3 Common Time Management Mistakes And Myths

Everyone makes time management mistakes. In fact, much of the process of creating systems that work for you is a trial and error process.

However, if you can avoid some common mistakes you’ll be able to streamline your processes and eliminate much of the trial and error.

You’ll be able to focus on the tasks of building and growing your business and spending your day doing what you love.

Mistake #1 Not Creating A Schedule That Works For YOU.

Make sure, when you create your schedule you take the following into consideration:

- When are you most productive? For example, are you better able to focus first thing in the morning?

In the evening after the sun has gone down? Mid-day? When is your best time to work? This is the time to schedule the high priority or profit producing tasks.

- What is your family/personal schedule? Parents, spouses, children and outside commitments all play into your productivity and your schedule.

For example, if you volunteer at your child’s school every Friday then it’s probably a good idea to keep Friday clear and to focus on your business the other days of the week.

- How much do you want to work each day or week? You’re not required to work every day from 9-5. In fact, if you want to work two days a week or six it’s all up to you. However, when you’re planning your business, keep your needs in mind.

Mistake #2 Not Recognizing Time Suckers

Time suckers are those habits and tasks that take way more time than you think they do. They consume your day and before you know it, it’s time to pick up your kids from school or make dinner.

So….what is keeping you from being productive?

Common time suckers include:

- Email – Aim to outsource and automate some of your email and then check it no more than twice daily. (Experts recommend not checking email first thing in the morning. Instead save it for the end of the day when you’ve already accomplished the important items on your task list.)

- Bookkeeping – Outsource/automate what you can and then set aside time each week or month to get the rest done.

- Social networking – Be disciplined here. Schedule your social networking time and stick to it!

- Perfectionism – yes, you absolutely can spend way too much time on a project. Do your best and move on. If you struggle with this one, consider giving yourself a time limit.

- Procrastination – Figure out why you’re procrastinating. It’s generally a sign that your system for whatever you’re procrastinating on isn’t working.

Automating and/or outsourcing this task is often an easy way to end procrastination forever.

- Household chores and errands – You can outsource these too. Housekeepers are great for business owners. And if that’s not in the budget consider scheduling your errands and chores into your day/week.

That way you can focus on the most important tasks and know you have time set aside to manage your home later.

- Online learning, searching and browsing – it’s easy to spend an entire day perusing information about your industry and you can learn a lot. However, spending a day surfing the internet isn’t productive.

Consider outsourcing any research you may need.

Subscribe to blogs that you commonly visit using a reader. Then you can stay up to date by spending an hour or two on the weekend or in the evening when you’re not normally “Working”.

Mistake #3 Forgetting about Balance

It’s almost guaranteed that if you neglect to plan for and schedule time away from your business, you’re going to suffer from burnout.

We’ve already discussed burn out a bit. It affects your joy, your ability to focus and stay productive and it affects your bottom line. A balanced life is important to the success of your business.

Now, like creating time management systems there is no one size fits all approach to balance.

A balanced life is individual – you have to decide if you’re living a balanced life.

No one can decide it for you and no one can tell you what your ideal schedule looks like.

Consider:

- Taking time off each day to spend time on your own health and well being. It can be something as simple as taking a daily walk. You can sign up for a class or meditate. Spend time each day taking care of you. Ten minutes is a bare minimum. Consider taking at least thirty.

- Taking time off each week to spend time with friends and family. Your social life is an important part of your overall happiness. In fact, scientists have learned that laughter and connections with friends and family help you live longer.

- Taking time away from your business monthly/quarterly/annually. You are the boss and that means you get to create your schedule.

Yet, if you’re like most if you don’t schedule it you won’t take it. Entrepreneurs are notorious for being very driven individuals. So consider scheduling time away from your business regularly.

And that doesn’t mean you have to take the standard two week vacation each summer. Do what works for you. If working two weeks a month and taking two weeks off a month is what works for you then do it.

Action Step!

List the activities or habits that distract you from being productive or get in the way of managing your time wisely – time suckers.

Take a moment and write down a theoretical schedule.

When would you work during the day or the week?How many hours each day/week do you want to spend on business related tasks?How many hours do you want to spend on personal activities/interests?

In the introduction we discussed the fact that there is no right or wrong way to manage your time as long as the systems you create support you to be productive, grow your business and enjoy your life.

That being said, we would be remiss if we didn’t share some of the time management tips that experts use and teach around the world.

The final article in this report is simply a nice list of a few expert time management tips. Try them if they sound like they’d support you and your time management style.

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5 Common Copywriting Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Finally we will take a look at some of the most common mistakes made by copywriters and ways you can avoid these.

1. Skip the jargon, please.

Complicated words and clever cryptic phrases can really kill your copy.  When most people visit websites they do not want to have to work hard to understand what they are reading.

If they do not immediately know what you are talking about they will lose interest and flick to your competitor’s site.

The best way to write straightforward copy is to imagine you are chatting to your best friend over a coffee.

How would you speak to them and how would you expect them to speak to you.  Word that you would consider too formal for this situation are probably too formal for a website.

2. Let them breathe.

You might think that long paragraphs make your webpage look content rich and informative, but this is not what your readers will think.

Chunky paragraphs one after the other are seen as boring and hard to read.

People like to see white space on websites; it is easier on the eye and makes the reader believe the text will be simple to read and understand.

Short, high impact paragraphs are more effective than long complicated ones.

Keep to one idea per paragraph, and consider whether you could start a new paragraph after two sentences.

Many of your visitors will scan your webpage before they decide to read it in detail.

Highlighting certain words or phrases, and breaking up your text with bullet points, are effective ways of drawing their attention to the key points of your copy.

3. What does it do for them?

Sell benefits not features. This point is worth repeating because it is the key to killer copy. Your customers are not really interested in what your product does in general: they want to know explicitly what it will do for them.

Find out a bit about your target audience and what their needs are likely to be. Target these needs with your copy, and make sure that you detail the benefits of your product, stating how it will meet these needs.

4. Buy Now!  Tell them what you want them to do next.

You have spent a lot of time on your copy, and you have spelt out the benefits of your product so clearly that your visitors are all geared up to buy.  Then what?

Many writers baulk at the point of having to ask their readers to make a purchase, sign up to a list, or generally take an action of some sort.  They hope that their visitors will know what they are expected to do.

Bear in mind that people are expecting to be sold to.  Even as they begin to read your great copy, they are looking for that sentence that tells them what they need to do in order to buy your product.

Don’t disappoint them.  Unless you ask your customers to purchase from you, the chances are they won’t.

5. Hook them fast!

Your customers’ expectations will have been set by your headline, so make sure they are not disappointed by your first sentence.  Make it short and punchy.

Capture your customers’ interest by making a bold or controversial statement.  The first sentence needs to leap out and grab their attention so they can’t help themselves, they have to read on.

Don’t let the idea of writing great copy scare you.  No one knows your business better than you.  No one knows your market better than you.

Copywriting doesn’t have to be as mysterious and elusive as many people make it out to be.  You have the tools to create great copy no matter what your product or service is.

Focus on the core benefits of your product, how it will make lives better, and your job is half done.  The rest of the job is easy, edit, polish, and test the copy to see what works.

Copywriting is important for your business but it isn’t permanent.  All copy can be rewritten and made better.  Enjoy writing copy for your customers.

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