In the last Trilogy Report, we talked about the concept of time as money in property investment. But how do you derive the most value from your time, in order to ensure you’re gaining the best possible outcomes from your investment endeavours?
Here are ten ways you can make the most of your valuable time, in our increasingly hectic, fast paced world…
- Schedule and diarise.
Much like budgeting, creating a schedule is difficult if you don’t first take stock of how you currently use your time.
Start out by carrying a diary with you to record your experiences throughout a normal week so you can reflect on how and where you spend your time. Then you can start consciously planning your days more efficiently.
- Prioritise how you’ll spend your time.
When you complete the first step above, it will soon become apparent whether you’re making good use of your time, or whether you’re inadvertently flittering large chunks of your life away (that you’ll never get back)!
Most people would be alarmed to know how much time things like social media can steal from you on a daily basis. But what value is derived from spending hours scrawling through inane Facebook memes? Unless of course you eek a living from social media management.
Work out what type of value you want to gain from your time, according to your life’s goals and circumstances. Then prioritise different activities, according to what you’ll derive most satisfaction from doing with your time.
- Avoid distractions.
Whether you work from home and can’t resist putting on a load of washing, or harbour a social media obsession that’s hard to suppress, don’t allow yourself to be veered off course once you start planning and prioritising your days.
By applying some structure to your time, there’s less chance you’ll be distracted by bright shiny things…or videos of cats.
- Allocate time for electronic communications.
We’re all guilty of it. You subscribe to some mailing list, and then another, and then another, and then…before you know it, your Inbox is overflowing with thousands of unread messages that suddenly become really engrossing when you have something else that’s far more important to be doing.
Work in time allotments over the course of your days to respond to communications as required. More importantly, ditch any email subscriptions that won’t advance your cause in life (obviously not this one!), keeping only those relevant to your journey.
- Be prepared to go with the flow.
Plan time to be pulled away from whatever it is you’re doing.
If you have no flexibility built into your schedule, or allow yourself freedom of choice to do something different in any given moment, you actually risk missing out on potential opportunities. Not to mention getting down on yourself if you feel you’ve failed in executing better time management.
Scheduling is important, but so is recognising those priorities that trump good intention, such as looking after your health or important family commitments.
- Acknowledge the need for help.
Don’t be afraid to admit to yourself and those around you that you simply don’t have enough hours in the day to keep up with the demands placed on your time. If you run yourself into the ground trying to fit more than what’s humanly possible into every waking moment, you risk burning out.
- Keep track of your time management.
Check in with your schedule every so often to make sure it’s working for you, making adjustments as your circumstances (or demands on your time) change.
Remember, you can’t expect the world to stop for you, so there’ll be more than one occasion where you need to change things up unexpectedly.
- Take time to plan.
You might be itching to get on with things as soon as you bound out of bed in the morning, but by taking the first half an hour at the beginning of each day, and half a day at the beginning of each month to plan, you’ll use your time a lot more wisely.
- Know when to say ‘no’.
Practice not answering the phone just because it’s ringing, or emails just because they appear. Don’t instantly give people your attention unless it’s absolutely critical to your business and be prepared to say ‘no’ to any invitations or commitments you can’t possibly fit in to your existing schedule.
- Eliminate any unproductive drains on your time.
Let’s face it; we all have plenty of fluff and nonsense that we tend to get lost in, as a way of avoiding more important things that we should be giving our time to.
Acknowledge anything that’s not adding value to your world, and then get rid of it.
Some folk seem to have perfected the talent of filling their days with relatively useless, go nowhere type moments. And admittedly, many variables will prevent you from ever perfecting the art of time management.
But ultimately, whether you end up full of regret at the end of your time over moments lost, or full of wonderful memories over moments that really mattered…is entirely up to you.
About the Author
Since 2008, David Thomas has built a business aimed at servicing the needs of property investors, owner occupiers and small business owners. David is recognised as one of the top 10 independent mortgage brokerages in the country, David and his team have settled almost billions of dollars worth of residential and investment loans over the last decade.
Known for his straightforward, relatable style, David believes by educating people about property funding; they fare better in the market. By sharing his expertise openly, some of the people he educates will likely become his clients. It's a win-win approach.
David Thomas is a credit representative (Representative Number 506153) of BLSSA Pty Ltd, ACN 117 651 760 (Australian Credit Licence 391237).