Introduction
Time is our most valuable resource, yet it often feels like there’s never enough of it. The only thing that is as important as time is managing time.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a professional, or simply someone trying to execute on daily responsibilities, optimizing how you manage your time can make all the difference.
I’ve used these exact questions to help me serve in my Ministry, build a business, write books, produce multimedia content, all while being present as a husband and father.
These four questions will help you eliminate Distractions, Procrastination, Burnout and Blindspots in your business.
The key lies in asking yourself four essential questions
1. Do I Want to Do This?
This seems like an easy question—if you want to do something, you should do it, right? Not necessarily.
The desire to do something doesn’t always align with your priorities. This is where you have to be honest with yourself and no when you are getting sidetracked.
For me, personally, Passion can be both a secret weapon as well as the biggest distractor in my life. As a matter of fact, just before writing this blog post, I had to click the x button on another program coaching myself, “ Not now, Michael,” just to stay focused and get this info out to you today.
We often find ourselves drawn to tasks that are interesting but ultimately distractions. On the flip side, some tasks that we genuinely want to do get buried under other obligations.
Tasks could be the key to keeping you motivated and passionate. Uncovering them could be a hidden treasure chest that unlocks Your Enthusiasm.
This is the reason why this question is the first. It’s a filter. First decide if this is something that you want to do.
Second, decide whether the distraction Factor is greater or less than the enthusiasm Factor. At the end of the day it’s really a trade-off and you decide what is best.
The Enemy: Distraction
The Solution: Identify whether what you want to do aligns with your goals. If it does, carve out intentional time for it. If it doesn’t, recognize it as a distraction and limit its pull on your schedule.
2. Do I Need to Do This?
This is where necessity comes into play. There are always tasks that we must do, whether we like them or not.
This is where we have to face the facts and get real with the work that we must do. Procrastination often rears its head here.
By the way, procrastination is delaying what you know you need to do because you do not feel like it at the time. It is one of the biggest setbacks to people achieving success.
It forces us to delay and do nothing as we avoid difficult or tedious tasks despite their importance. Ignoring what needs to be done only causes stress and backlogs.
Discipline is the antidote to procrastination. That is doing what you know you’re supposed to do whether you feel like it or not.
That doesn’t mean it is easy to do. It only means it is critical to do. I like to think of the tasks that I required as non-negotiable. Things like:
- Taking out the garbage
- Paying taxes
- Sending out invoices
- Washing dishes
Don’t seem fun at all. Here’s the funny thing. Try not doing these unfun things. They will make your life worse than unfun.
Maybe this can help. I think about it like this. I want to avoid the frustration and stress rather than avoiding the tasks that will give me peace of mind,
The Enemy: Procrastination
The Solution: Prioritize what’s essential. Break big tasks into smaller, manageable steps to make them less overwhelming. Set deadlines to hold yourself accountable and prevent last-minute scrambles.
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3. Should I Delegate This?
That being said, not everything on your plate needs to be handled by you. I believe this is the bottleneck that every entrepreneur has to face at least once in there career.
This is the hidden snare of scaling and managing time in small to medium businesses. The bigger you get, the more you need to delegate.
Trust me, I know I’m preaching to the choir here. This is also not easy to do. It’s one of those necessary tasks that we talked about in the previous section.
The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) tells us that 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts. That means the bulk of tasks—especially those that don’t directly contribute to your highest priorities—can often be delegated.
The magic happens when you focus on the 20% of the tasks that ultimately give you 80% of your success. I want you to take a moment to think about this.
That means most of the things you are doing right now are not contributing directly to your success. If not, they could actually be slowing down your success.
This is a truth I had to learn the hard way. Stay in the zone where you operate at Peak Performance.
The Enemy: Burnout
The Solution: Identify and outsource tasks that don’t require your expertise or personal touch. If someone else can do it just as well (or better), pass it on. Delegation frees you to focus on higher-value work.
4. Can I Delegate This?
The fourth question is a bit of a hidden sledgehammer. It catches you off guard, yet it packs quite a blow. Consequently, this one question asks a few of its own:
- “Are you aware of what your business needs?”
- “How or where are you?”
Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why some entrepreneurs think it’s easier to do everything themselves. Once they think of this question, I believe they run down a Road revealing more questions than they have answers for.
Many times, it’s quicker to just do it yourself because you have less to think about.
This is where honesty is key. Many people assume they can delegate a task without proper preparation. In order to delegate you must have clarity about your business.
Aside from that, you also need to have clarity about the capabilities of the individual you are training to take on the delegated tasks.
Effective delegation requires training, clear instructions, and trust. If you don’t set your team or assistant up for success, you’ll likely find yourself fixing mistakes or redoing the work yourself.
The Enemy: Blindspots
The Solution: If a task can be delegated but requires training, invest the time upfront to teach someone. Consider documenting processes to make future delegation smoother. Proper delegation should reduce your workload, not increase it.
Final Thoughts
By consistently asking yourself these four questions, you can take control of managing time and energy. Whether it’s focusing on what matters most, eliminating distractions, or effectively delegating, refining your approach to time management will boost your productivity and reduce stress.
Start today and see how these questions transform your workflow!
What’s you biggest issue when it comes to managing time?
