there’s no specific agenda or timeline
put in place for a given task. Having no
structure encourages procrastination
because there’s no feeling of any
time sensitivity.
If I’m working on a large project, I’ll
break it down into smaller segments
that can be quantified and assign
timelines as I go. It’s critical that I’m
able to monitor my efficiency of each
hour spent because it tells me whether
or not I’m on track.
Structure also gives me the perfect
excuse to avoid excessively long phone
calls or meetings that are unnecessary.
Being able to say “I’ve got to be off the
call in 10 minutes because I’ve got a
deadline” makes it far easier to keep
focused on the goal and remove other
people’s distractions from my life.
Very rarely will I meet anyone in person,
as the time spent traveling isn’t
overly productive.
day: Either your time is being well spent
or it isn’t. From there, you can opt to
remove certain tasks in order to focus
on more productive items.
Because my weeks are constantly
changing, I’m always analyzing where
my time is being spent. Even if I deem
a task as being worthwhile, I’ll reassess
if it is still worthy of the amount of time
I’m spending on it.
2. Prioritize
Having analyzed where my time is be-
ing spent, the next step is to delegate
my time appropriately, according to
my current goals. Anything that isn’t a
priority is instantly removed from my
daily life.
There’s no room in my life for fluff. Ev-
erything must have a purpose to ensure
that I’m able to get value out of every
minute. It can be hard to successfully
prioritize my “to do list,” so I’ll choose
three to five things every day that ab-
solutely have to be done and complete
them before everything else.
In order to check things off my list, I’ll
focus purely on one task at a time. Try-
ing to juggle various tasks at the same
time usually leads to lower productiv-
ity due to distractions or a scattered
train of thought. The mind needs to
be completely immersed in the task at
hand, so my rule is to do one thing at a
time. Anything that doesn’t serve me in
achieving this task will be removed. For
example, my phone will be set to silent
if it’s not needed for the job I’m doing.
I always suggest people turn off their
social media notifications. These
can easily distract you into opening
the app and draw you into the dark
hole of mindlessly scrolling through
your newsfeeds.
3. Delegate
Years ago I’d repair my own car, but
now I delegate this task to my me-
chanic. My time needs to be spent
doing things I’ve got expertise in. This
way I’m producing more from each
minute spent. That’s why I’m always
looking to delegate tasks that don’t fall
within my expertise, or directly impact
my personal and business goals. This
doesn’t just free up time for me, it also
affords me added focus.
I’ll bring my laptop with me when my
car is being serviced, allowing me to
create content while I wait. Delegat-
ing allows me to do this, which over
the course of a year makes an enor-
mous difference. Imagine if I created
three extra pieces of content per week
because of having more time. In a year
that’s over 150 more blogs, articles,
columns and newsletters to educate
my audience! The compounding effect
is enormous.
4. Structure
All of my days have strict structure
and I don’t allow anything to disrupt
it. Hours of time can be lost when
If you’re not careful, time can quickly
be drained from your day, so you need
to be prepared to control your day as
you see fit. If this requires being forceful
with sticking to your agenda and time-
lines, so be it. While you don’t want to
go into full social lockdown, you may
need to limit the number of outings
you attend. If you agree to attend all
dinner and drink outings, trips, gossip
sessions or birthday celebrations, you
could be left with no time to reach your
goal. The next thing you know, it’s 2018
and you haven’t gotten any closer to
your goal because you agreed to attend
everyone’s social event.
5. Limit Contact
My personal email and cell phone
number are only given to those who
really need it. This isn’t because I’m
being arrogant; this is purely to limit
distractions. It can be too easy to get
pulled into time-consuming conversa-
tions with back and forth emails or text
messages. As such, I choose to avoid
this unless it’s absolutely critical for a
goal I’m currently working on.
Having a personal, or virtual, assistant
to tackle the smaller details that pop up
from people can be a very helpful tool.
It’s another way of delegating tasks,
too. Any takers? I need one (kidding)!
I’d like to hear from you on Insta-
gram. Post and tag me @KrisGethin,
hashtagging #timemanagement.
ironmanmagazine.com | SEPTEMBER 2017 63