Ah … time management.  Nothing is more debated, contemplated, written about, and considered in the world of success than time management.  Tim Ferriss built an empire on it.  Apps are made to achieve it.  We all worry about it (maybe myself more than all others … the horror!).  But like so many questions we have to distill it down: what do we mean by time management?  What is the most important?

Time management, more than anything, is about concentrating energy into the highest return possible. This is why most retail businesses in the world get my sympathy … hours of waiting for the world to come by, walk in, and hopefully buy.  It’s no way to live, and we are seeing a major change in the world of retail as a result.  This is also why Tim Ferriss’ book (The Four Hour Workweek) was a game-changer to my world … the moment you get the guts to lop off the 80% of unproductive time in your world, the faster you can grow the 20% left over and it’s that 20% that really matters.  I proved it time and time again in my life of wine sales.  Two hours for a hopeful order of two cases?  Are you kidding me?  I focused on the nicest customers I had that would order an extra twenty cases if I put just a bit more effort in.  The result?  A 23% territory sales increase during the worst recession of modern times.

There is a management friend of mine that likes to tell her sales reps “Don’t leave any stone unturned.”  Well I wholeheartedly disagree … The point in which you become a truly GREAT sales rep is when you realize when to leave a stone sitting there and walk away.  As Bill Cosby said (paraphrased): “I don’t know what the secret to success is, but pleasing everybody is not it.”

Time management is about pattern and routine for the best reasons. The power of consistency is amazing.  A slow drip of water over thousands of years can crack a boulder.  A slow trickle of ideas and effort can build a very profitable business with few hours every week.  A slow push of energy can get a thousand true fans. But nothing happens if you start and stop and start again and stop again.  The pleasure centers of our brain enjoy a rhythm, but the logic side often gets in the way.  “I’m too tired” or “I only have ten followers” or “I just don’t know why anyone would read this stuff” are excuses for avoiding why you know has to be done: the work.  Dive in!

And last but not least, time management is all about being able to shut down the computer and actually interact with people (yes, face to face). If you are reading this blog I know you are already a bit more tech-savvy than most and interested in things others are not (and welcome to my world and thank you!).  I also know from research that you probably spend 22.7 hours a week on your computer, are dialed into multiple sites via your phone, and have an average of 3.9 email accounts.  And all of that is great!  But time management is about being able to do the work that needs to get done, without distraction, so you can be with your spouse, your children, or your friends because human interaction is something that we not only crave but we need. When it’s time to shut down the computer, do so completely.  Chris Guillebeau likes to take a Sabbath day from Saturday night until Sunday night.  It’s a good pattern to emulate, and being Saturday night right now it’s time to close the laptop, fire up the grill, and pop a bottle of good wine.  See ya!