One of the most common barriers to business development is time. A healthy practice is already a full-time job. And the last thing you want to do is neglect your existing clients in pursuit of new ones. So, the key is to be as efficient as possible so that you have time left over for business development (or whatever else you’ve been neglecting).
This is a familiar topic for most of us. Time management has been around long enough now that we’ve heard all the tips and we know what we should be doing. We just aren’t doing it. We’re still checking our email incessantly instead of limiting ourselves to two or three times a day. We’re still leaving papers on our desk instead of applying the “touch it once” principle. And we’re still multitasking in spite of having read all the studies that show the human brain can’t effectively do two things at once.
What's the problem here?
This is no indictment—I'm just as guilty. Sure, I have victories, but just as often I slip into old habits and beat myself up about it. Sound familiar? (We truly are a strange breed of monkeys.)
This week, I invite you to join me in a little evolution. Let’s apply some of the time management techniques we’ve heard so many times but ignored. And this time, let’s stick with them for a full month so they become a new, healthier habit. Pick one of the following and put it into practice:
I’m two days into #5 (I have a fancy timer app on my iPad), and I’m finding that it’s improving my focus. I encourage you to choose a technique you can maintain through Thanksgiving. And if it still doesn’t free up enough time to grow your business, take on another. Strive for peak efficiency. The reward is even better than bananas.
Use the comments section below to share your thoughts. What have you done to improve your efficiency?
