Take back your time and maybe earn more money as a result!
February 24, 2021
Kathleen Owens
Some people seem to get a lot accomplished each day, and it may be a mystery how they do it. Anyone can learn to become more productive by becoming consistent. Productive people have a process that they implement consistently and are disciplined. I have worked with some of the most financially successful people in Southern California, and I’ve observed first-hand how they stay organized and productive.
The benefit of being organized is that it will save you time, money, frustration and possibly save you from missing out on lost opportunities.
When you “reclaim” lost time, you can use that time for things that will improve your life. Such as: spending more time with your family, attending more networking events, spending more time marketing your business or improving your business skills.
In my eighteen years of experience working with wealthy individuals and families, they all have a vast network of business contacts and friends. They spend quite a bit of time nurturing these relationships. One very wealthy family I worked with, sent out 1,500 Christmas/holiday cards every year. Every. Year. (and on time).
There’s a saying: “out of sight, out of mind”.
The more people you know, and the more people know you, and like you, will lead to enhancements to your life that you may have thought, not possible.
I believe it’s very difficult to become financially successful if you are not organized. Here’s what I have observed first-hand working with very successful individuals and families.
1. They keep a notebook with them at all times
The notebook can be digital or an old-school paper planner such as a Day-Timer. These expert organizers have their notebook within reach at all times to jot down ideas, or to-do’s.
2. They have a daily to-do list
Going along with keeping a “planner” with them at all times, these uber-organized are great at creating and completing to-do lists. It’s difficult and inefficient to try and keep all of your tasks and ideas in your head. We’ve all had the experience of waking-up with a great idea. You think your idea is such a fantastic idea that you don’t need to write it down. But as time passes, the idea may fade away.
3. They are expert delegators
Many successful people see the value in paying for a personal assistant, or they utilize their family to help achieve their daily goals. They have a system to follow-up with the items that have been delegated so they don’t fall through the cracks. Their motto is; Who will do what by when. Which is the name of a book by Tom Hanson and Birgit Zacher. The book is a great read about the importance of follow-through and accountability. You can write something down that you want to accomplish, but if you don’t have a process for how you are going to accomplish the items on your to-do list, what’s the point?
4. They remove or minimize distractions
Some very organized individuals go so far as to pre-plan their wardrobe so that they don’t waste time each morning deciding what they are going to wear. A business woman who is a client, wears the same thing to work each day. She bought ten or so of the same white silk blouse and pairs of the same black pants so that she doesn’t waste time or mental energy each morning with a wardrobe decision. My clients have daily morning routines, whether it be exercise, returning emails or meditating; they’re not wandering aimlessly. Many of these high performing individuals eat the same thing for breakfast, again, removing a daily distraction, or decision from their morning routine.
5. Their workspace and homes are organized and clutter-free
Looking for misplaced items is frustrating and wastes time, something that the organized avoid at all costs. Their home is organized for efficiency and they keep to a routine such as putting their car keys in the same place every time. In other words, there is a place for everything.
6. They have a home office
Now, it's very common for just about everyone to have a separate room in their home that functions as a home office, or at least, everyone has carved-out a space in which to work. When I began working with individuals and couples back in 2003, they all had a designated room that functioned as an office. One couple had a designated building on their property that was large enough for 4 people to work in and it was used only as an office.
7. The people in their lives cooperate with THEIR way of life
Organized individuals usually have a common trait, in that they are organized in almost all aspects of their life and they expect the people in their life to be organized as well. Or at least, go along with the game plan of the organized person. I would say that this type of person can be controlling because they have goals, and they are not going to allow anyone to derail their plans. These super-organized people usually don’t tolerate family that constantly show-up late for dinner dates or meetings. They set expectation and hold the offenders accountable (In a nice way). It comes to a point when you can’t let others continually waste your time.
8. They embrace technology to help make their life easier, and save time
Weighing the cost versus the benefit, it may be worth it to automate as many tasks as possible, such as bill payment, recording TV shows and movies, and setting-up prescriptions or frequently used household items on auto-refill delivery. Automation saves time and prevents running out of a needed item.
Using security apps and voice activation tech to lock your home and turn on or off the lights saves time and money in the long run. I saw a story of a woman that wanted to spend more time with her sons, so she found one small way to reclaim some of her time. She found a super absorbent hair towel that would cut down on the time it took to blow dry her hair. Little changes that you can make in your life to save time can add up, and you might be surprised at the time you can reclaim by being a good planner.
When I remodeled my home in Southern California, I replaced all the lighting with LED fixtures. LED lights are designed to last 10 years, so no more changing light bulbs for at least 10 years, and a bonus: LED lighting is more energy efficient that regular light bulbs.
I hope you find value in this article and it will help you with your life. As the hamster running in the wheel illustrates, are you getting things accomplished each day, or are you spinning your wheel?
There are many resources to help you with your personal, business and home organization. Home organizers will come to your home and help you purge unwanted items and help you organize your home for efficiency. Part of our financial planning process is that we will help our clients organize their financial record-keeping and assist them with setting up a secure digital vault system so that their records are easily accessible, and also a paper records filing system if the client wants that as well.
My contact information is shown below. Please reach out to me if you want to learn more!
Comments