How to leverage time in your Art, Craft and Design business

Photography by Monica Li

Le Petit Moni Photographie

         Tomorrow is a promise...

                                 Yesterday is gone...

                                                               
                                                           So Make tomorrow Today                   
                                                                                           -Quantum Compass

What would you do if you had “more time”?

Here’s what a lot of people have said in answer to that question:

*Have more time with family

* Relax and rest

* Travel and see the world.

Right now I’d like to share something with you that when I understood it seriously changed my life…

Time is the only resource that you have that can never be taken away from you. And no-one else has any more of it than you do… When it comes to time every-one is equal…

How many hours in a day does Richard Branson have? Bill Gates? Or anyone else I could name?

How many hours a day do you have?

24 hours in a day.

And what happens when you’ve spent your 24 hours? What happens when that day ends?

You get another one!

So the ”fallacy” about “spending” time, “saving” time, or “making more” time is that you can’t… You have exactly the same 24 hours that everyone else on the planet has. No more. No less.

The real secret to success is what you do with those 24 hours!

So,

·         You always have time.

·         You always have all the time there is.

·         You always have the same 24 hours as everybody else.

·         You always have all the time you need to do things right here, right now.

·         You always make the choices about how you use your time.

Now, let’s look at how you can leverage your time to the best effect…

Ways to leverage time:

Now is the perfect time (is there any other time?) to learn the difference between:

·         The urgent things

·         The important things.

Urgent things demand your time but can usually wait, even when they seem like emergencies.

Important things move you in the direction of your dreams and goals.

A clear focus on the difference between the urgent and the important will be critical to your future success in this, or any other business.

And a clear understanding of the activities you undertake that are important rather than urgent will see you succeed sooner.

It is not possible to manage time. But you can leverage it. Time is a most precious commodity, and your only natural resource. Only dead people don’t have time. They’re also the only ones with no problems. It’s not a matter of having time, but of arranging your priorities.

You can change your time effectiveness by changing the way you relate to the idea of time.

You can choose to live in a world of scarcity or abundance. Or you can choose to live in a world you create where you decide your own priorities.

It’s time to own your future. It’s time to focus on what you want by leveraging your time in activities that advance you directly towards your dreams and goals.

It’s your future after all. Procrastination is the thief of time and the graveyard of opportunity.

If you wait until you have time, you’ll be waiting forever. You will never have time. It’s the most elusive concept ever devised. That’s why there’s no such thing as tomorrow.

So make tomorrow today...

Have you ever found a calendar with a tomorrow on it?

There’s only today.

Tomorrow is a promise. Yesterday is gone. Do it right now! Do it in the moment that you’re in!

When your priorities are in order you know what you need to do right now. So just do it. Think in terms of moments of time. Grab those little bits of time and do the “little bits at a time” that will take you closer towards your goal.

Sometimes it’s the scary thought of those Herculean tasks and goals that we set ourselves that cause us to procrastinate and stall in our actions. By breaking down the task into smaller chunks, you‘ll soon find more things get done, and more things get done sooner.

Four DOs can assist you arrange your priorities:

·         Can Do:

Task can be done but neither urgent nor important

·         Could Do:

Task could be carried out but not so urgent nor so important

·         Would Do:

Essential but not so important

·         Must Do:

The important task that needs to be actioned right away!

These four Dos can help you to identify which task is urgent or important. When you are losing focus, these four Dos can bring you back on track with your priorities.

All you have to do is focus on what you want to achieve.

Useful tools to help you plan:

·         To Do List (use it daily)

·         Weekly Activities Planner

·         Follow up calls

·         Daily To Do tasks

·         Things to follow up

·         Diary Planner

·         Daily Journal

·         Plan your day

·         Set priority

·         OPIC Planning Sheet (From Quantum Compass)

Is time your biggest challenge at the moment?

At ArtSHINE we have been working alongside our clients to help them design a business model that works for their Business LifeStyle.

We asked our clients what they found to be the most challenging in their business.

Most of their answers were "Time"

‘I don't have enough time.’

‘There is so much to do and I have to do it all.’

‘I have no one to help me.’

So is time your biggest challenge at the moment?

In reality, you can't really manage time or control time. We've all been given 24 hours equally in a day, no more, no less. When you use up the 24 hours, you are granted another 24 hours the next day. The real secret to success is what you do with those 24 hours!

At  ArtSHINE  we show you the "art of  leveraging"  and how you can leverage time so you can focus on the tasks that really matter, make you happy and  move you forward in achieving your tasks, your goals and your dreams.

In one of our workshops "OPIC Leverage" we show you how you can change your life and business by introducing the three aspects of time leveraging:

1. Mapping & Organising
2. Keeping a tap on your work activities
3. Redefining your job descriptions

Mapping & Organising are very much related to paper management. Like mapping out your 90 days plan, organise them in a matter of priority by understanding the difference between the Urgent things and the important things. List them in your diary (Diary management) and by using your "daily to do list" to execute those tasks. By doing it this way it keeps you focused on what’s important so you don't get distracted.

Keeping a tap on your work activities is the most effective way to keep track on all your current and upcoming projects as well as your meetings and appointments too.

You know as well as I do, most of the time you feel like you are bombarded with a tonne of work with hundreds of projects to get through at one time. These projects could come from anywhere from personal to business and the list could go on and on and for this reason it's easy to lose track of where you are at each project. There is nothing worse than having your client call and ask about the project that you totally overlooked and forgot to follow up with. 

So here is what you should have in your "WAS" - Weekly Activities Sheet:

• To Do tasks: Focus on the important tasks first and what matters most.
• Working On!: Know what current projects are on and its progress.
• Coming up!:  New projects coming on board and set a time frame.
• Things To Follow Up: Execute those tasks that require your attention.
• Helpers & Outsource: Who can help and to who to delegate to.
• "Me Time! & "Refresh!: Segment time to chill out, get out the office at least one hour a day.
•  Appointment & Deadline: Diarise your appointments and those important dates.

If you don't come up with a system for your business you will fall in the "I.D.I.T" trap (l'll do it tomorrow) syndrome and if you didn’t allocate time for it, more than likely you won't get it done. As the saying goes "You can wait forever if you plan to do it tomorrow".

Tomorrow is only a promise.

So Make Tomorrow Today!

If you have this system in place and with lots of practice and discipline, you will see your productivity increase and be less overwhelming with constant work load bombardments.  Know your priorities and the important tasks and do them first.  If you ever come across those tasks that sit in the grey area and you're unsure whether you should do it now or later, try using the 4 Dos'

• Can Do: Task can be done but neither urgent nor important
• Could Do : Task can be carried out but not so urgent nor so important
• Would Do: Essential but not so important
• Must Do: The important task that needs to be actioned right away.

Remember with the big tasks, if it's too much to chew at the time then break them into small bits (sub tasks) with benchmarks as you go.  Then tick them off the list as you complete each task. When you achieve those challenging tasks, it's time to celebrate, give yourself a treat, time off or a pat on the back.

SO when was the last time you did a health check on your business?

Would you like to learn your business model the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1. Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

   

2. Send an e-mail to this ArtSHINE : info @ArtSHINE.com.au

3. Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching 

session:

Do this busienss health check survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery