Schedule your time wisely.

Check your monthly or annual calendar for any appointments you may have previously made, and evaluate their importance in the context of your goals.  Steven R Covey

I usually talk about priority management over time management.  What tasks are important and proven to be successful in accomplishing my goals?  I was reminded of this when I gathered my expenses for taxes.  I often say that advertising doesn't pay off in my business.  I believe it's about relationship building, getting to know the involved parties and trusting each other.  The one thing I did notice was that I still spent an awful lot of money on advertising, when I truly know that it has never paid off.

Why did I allow myself to expend money for something that doesn't work?  Fear?  Did I believe that maybe it would this time?  I could have taken that same amount of money and hired a business coach or work on the branding of the business.  I could have spent the time and money taking people out for coffee and building better relationships.  I could have done things differently because this didn't align within the context of my goals.  Now I am doing it differently and I would have never realized it had I not payed attention to previously spent money. 

My example is the same concept as Steven Covey's; who advises you to take a look at your calendar and see where your time is spent.  Does the time spent still align with your goals.  I noticed I spent quite a bit of time talking with anyone and everyone.  Now I am more focused and I am starting to see a positive change in where I want to target my efforts. 

Another great quote by Steven R Covey; The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.  Sometimes I don't get to the activities that should have been high priority.  It certainly has nothing to do with lack of time, because I do have the time.  It had to do with my lack of scheduling what was important to get done, because as we know, so many things come up in a day and then the day gets away from you. 

Take a look at your goals and decide whether your activities are still in alignment, if they are not, then make some changes that bring you back to center.