I need a time machine

I was inspired by this Tweet:

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~Michael Althsuler #30SecMBA

 

As the “pilot,” I could correct this course, but I still think I need a time machine.

Not that I’m wanting to go back in time, or even forward. I need the kind of machine that can “make” more time in the day. Maybe this is almost like a snooze button that actually stops time, but I keep going. Yeah, that’s it.

Do I need more sleep? Who doesn’t? But this isn’t my main focus here. I’m talking about getting it all done in the allotted amount of time that we all have each day…24 hours. Well, I know you have to eat, sleep, spend time with the family and take care of your needs in their somewhere.

I recently posted a Tweet that asked for a vote on a 36 hour day. What do you think, are you in? Let me first say that I LOVE what I do, but working 12-15 hours a day isn’t healthy by any means, and if the days were longer, I’d increase that to another few hours of work. Of course I have to practice what I preach as a nurse, and I would devote more time to my wellness. I already do this, but I really have to squeeze it in. This is a must. I do like to stay active, and I consume a healthy diet (Boy scout’s honor). If I don’t take care of myself, how can I take care of my patients?

Now, you might be saying this guy’s an idiot this is impractical. We need to work less and have more time for ourselves. Well, with the new 36 hour day, we can have both. Now, the work thing could be optional. For those of you who would rather spend that extra time sleeping, hanging out, or whatever you enjoy most…great! I won’t hold it against you. As long as I can have more time to meet deadlines, serve all of my patients equally, and grow my business, then I wouldn’t have to cut into that precious time I have with my family. Boys! Stop climbing up on the car and swinging from the tree branches! Someone’s going to get hurt and I’ll have to reset your broken leg myself because I don’t have time to take you to the hospital!

Actually, I’ll get to the point here because I’m limited on time. The point I’m driving at is that working a lot and working effectively are not synonymous. You can say, “I’ve been working a lot lately, or I have a ton of stuff to do.” Well, I hear you, but are you actually getting that work done, and if not then does it just keep spilling over into the next day? Might be time to triage your current situation.

As a nurse I assess my patients everyday, and as an entrepreneur I assess my business, usually. Unfortunately, I haven’t really checked in with myself to see how things are going. This is something I preach to all new and seasoned entrepreneurs. Heck, even if you’re not self-employed, you still have to evaluate your work-life balance.

Don’t get me wrong here. When you first venture out on your own, you’re going to be working quite a bit just to launch your business. Try to budget for that if you can. Trust me. So, what about when the business is up and running? Well, if part of the reason you wanted to do this is to have some freedom and flexibility in your schedule, then make sure to stick to those goals of remaining small to maintain this. Sure there’s a chance you could grow your business aggressively and hire others to do a big chunk of the work, but I’m not going to pull the wool over your eyes here. I haven’t met an entrepreneur yet that’s out there heavily innovating and diversifying to grow their businesses, and sitting back chillaxin’.

We may start out wanting a flexible schedule and having that feeling of being our own boss, we do! In my opinion, entrepreneurs are wired a little differently though. The ideas are always flowing and we can’t implement them fast enough. We’re devoted to excelling at what we do, the services we provide, and reaching as many people as we can. We’re hungry, passionate, and not afraid of hard work. We live this stuff, almost to a fault.

I don’t think I’m getting that 36 hour day, so I believe I’m going to have to go back and re-prioritize things. First and foremost, I don’t think I should be sitting here in bed with my wife working in parallel on matching macbooks at almost midnight. Isn’t that cute? Heck no, there’s nothing sexy about that.

I’m going to post a few small reviews of tech/hardware/software that I use in my business that helps me provide great services, stay on task, and promote future growth. Check back for more as I want to provide some answers. In the meantime, how do you do it all? Or, do you just say, “this is just going to have to be good enough.”

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