How to Manage Your Time in Business

In order to be successful in your business it is important that you manage your time wisely. Spending the majority of your time on revenue producing activities will increase your opportunities for success. Likewise spending the majority of your time on activities that do not have a direct correlation to producing revenue will create nothing more than frustration for you as you wonder why you aren't making the money you would like to.

When it comes down to managing your time in business, it is important that you abide by the 80-20 rule. 80% of your success comes directly from 20% of your activity. Therefore you want to spend the majority of your time on the activities that create the most results.

80% of the time you dedicate to your business opportunity should be on revenue producing activities. So for instance, lets say you decide that you are going to work your business for 10 hours a week. That means that 8 hours a week needs to be spent on revenue producing activities. The other 2 hours can be spent on things that you have to do for your business, but they don't directly relate to revenue.

What are revenue-producing activities? Revenue producing activities are anything that you do that results in you making money from your personal efforts or you making money from your team efforts. Therefore, here is how you should spend the 80% of your time.

20% of your time should be spent identifying and contacting brand new prospects to talk to about the business opportunity. Activities such as making a list of everyone you know, creating advertising campaigns and any activity that is going to help you identify and contact someone that you have never shared information with before. So using the 10 hour a week business model, if you are dedicating 8 hours a week to revenue producing activity that means at least 2 hours a week should be spent in this area.

20% of your time should be spent following up with existing prospects that you have already shared information with about the business opportunity. Most people are not going to sign up when you first contact them. That's why it's important that you follow up with them. If you fail to follow up, many people that would have joined the business will not. So using the 10-hour a week business model, 2 hours a week should be spent in this area.

20% of your time should be spent either learning how to do the first 50% better, learning how to teach the first 50% better or learning how to teach someone how to teach the first 50% better. We all need to sharpen our axe so to speak, so constantly getting trained on these areas will help us to be more effective in our business. So using the 10-hour a week business model, 2 hours a week should be spent in this area.

20% of your time should be spent helping someone in your organization. You want to help your agents learn how to identify new prospects, learn how to follow up, learn how to get trained, learn how to teach these areas and learn how to teach people to teach these areas. The only way you will be able to have a business that grows without you is if your team is able to do what you do. So using the 10-hour a week business model, 2 hours a week should be spent in this area.

The other 20% of your time, the remaining 2 hours a week should be spent doing the tasks that we have to do but don't necessarily directly relate to producing income. These are the activities like checking email, ordering supplies, anything that we have to do in our business that is not directly either acquiring a new customer/agent or teaching someone how to acquire a new customer/agent.

By following this simple time management system you will find that you will get more done in the long haul. Your income will grow as a result and you will have more success in your business.