How to Gain Control of Your Time

Have you ever felt frustrated or resentful because you gave more of your time than you intended to someone else, such as a client or potential client?

Do you have a habit of being readily available to people, thinking “it will only take a minute,” “I don’t want to hurt their feelings,” or “I don’t want to seem callous or uncaring?”

If so, you’re not alone. In fact, most service experts, particularly women, struggle with this challenge at one time or another.

We’ve been raised in this society to “be nice,” which of course is not a bad thing, when appropriate. The problem begins when we consistently give away our time and therefore our power to others because we don’t want to “be rude”.

We want to be liked, we don’t want people to think badly of us, and we don’t want to look as if we care more about our business than we do about people.

The cost, however, is tremendous. I’ve never seen an entrepreneur create a thriving, successful business and a balanced personal life who doesn’t plug this huge hole in their boundaries.

Talk to any 6 or 7 figure entrepreneur, and they’ll most likely tell you they had to overcome this challenge multiple times – every time they made a leap in their business, in fact.

I know I have.

So how do you overcome the “nice” syndrome without feeling like a jerk?

Ah. That’s the real question.

You begin by realizing one simple truth: When you give time to someone for any of the “nice” reasons alone, what you’re really saying is that their needs are more important than yours.

That’s right. The underlying premise is that they are more important than you are.

Ouch.

That a tough truth. But it’s motivating, isn’t it? Kinda makes you never want to do that again.

Here’s another truth: It’s not your responsibility to fulfill everyone else’s needs. It’s theirs. People can and will get their needs met, one way or another. Your job is to take care of your own.

The good news is you can protect your time while still being tactful and not hurting others.

Here are some practical strategies to do just that:

1.    Don’t allow unexpected interruptions

Would you barge in on someone unannounced, expecting them to drop whatever they were doing immediately to help you? I’m betting you wouldn’t.

So don’t allow others to do that with you! Turn off the phone ringer(s), turn off the email and text notifications, put a sign on the door and focus on the important task at hand.

Schedule in a few times during the day to respond to email, text and phone messages, so you can do it between projects. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can get done without interruptions!

2.    Let people know up front how much time you have allotted, and stick to it.

Make certain you reserve your time for prospects or clients within pre-set boundaries. When you do have an in person or phone meeting scheduled, let people know how long you have at the beginning.

Remind them gently once or twice when it gets toward the time you need to wrap-up, and then end on time. Even your friends and family will appreciate this consideration.

3.    If you can’t help someone, move on.

No matter what amount of time you’ve set aside for a phone or in person meeting, if you realize someone isn’t ready for what you offer, give them another resource they are ready for and end the meeting.

If you don’t, you’ll resent giving them more of your time, and since they aren’t ready, they most likely won’t do much with what you give them anyway. 

You can implement all of these strategies with caring professionalism. You can still be nice about it. You may feel a bit awkward at first until you find your groove, but once you do, you’ll be thrilled. You’ll be in charge of your time and ready to make your biggest business leap yet in 2012!