How Important is Leveraging Your Time?
In my last blog, I wrote about how important time management is for success.
In this blog, I want to really challenge your thinking on time management.
The Story of John and Jennifer
A few months back I was having dinner with friends and there was another couple at our table who I had never met before.
They were probably in their mid-forties. They were entrepreneurs who worked across three businesses and put in the hours. They had two children 9 and 11. Their names were John and Jennifer.
As the night progressed you can imagine business, leadership, and entrepreneurship were the major subjects of conversation.
Time Management
The conversation also turned to time management.
One of the couples was going out on their boat the next day and told us that they use a certain local concierge company where they just email the company a couple of days before going out, tell them how many people were going out on the boat, and the leaving time.
The company had a list of supplies that needed to be on board and that was it. All my friends had to do was turn up and the rest was done. Now you can imagine how much time was saved going to the store and liquor store to prepare for the day.
John and Jennifer then told us that they had done a full audit on what they spent their time on both at work and away from work. They wanted to get as much time back to enjoy their lives as possible.
The Bank of Time.
They said that everyone has a bank of time that they are giving every day, but they only had 24 hours to use it. At the end of the day, their time account at the bank of time is completely emptied.
The next day’s time is automatically deposited into their bank of time to be used. Because of this most people tend to waste their time account because they know the next day it will be full once again.
Time To Implement
What did they implement at home as a result of their time audit? Well, here it is.
They found that they already saved time by having a cleaner, gardener and had their car cleaned at a local car wash.
They already leveraged time by using these services. They discovered that the car wash had an offer of unlimited washes, and two interior cleans for $80 a month for each car. They were almost spending that on casual washes anyway.
Time to Get Serious
They employed a Nanny in the mornings and afternoons to get their children ready for school and pick them up.
The nanny also stayed with the children in the afternoon until John and Jennifer got home from work. The Nanny helped with schoolwork and keeping the children entertained. They saw this as a better alternative to before and after-school care.
It also allowed John and Jennifer to train in the morning and attend any midweek work dinners or appointments.
A Little House Keeping
The next thing they did was employ a housekeeper. I know it sounds extravagant but hear me out. The housekeeper comes in of a morning, makes the beds, does a little cleanup, and made sure all the supplies are in the house.
There was a list of products that need to be kept up to date in the house and that was one of the things the housekeeper is in charge of. The housekeeper also places the dirty washing in bags and once a week they get picked up by a local laundry, washed ironed and folded, and delivered back to the house on a day that the housekeeper is there.
The next thing they did was make sure any recurring bills that the household incurred were set to auto payment. They didn’t have to waste time and energy on scheduling and paying the household bills. Even their supply of coffee pods was put on auto order.
They then made sure that anything that was needed for the home was automatically ordered and delivered through an online grocery store.
By outsourcing, they were also creating work opportunities for students, people looking for flexible part-time work, single moms etc.
On The Menu
Now, are you ready for their last strategy? At first, it sounds like real A-lister stuff but when explained it makes sense.
Most of us haven’t been raised in a family where time is cherished. Most of us haven’t experienced an environment where the majority of domestic tasks are outsourced.
John and Jennifer are both busy entrepreneurs who want to provide good food for themselves and their children. People with ultra-busy lifestyles can sometimes fall into the trap of getting take out on the way home a few times a week.
They also want to provide the best environment for their children growing up. Time is so important to children.
What John and Jennifer did was hire a chef.
The chef comes to their house one day a week. A proposed menu gets emailed on a Friday which contains 5 lunches and 5 dinners for the whole family. They can also pick and choose from previous meals if they particularly like a meal from the past.
Then on a Monday the chef does the shopping, goes to John and Jennifer’s house, and cooks the meals. They are placed in containers and put in the freezer and the fridge, and the kitchen cleaned. A list of heating instructions is left in relation to heating the meals.
Implementation
Now some may say that it is extravagant but when you boil it down it is super-efficient.
Entrepreneurs and other high achievers tend to take on way too much. The last thing they want to is fold washing, wash cars, clean the house etc etc.
By implementing some or all of these strategies, it allows you to spend more quality time with your kids playing board games, going to movies, playing ball, going on a hike.
You can spend time with your friends, you can train of a morning, give time to the community and also make sure you are fully refreshed and ready to take your A-Game to work.
Your children are going to remember you having the time to play with them, that you took them on picnics, and all the great things about growing up. They are not going to remember who folded their socks, who made their bed.
Is this challenging your thinking? I hope so.
To your success
David
