"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -Gandhi

Ahead of Schedule: BOOK 1 COMPLETE

No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by: Dan Kennedy

We are rocking an rolling in 2009! First book finished in record time. Now let me preface this...Brad Will is the guy who starts reading a page and 5 minutes later realizes he is at the bottom and can remember a damn thing. Can anyone relate? But I am getting better by learning to relax my mind of the constant traffic of thoughts flowing between my ears.

Obviously I am telling you I am poor at time management, but I don't know many Entrepreneurs who aren't. Dan Kennedy keeps you engaged with his blunt humor and the easiness of read. He breaks it down into very simple ways to be efficient with your time in business. Do you want to know the secret of this book? Here it is: Turn time into money! Ok were done.

Alright here is a little more. If you do not know what your time is worth, how are you going to get paid what you deserve? He give you simple formulas to compute how much your time is actually worth. So let's say my number is $200 meaning my time is worth $200/hour. Now that I know what I am worth I can justify the decision to do or not to do and activity in my business. Let's say you have to send out 100 pieces of hand written direct mail. If this is a $8/hour job, your time might be better spent attracting new customers into your business. So now you have the power to say "If I'm not making 200 bucks an hour, I ain't doing it."

10 Time Management Techniques:
1. Tame the phone. Don't take phone calls during your productivity time. Turn it off. Plus you want to appear busy at all times or else vampires will suck you dry of your time.
2. Minimize meetings. Meetings are serous time burners. Only have stand-up meetings, no chairs. Set meetings before lunch, don't serve refreshments, have an agenda and an escape route.
3. Practice absolute punctuality. Be on time every time and people will do the same for you.
4. Make and use lists. Create a to do list every day and write it down. Carry it with you and get everything you must get done that day (Schedule, things to do, people to call, conference, etc...). "Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable."
5. Fight to link everything to your goals. Have enough reasons to get rich. "If you are not achieving what you feel you should in life, it is because your goals are not defined well enough." Ask yourself "Is what I am doing, this minute, moving me measurably closer to my goals?"
6. Tickle the memory with Tickler files. (Read the book)
7. Block your time in advance. Scratch as many days off in your calander in advance, (birthdays, vacations, anniversary, etc...) leaving you less time to work with. You will also know you have these commitments set in stone in advance.
8. Minimize unplanned activity. Schedule your day by the half-hour. Eliminate down time of watching t.v. and reading comics.
9. Profit from "Odd-lot" time. Listen to audio books during your time spent in the car. Read books on the airplane.
10. Live on off peak times. Do not go to the store during busy hours or travel during rush hour traffic.

Most important point I learned: "People who can't be punctual, can't be trusted."
This means being where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there, as promised, without exception, without excuse, every time, all the time. If you do not respect the time of others how can you expect them to respect yours? Now some people are deliberately late trying to appear important. They are basically saying: I can keep you waiting because I am more important than you. What they are really saying is: "I don't have much self respect, so I'm desperately trying to make myself feel more like a big shot by stealing your time and getting away with it." So if you want to build great business relationships, BE ON TIME-EVERY TIME.

Overall I thought this book was an easy, yet good read. Time management is a subject that frustrates many business owners and will continue until we get it under control. By implementing these simple techniques, it will take much stress out of our day to day lives. I would recommend this book to all Entrepreneurs who are struggling with time management.

This book gets: 3.5 out of 5 stars

2 comments:

Till The End said...

Book 1 and 2

best question ever asked by Andy Stanley and Never quit by Edwin Cole Book 3 which I have just started is Outlier by Malcom Gladwell

Bradley Will said...

I appreciate the recommendations! Keep em coming.