Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 74: Time Budgeting

Time Budgeting by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Today I want to talk to you about time management. There is no such thing. You can't manage time. You have the same 24 hours that everyone else does. So, I want to talk to you about what I would call time budgeting. Time is a lot like money. If you don't pay attention to what you're doing with it, it kind of just evaporates, doesn't it? So just like you need a budget for your finances, you need a budget for your time.

When I work with people on time management it’s all about focus.  We talk about what they will focus on. It's not about managing your time, it's managing your priorities, it's about looking at and working on the right things.

Most people really do want to have a schedule. A schedule that helps them do everything they want in the day. But, that happens about once a month. The mistake we make is thinking that when we accomplish something, all we need to do is repeat it every day. It’s not that easy. Eisenhower once said, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” What happens is you plan, and you get all these contingencies and then your plan hits the real world and goes to crap. But the act of planning, the act of thinking things through was indispensable because it helped them get ready. And it's the same for you. Do you remember when I talked about bookending your days? You can only control the very beginning and the very end of your day. The middle is kind of a crapshoot. You should have a plan because even though you're not going to get that plan finalized all the way through, it's still better than nothing. You're still going to move ahead faster than if you didn't have a plan at all.  If you don't have a destination, if you don’t know where you want to go, if you can’t see your big picture is, then the things you want to do will probably never get done. Your priorities will always get put on the back burner in favor of putting out the fires.

I want to give you a gift. I want to give you a gift that will help you not go home at the end of the day feeling like a failure because you didn't get your plan done.  That happens a lot. I want you to ask yourself one question in the morning. What's the one thing do I need to do today to make it feel like a success? And that might be:

• Finally fixing a problem vehicle today.
• Hitting your sales goal today.
• Dealing with a customer issue today.

What's the one thing you will get done today to go home feeling like a success? After you put your plan altogether, ask yourself that one question. That will create a laser focus on what really is most important for you that day. Then use it to make sure you get it done.

That’s all I got for you today. Ask yourself that one question. It's going to make all the difference in the world. What's the one thing I got to do today to make it feel like a success? That's what you do.

Take care. Have a great day. God bless.