I was asked this question earlier today by a prospective client.  My response, "The #1 time management mistake I see many business owners make is not focusing on their highest value activities...the things only that business owner can do for the business."

As business owners, we all have strengths and weaknesses.  And in every business, there are typically things that only the business owner can do.  In order to consistently grow and improve the business, a constant FocalPoint for the business owner must be finding ways to stay focused on the things that only he/she can do for the business.  Because, as I'm sure you recognize, our TIME is indiscriminate and unbiased.  Our TIME could care less whether we're spending it on worthwhile activities or worthless activities...whether or not we're spending it on $250/hour activities or $10/hour activities.  Further, by choosing to do one thing, we're in effect choosing not to do something else.  And worse, we're "burning" precious emotional/mental energy that takes time to replenish and that might not be available when we're called on to make the "contribution" only we can make to our business.  So, my question to you..."Are you being a good steward of your time?  Are you spending the majority of your time on the things that only you can do for your business (i.e your highest value activities)?"

Struggling to decide your highest value activities?  In business coaching, we often discuss the concept of selecting your highest value activities based on your hourly rate.  Why?  Because most business owners and entrepreneurs don't think in terms of hourly rate, yet, often do work that does not justify the hourly rate (extrapolated to annual income) they want to earn.  Here's a great question to help you focus in on your highest value activities (i.e. activities worthy of your hourly rate), "Would I pay someone else my hourly rate to do this task?" 

Don't know your hourly rate...here's a simple formula: determine how much income you want to earn and then divide that number by 2,000 (2,000 is based on fifty, 40 hour work weeks).  Obviously, to be more accurate, you would take your actual number of work weeks and divide by your average number of hours per week.  So for instance, if you plan to earn $200,000 this year, then your hourly rate is approximately $125 per hour ($250,000 / 2,000).  Whenever you decide to personally do or not do something, the clarifying question you would ask yourself is this, "Would I pay someone else $100 per hour to complete this task?"  If the answer is no, then this is not one of your highest value activities and it should be delegated to an employee or subordinate or outsourced to another firm for completion.  The only way you will earn $250,000 (or your desired income) is by consistently doing the tasks that you would pay someone else $125 per hour (or your hourly rate) to complete. 

Like any new skill or habit, this will be a struggle at first, because being an entrepreneur, you are used to doing it all yourself.  You will have to make the decision on the outset of the task..."Do I do this task, or do I delegate this task?"  Because in my personal experience and in working with many of my coaching clients, I know that once you are into fixing a printer (or whatever the task may be) that you thought would take less than 30 minutes and now it has been two hours, you are more likely to push forward and complete the task yourself.  And at the end of the day, you are either having to work longer to make up for the miss-spent hours or you have missed out on significant opportunities during the time you should have called in a printer repair person to fix your problem.  You spent $250 or more of your time on a task that could have probably been resolved for half that cost.  Not a very good return on investment.

So remember, to Take Off and Soar Again in 2010, stay focused on your highest value activities...those things that only you can do for the business that justify your hourly rate!

Has the recent economic turmoil caused you to lose your passion and maybe even develop a pessimistic attitude toward life and business?  I know, I've felt it and I've heard it from other business owners too.  But, if you woke up this morning on this side of the grass, I would argue that even though recent months and years might not have gone your way, you can begin to regain your zeal and enthusiasm and start building your business again...TODAY!

So, as you ponder your Vision and Goals for 2010, remember: Your Success Is An Inside Job!  Your success always starts with you.  Brian Tracy calls this the Law of Correspondence: "Your outer world corresponds to your inner world."  Zig Ziglar is famous for saying, you must BE before you can DO and you must DO before you can HAVE.  He also tells a story about people wanting heat from the "stove of life" before they put wood into the stove.  Well, it just doesn't work that way.  Just as we must first put wood (fuel) into the stove to burn and create heat, we must first have internal fuel that combusts into outward actions and results.

Keep these thoughts in mind:

• As Earl Nightingale said, "You become what you think about most of the time."  So, if you want to change your life...you must first change your thinking.
• Just as Aristotle first surmised, "For every cause there is an effect."  You must remember that your thoughts are causes and your actions are effects.
• Similarly, it states in the bible, "You will always reap what you sow."  Sow high quality thoughts and get high quality actions.  Additionally, you will always reap more than you sow and you will reap later than you sow.
• Finally, you feel good about yourself to the degree to which you feel in control of your life.  Psychologists call this your "Locus of Control".  If you feel out of control, your self-esteem will be negatively impacted and consequently your performance will be negatively impacted too.  To reverse course, you must take back control of your life...that is, you must recognize that you are responsible for your success or lack of success despite any current circumstances.  Take back control and as a result your self-esteem will go up, which will cause your performance to go up, which will cause your self-esteem to go up and so on and so forth!

Always remember...your outer world is a reflection of your inner world.  TO HAVE MORE, YOU MUST FIRST BE MORE!  Live 2010 with a PASSIONATE ATTITUDE of ABUNDANCE!  It will serve you well.

Start now to TAKE-OFF and SOAR AGAIN in 2010!