Much has been written about goal setting, and this article is not intended to focus on this topic. However, goal setting is integral to both time management and organization.
The Definite Chief Aim is the big, long-term goal. It is essentially the final destination. It serves as the guiding light for the business, and all actions taken should be aimed toward the Definite Chief Aim. Both time management and organization will help us achieve our Definite Chief Aim more efficiently.
Any long-term goal must be comprised of other goals—sub-goals. These sub-goals are hierarchical, that is, they are not equal in importance or significance. Consequently, we must recognize our priorities and focus on the most important of our goals. In other words, we must focus our efforts on those goals that will do the most to move us toward our Definite Chief Aim.
Certain tasks, such as developing systems, are not particularly sexy and it may be easier to find other tasks to work on. Remind yourself of your Definite Chief Aim and the hierarchy of your goals. If we develop and implement systems within our business we can improve both our personal efficiency as well as that of our employees. Less effort is required to achieve the same results.
When the owner of the business can work on tasks that are not urgent but important, he can maximize his time management and get the greatest results for his efforts. Identify the issues or activities that involve the greatest waste of time or create the most problems. Develop systems to achieve consistent results while eliminating the crises and time wasting activities. This will reduce stress, and create time to more to lesser issues. As the primary time wasters are eliminated, use your time to address less significant time wasters. This process will allow you to slowly regain control of your time. It will not happen overnight, but sudden and dramatic improvements are possible.
Stick to the process. There will likely be bumps in the road, but each effort that gains you time is priceless. The return on investment is exponential. If an hour of effort saves you ten minutes a day, you will have an additional ten minutes every day for the rest of your life. © BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2007
