more done in 6 hours, compared to what used to take me on average 8 or 9 hours a day in an office. Why is that? Well, when I went to an office every day I always found myself socializing with other workers. In my last position, I was also very distracted, as my office was in the vicinity of about every co-worker who would walk directly past me. So, here I am today accomplishing as much in 6 hours a day, compared to what used to take me 8 or 9, and my commute is now just minutes, versus what used to take me sometimes over an hour a day. Now, I realize that some of you may not be able to change your current situation, but if you have ever heard the term Vector Changes – you will understand what I am talking about.
You see Vector Changes are those minor changes that over time will make huge differences. Imagine if you worked out a deal with your boss to work from home only 2 days a week, you just saved yourself 2 – 3 hours a week, if you have an hour or more commute each day. Maybe you can take 45 minutes for lunch instead of an hour; you just saved yourself over an hour a week.
Lastly, prioritize based on importance. I found that The Donald receives upwards of 100 incoming phone calls per hour. If he were to answer every phone call – he would never get anything done. Most of us don’t have to worry about that, but the question we should always be asking ourselves throughout our day is – “What’s really important and cannot wait”? We need to make sure that we are always moving forward. If you have a lunch date with a friend who you haven’t seen in 30 years, and there is a conflict with a project or sale that could generate millions, you might want to postpone the meeting with your friend until the end of the workday. Importantly, like The Donald its best to only return the phone calls immediately that are important, the others can wait.
The moral of the above is that we don’t have control over the number of hours in a day, but we do have control over what we do throughout the day. If you are working for a paycheck, unfortunately your company controls a lot of your time. But, you still have the ability to make vector changes that will make you more successful in your career and ultimately add more time to your bottom line.
