April's Meeting
Our meeting took place at the Radisson Largo in Maryland. An Hors d'Oeuvres buffet was offered with BBQ'd meatballs, chicken wings, vegetable crudite and a cheese and cracker display. Dinner began with a garden salad followed by Chicken Marsala served with roasted potatoes and vegetables.
Our speaker for the evening, Tom Joseph, Vice President and CEO of Augurwell Corporation began by saying he was not a humorous person, but all throughout his presentation, he would insert some zingers that caused laughter from the members and guests who were in attendance. The first indication of this was when he was beginning, he said we had to pay attention and listen closely as he had a very heavy accent and, therefore, would have to read his lips in order to understand him.  
 
Photos courtesy of Jim Johnson, PictureStoryStudio.com
Tom presented his comments on "How to Become Highly Productive" with knowledge and humor. He handed out worksheets that all of us can use in order to organize our business by managing our time more efficiently. Tom had a masterful touch for blending the profound with the light-hearted, while moving us through an ocean of material in such a short time.
The only way for a self-employed professional or business owner to become highly productive is to manage their time effectively. Here are some exercises Tom presented in order to accomplish this:
Goal Setting - all goals must be written in present tense as if they have already been achieved. Your goals must be demanding, achievable, measurable, have a set deadline, agreed to by others involved, must be written and be flexible.
Value of Time - What is my Base Rate? In order to determine how much your time is worth, you need to figure out what your Base Rate is. To calculate this, first determine your yearly income target. Divide that by 220 days (meaning this is approx. how many days you actually work during a year because of holidays, vacations, etc.) With that answer, divide by 8 hours. That answer is your opportunity cost and multiply that by 3 hours (which is your actual productive time). Take that answer and divide by 60 minutes to find your opportunity cost per minute.
Keep a Time Log Sheet - write at the top your goals you plan to accomplish that day and then write in every activity you do that day with the amount of time it took you to do each activity - even mundance activities such as using the restroom, talking on the phone with your friends, etc. You would rate each activity by priority, such as , 1-Important & Urgent (Must), 2-Important (Should, 3-Routine (could or delegate) and 4-Wasted (why did I do that)
Tom told us the biggest time-wasters are the telephone and reading/answering e-mail. I'm sure we can all identify with that. He said that rather than answering all emails and phone calls as they come in, to block out a time each day to respond.
My Ideal Day - an ideal day is what fits you best. There is no standard for this. It has to be your unique "ideal day." Tom says 1.) to always include some type of "quiet hour" during the day, preferably at the beginning of the day. This is the time you will spend on the most important goal for the day. This is not meant for "me" time. It's meant to spend a "quiet" time on your most important goal. 2.) Keep repetitive activities at the same time, such as a staff meeting or other activity that would involve others. 3.) Break any activity that would take longer than 1 hour 30 minutes into two halves with a 15-minute break in-between. Use this break to do an activity that is not connected to the work, i.e. return phone calls, send urgent e-mails, etc. 4.) Make sure your activities of the "ideal day" have a direct relationship with your goals, especially family goals. Try to keep the work days to focus more on your income goals and the weekends for your family and personal goals.
The last exercise Tom recommended was to write out your "Daily Plan." This would include your goals for the day, ranking them by importance, and all your activities you plan to do that day, again, listing them by priority. This "Daily Plan" would include all business and personal activities.
For further information, you can reach Tom at Augurwell Corporation at: tjoseph@augurwell.com.
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