Are You Investing Your Time Wisely?

The most important commodity you have has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how you use your most valuable asset: time. Time management is one of the most overlooked components of success. Procrastination or determination; it is up to you how you use your time. Some people get up in the morning with absolutely no plan in mind. They waste time turning on the TV to listen to the negative events that have taken place in the past 24 hours and lament about occurrences over which they have absolutely no control. This is generally the beginning of an unplanned day perpetuated by a lack of proper planning.

The Power of Planning

If you want to perform well, start the night before with a plan that has steps integrated into the next day. Planning is the key to developing sound time management and the truth is, it takes discipline to continue to use and invest your time wisely. You have been gifted 1,440 minutes per day, 10,080 minutes per week, 524,160 minutes a year.

One hour of wasted time in a work day is the equivalent of a three-week vacation per year, based on 240 days of work a year. So, if you are saying to yourself, I never get any time off, look at the actual number of hours you work in a day. We know that having goals and a plan and staying away from negativity are all essentials in building a practice and accomplishing any of the challenges we face each day.

Time Wasters Vs. Time Boosters

You create more time and convert barricades into breakthroughs at the time of innovation. Let's do a comparison of time wasters vs. time boosters, starting with the morning. The time you get up in the morning is much different than the time you wake up in the morning. Using a snooze alarm vs. getting up is a good example of a time-wasting activity vs. a time-boosting one. Getting up earlier (6 a.m.) and going to bed earlier (10 p.m.) are going to make a difference in your morning activities.

Watching the evening news or the late show before going to bed makes absolutely no sense when there are important things you need to prepare for the next morning. I suggest turning the TV off by 10:00 p.m. or better yet, skipping television altogether and instead, going over your goals and getting your plan in order so you are ready to implement it the next morning.

If you have a habit of turning on the TV in the morning, substitute it for exercise or reading. Exercise is a way to bring about mental clarity first thing in the morning. At least ½ hour of exercise and ½ hour of reading help to stimulate mental impulse and increase blood flow to the brain and all the organs in the body.

The most successful people follow this regimen and stay focused. Having affirmations and goals gives you consistent and steady inspiration to bring about your plan. Without planning and goals, there is no vision. Time wasting is generally due to not having a map of your future. Time is the essence of life; time wasted is in essence wasting your life.

Instead of being perpetually busy and trying to fit everything into your busy, hectic day, make better choices and accomplish the most crucial things in order of importance. Don't confuse activity with your accomplishments. If you are not filling your time with high-priority objectives, you will fill it with low-priority objectives. To manage your time, you need to manage your chief interests and main areas of your life that occupy your time. When we talk about chief interests or areas of focus, any more than three chief interests creates a lack of balance and more than seven chief interests may cause burnout.

Seven Suggestions for Creating Time

The following are seven ways you may be wasting more time than you should be in your office, along with some suggestions to help create time boosters instead:

1. Water cooler chat: The water cooler has been the main place to gossip or just chat about the weekend activities, upcoming life events, or anything else in the office. There are few offices that have a water cooler to stand around and chat, but it is the symbol of wasted time in an office atmosphere.

Suggestion: Take away the water-cooler mentality, stop being a part of the problem and lead by example. Promote less dribble-speak and more focus on what needs to be done with limited small talk.

2. E- mail humor: E-mail is an overused form of office communication. It is great for a record of correspondence, but in many cases it is used to transmit jokes or information that is not in any way related to the job at hand. E-mail is a very useful tool that can benefit a business if used as a way to communicate to people who need to be in the loop.

Suggestion: Make sure there is an established policy in your employee handbook stating very plainly that e-mail correspondence involving jokes and information unrelated to the job description may result in termination.

[pb]3. Smoking and coffee breaks: Everyone needs to have a few brain breaks during the work day. This is a law that has been established for the workplace, but in many cases this is an area of abuse by employees. Taking a break from the action shows there can be a higher level of production; however, with abuse of this privilege comes additional time on the break beyond the 10-15 minutes generally allotted.

Suggestion: Do an employee time study to determine how long actual breaks are taking, and reprimand employees who are abusing the privilege.

4. Office interruptions: You are adjusting patients when your CA runs in or buzzes the intercom saying that you have a phone call; or you are in the middle of a report and a staff member comes in and asks questions concerning another patient. These are not just interruptions; they also take away your ability to focus on the patient and the specific task at hand. These are just a couple of examples of activities that steal your precious time and energy.

Suggestion: Have a staff meeting once a week to go over specific issues that can be taken care of at that time. Have two specific times during the day to take and make calls that are personal or business in nature.

5. Too many meetings: Daily huddles and weekly staff meetings are important for maintaining communication between staff members, but in some cases they are painfully long and drawn out. The mountaintop speech can become either a battle cry or a groan representing the same old meeting that has no substance.

Suggestion: Make sure there is a purpose to every meeting and that you follow an outline or agenda pertaining to the various departments in your office. You should set up your weekly or daily meetings with a new spokesperson each time, using the same basic outline to cover the topics and goals set forth in previous meetings. This will allow you to keep it consistent and give everyone an opportunity to head the meeting.

6. Multitasking myth: When I hear about employees declaring themselves multitaskers, it means to me they have many jobs going, but none really finished. Multitaskers have lists of things to do, but rarely get them done without adding more to the list. Their work ability and focus are diminished because they have an inability to complete anything. The standard is that their task is a work in progress and as long as there is no accountability, they continue to do just what they are good at: rowing in circles.

Suggestion: If you are interviewing for a new employee and they tell you they are a multitasker, run. If you have one in your office, delegate less and make them accountable for what they are supposed to be doing. Check their list of tasks and weed out or put in order of priority the goals they should be accomplishing.

7. Disorganized office or work area: These are both put into the same category of time wasting; the difference is that one is much larger (and thus more problematic) than the other. Whether it is a workspace or a workplace, the importance is in having systems and organization. Papers and folders lying around, reports that have not been responded to, a plant that needs watering and an office that is messy are turnoffs not only to patients, but also to the people trying to make a difference and do their job. From workspace to workplace, it is like a spreading disease of disorganization.

Suggestion: Just like cleaning a house, take one room at a time. Make sure you declutter, starting with magazines, periodicals and anything that is not significant to getting your job done.

Promote Balance

Balance is the key to staying healthy and happy. Here are some simple ways to stay focused and use your time wisely: 1) Set goals and make them small, attainable, and structured. 2) Make plans for action and delegate and implement one at a time. 3) Limit and prioritize the amount of goals you have. 4) Clear clutter and make sure that you follow through with your priorities. 5) Learn to say no to those who want to take or waste your time, energy or money. 6) Master organization. 7) Use available technology and be aware of things that will waste your precious time vs. boost it.

Remember, effective time management gives you more productive hours without additional time. You will have more free time for hobbies, activities and relationships with your family and friends. No longer will you need to take work and projects home to compensate for the way you have been inappropriately spending your time during the day.

Stay disciplined and you will get everything done. Simplify your tasks, which will make life less complicated, which in turn, will give you the opportunity and time to do the things you truly enjoy.