Its About Time - What is Yours Worth?
Posted 01-08-2009 at 07:24 PM by KathyCrofoot.com
Did you know there were only 168 hours in a week? Of course you did, everyone knows that right? When those hours, minutes or seconds are gone, you can't get them back.
"Let's stop and think on that for a minute, shall we?"
I had this conversation with a client recently. He was trying to plow through a pile of paperwork, sort and mark them to make my job easier before he sent it to me for a project. It was causing him some angst because his heart wasn't in it. He wanted to spend time with his boys. When he was spending time with the boys, he felt bad because I was waiting on the information to do a project for him.
Here's what I told him. "Your boys will only be little just this one time. Get a BIG Priority Mail Box. One of those flat rate kind of boxes. Stack everything in and I'll sort it all out. I like to think I'm intelligent, and can figure out what is what without notes on it. If I have trouble with something, I'll ask questions." And he did just that. A few days later, I received a box with all the requested information. What was the clincher? I asked just one question: "How much is it worth to you to spend time with those boys of yours?" The note on the top of the pile in the box? "Thanks for taking this monkey off my back."
Are you in the same mind-set? Do you think you have to do it all, but there are never enough hours in the day? Do the tasks and piles keep getting bigger and bigger, until you have nightmares of being buried under a pile of paper and won't be found until next month? There is hope.
2008 is gone. We can't ever get that time back. But the good news is 2009 is just beginning. Is there some part of running your business that, if you were to delegate it, would free your time to pursue other activities? What is the monkey on your back? What is keeping you from spending time with your family ,or following a hobby or other enjoyable pursuit? How do you spend your 168 hours?
"Let's stop and think on that for a minute, shall we?"
I had this conversation with a client recently. He was trying to plow through a pile of paperwork, sort and mark them to make my job easier before he sent it to me for a project. It was causing him some angst because his heart wasn't in it. He wanted to spend time with his boys. When he was spending time with the boys, he felt bad because I was waiting on the information to do a project for him.
Here's what I told him. "Your boys will only be little just this one time. Get a BIG Priority Mail Box. One of those flat rate kind of boxes. Stack everything in and I'll sort it all out. I like to think I'm intelligent, and can figure out what is what without notes on it. If I have trouble with something, I'll ask questions." And he did just that. A few days later, I received a box with all the requested information. What was the clincher? I asked just one question: "How much is it worth to you to spend time with those boys of yours?" The note on the top of the pile in the box? "Thanks for taking this monkey off my back."
Are you in the same mind-set? Do you think you have to do it all, but there are never enough hours in the day? Do the tasks and piles keep getting bigger and bigger, until you have nightmares of being buried under a pile of paper and won't be found until next month? There is hope.
2008 is gone. We can't ever get that time back. But the good news is 2009 is just beginning. Is there some part of running your business that, if you were to delegate it, would free your time to pursue other activities? What is the monkey on your back? What is keeping you from spending time with your family ,or following a hobby or other enjoyable pursuit? How do you spend your 168 hours?
Total Comments 3
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Wonderful post and a great client story too - thanks for this! I can honestly say that nothing is standing between me and my baby girl or husband now. I finally did delegate some things that had been my own 'monkey' for a few months and wow - what a great move it was!
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Kathy,
I love your approach and your story. People seem to have a hard time delegating tasks, but as soon as they do their 'monkey' disappears and they are happier than they were a moment before. This is why I love being a VA. Great post! |
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Good reminder to all of us - Thank you - we needed that!
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Recent Blog Entries by KathyCrofoot.com
- A Day in the Life of a VA (02-25-2009)
- Its About Time - What is Yours Worth? (01-08-2009)
- Courage (12-23-2008)
- "Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows" (12-22-2008)
