Time Well Spent?

Do you 'spend' time or do you 'invest' time? Or have you even thought about this distinction? If not, you are about to be introduced to an important principle of success.

You live a busy life full of activities and responsibilities. Some of those 'things to do' are absolutely essential in your daily life and cannot be 'farmed out' or substituted. Others however, can be construed as 'busy work' and probably could be (and should be) given to someone else to accomplish. After all, we each have only 24 hours in a day so we might as well maximize every hour, right?

A question you need to ask yourself is as follows: "Why am I doing this and what value does this activity bring to my life?" If your answer is that it makes you feel good or enhances your quality of life…then continue doing that activity. On the other hand, if the answer is, "I dunno!'…then you may want to reconsider the activity and hand it off for someone else to do.

I have discovered over the years that successful people are masters of delegating activities that are considered by them 'low payback' for others to do. They focus on 'high payback' activities that create more value in their lives, whether it be at work or at home. Let's take doing your taxes as an example.

Tax time is fast approaching and everyone is getting ready to pony up to Uncle Sam. Some people spend countless hours collecting receipts and filling out the mind numbing forms while others hire an accountant to take care of these duties for them. While affordability is certainly an issue, the person who 'farms out' the job of doing year end taxes opens their schedule and energy level to accomplish more. The person who labors over doing their taxes sacrifices that time when they could be doing something more productive (and with a higher payback, 'investing time'), such as playing with their kids or even making more sales calls. And since the average person is not an expert when it comes to IRS tax code, they probably end up COSTING themselves more money than they would otherwise save by hiring a tax professional to do it.

The point to this message is to look carefully at the activities you do everyday and choose to focus more on 'high payback' activities and don't just 'spend' your time, but 'invest' your time wisely. Learn to delegate. You'll have lots more energy and motivation to do the things in life that are truly important.

Be Strong and Focused,

Coach Troy

www.strongandfocused.com

(NOTE: This column excerpted from Coach Troy's April 13th email newsletter - sign up at www.strongandfocused.com)

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