One of the greatest challenges I have is time management.

Does this sound like you?

…too many great ideas to implement

…wearing the hat of the sales person, the marketer, the ceo, the book keeper, the custoemr service team, etc

…too much fighting fires during the typical day

…far more things on your to-do list at the end of the day than things cross out

…fill in your own time mgmt problem here ______________________

There are 2 things that I found that made a huge difference in my days (you might not like either):

* Shutting off my phone from incoming calls. If you are trying to run a company, and are taking unscheduled calls all day long… it’s no wonder you can’t get anything done!

Studies have proven time and time again that every interuption (like an unscheduled phone call), puts you behind by 10-15 minutes.  Now times that by how many phone calls you are taking every day!

I don’t accept unscheduled calls. Period.

Yes, it probably costs me sales… but it gains me freedom and getting-stuff-done-time. Try it – and outsource what you can for call returns.

* Working in chunks with a timer. I find that setting a timer for 45 minutes, blocking it off, and working on ONE project for those 45 minutes is a big hit for me.  It helps me focus (typical entrepreneurial ADD affliction here).  If my projects are smaller (less than 45 minutes), then I pile up a few of them and work on them exclusively for 45 minutes.

At 45 minutes, stop what you are doing, take a 10 minute break (not email – that will further distract you). Then do another 45 minute chunk. Do that a couple times a day and you are well on your way to getting more done.

If you are thinking “I can’t do that because _____” then you seriously need to ask yourself who it is that is REALLY in charge of your time and future.

If you can’t control it – who can?

How can you honestly expect to acheive your business and personal goals if you aren’t even in control of your time?

Think about it.

You can’t gain more time in a day, we all get the same, but you can manage it differently.

With the summer upon us, now is the time to rethink how you run your business, and how you are going to make the most of it in the last half of 2009.

If you aren’t half way to reaching your goals… what will you do to MAKE SURE you do in the last 6 months?

Treating your time as more valuable is a great start!