Time Flies ...

"The bad news is, time flies.  The good news is, you're the pilot." - Michael Althsuler.

What a great saying and so true.  Yes, you can't stop time speeding by unless you're Dr Who and have access to a Tardis, but you can at least decide how to spend your time, where you're spending it and who you spend it with or on.

Many people find that they're poor time management comes from someone else piloting their time.  Today I had yet another comment from a client that they'd be fine, if it wasn't for everyone else hijacking their time.

How many of us find other people are making demands on our time? Wanting something done NOW.  Changing our priorities with little or no notice.  Giving us more to do, even though we're already overloaded.

Well, now's the time to get back in the driving seat.  Take back control of your time and stop letting other people control you.

Mahut And Isner's Recording Breaking Match

I'm sure many of us have been gripped by the tennis this week.  OK, I have to admit that I'm not into football, although I might sneak a peak at some of the World Cup but you've got to admire and be astounded at the sheer athleticism of Nicolas Mahut and John Isner in their record breaking match this week.

Both players were on court for a total of 11hrs and 5 minutes.  In all that time the quality of the tennis didn't drop and a total of 215 aces were served over the course of 3 days.  They played solidly for 6 1/2 hours before even taking their first comfort break - with only breaks between serves and a change of balls otherwise non-stop tennis.  I can't even contemplate what that must have done to their bodies and how they must be feeling now.

Compare that to the 90 minutes with a break at half-time and maybe a bit of injury time and extra time that footballers play.  Plus as John McEnroe pointed out - there are 11 of them involved and a bench of substitutes so they may not even play for a full game.

These guys (the tennis players) are just amazing athletes and I'm enjoying another fortnight of great tennis.

Are Your Customers Taking You For Granted?

You know the ones ...

... they always come to you with a last minute deadline and need you to produce the information NOW.

... they're either late, don't turn up or let you down at the last minute.

... they expect you to do everything for free.

While it might be hard to say no, after all, you need the business. Don't let them get away with it.  If you do, they'll continue this pattern of behaviour and things won't change and could get worse.

Be accommodating and flexible but don't bend over backwards if it's not going to be appreciated.  Don't put yourself out if you know they'll just take you for granted.

Yes, you meet their last minute deadline but it will cost them.  Not only will this make them value their time but it might also make them avoid too many last minute deadlines in future if they know there's a financial penalty.

Yes, you appreciate things happen and sometimes people turn up late but you expect an explanation and an apology.

Be clear in your terms and conditions about lateness, cancellations, missed deadlines.  Do you charge by the hour or for a project?  Consider the best option for the work that you do.

Sack bad clients!  Sometimes it can be worth losing a bad client that doesn't value you so that you can replace them with one who does.

There's a distinction between going the extra mile for a client, offering them great quality and value and going over the top.

Value the work that you do, value your skills and ability and don't let your customers take you for granted.

Podcast: How To Get A Book Deal Through Social Media

A few weeks ago I recorded an interview with Andy White @doctorpod on how my online networking activity, and use of Social Media, amongst other things, resulted in the publishing of the book and more recently the audiobook, Time Management For Dummies which was published in 2008.

Social media and an online presence can be a powerful tool when used as part of your overall marketing strategy.

Click here to listen to the full podcast - How To Get A Book Deal Through Social Media or download it on itunes 

June Newsletter: Decision Making Made Easy - Pt 2

Making decisions can take time and a considerable amount of energy, stress and emotion. This month I continue with the theme about decision making and a few more strategies to help with the process.

If you're focused, have clear goals and know what you're doing - some decisions are easier to make than others ...

Your intuition is a powerful and much underrated tool in the decision making process, learn to use it. ...

You can read the rest of the article in this month's newsletter, just register on my website or click here. Free tips, advice, information and news on how to improve your time management for your business and personal life direct to your inbox.

PLUS: details of TWO GREAT OFFERS in this month's newsletter - a chance to win a copy of the Audiobook - Time Management For Dummies and win a Time Audit Session.

Are you attached to your Blackberry or iPhone?

Would you feel lost without it?  Can you resist the temptation to check it at all hours of the day and night?

I'm coming across more and more "Black(berry) widows".  Complaining about their other halves, as what's happening via their digital device takes priority over other areas of their life.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should ...

Just because you CAN now be contactable and interact with the world 24 hours a day, doesn't mean you NEED to.

You can actually switch these things off, no really you can!

The world will not end, your business will not collapse - unless you're running some multi-national company, spread across several time zones and you're the ONLY person with all the answers.  (That's a whole other issue).

Get some perspective, get some balance.

Do you:

• Spend most of the evening and weekends checking for new emails messages?
• Read your emails any time day or night?
• Carry it everywhere and feel lost without it?
• Answer work related calls - outside of working hours?
• Use it to do work when on holiday?

Now I don't deny that it's a great tool but set clear boundaries around it's use.  Yes, I did finally get one.  I don't have email on it (a choice) and while I might Tweet from it occasionally at the weekend it does get switched off work mode.

There's a time and a place.

Is Your Marketing Working?

You may have a marketing plan, you may even have a business plan but is it really working for you?  Many of the business owners I talk to on a regular basis seem to have a fairly fixed idea of what marketing is and what it does.

You print a load of leaflets, you send out a load of emails, you put an ad in your local paper or magazine, you list yourself in the yellow pages and then you wait for the phone to ring!

For some people this might work but how many of you have spent ££££'s on adverts and either don't know whether they really worked or wonder why you only got one or two calls?

How many of you have spent £££s on printing flyers getting them delivered and then only got a handful of responses.

Now, I'm no marketing expert and I've learnt and I'm still learning what works and what doesn't but there are some basics you need to establish before you waste a lot of time, effort and money.

1. What's your business strategy - to make money - but how?
2. Who are your ideal clients - the ones that need, want and can benefit from your services (and can afford them)?
3. Where are they - how are you going to reach them?
4. How are you going to tell them what you do and why they need you?
5. And what do you do when you do find them?

Is what you're doing currently working for you?  Are you getting the results you planned for and expected and if not what needs to change to take things up a level?

Don't go for the scatter-gun approach hoping that if you try everything, something will hit the target.  It can be expensive and a waste of your time and effort.  Wouldn't it make more sense to have a more focused approach and target what works?

Spend some time getting the basics right before you waste any more time and money.  If you need to get focused and start seeing results, give me a call today and book up a free Focus Session.

Time Management For Dummies Audio Book - Out Now

Now you can get all my great tips to help you improve your time management in Audio format.  Time Management For Dummies is now available as an Audio book.  You can buy a copy from Amazon or download it to your iPod or MP3 player from Audible.com.

Recorded onto 2 CDs and lasting 150 minutes you can listen to it in the car, when travelling or as background while working.

So for all of those who were asking about being able to listen to the book - here it is ...