How should entrepreneurs be spending their time?

Of all the resources available to mankind, time is the only resource that is given to all equally. We all have been allotted the same number of hours in a day –24 hours; everything else rests entirely on how we choose to use it. What I choose to do with my time will determine the outcome of my life. If my life turns out well, it means I used my time well. Your time and your life are inextricably linked, what you do with one will be the direct outcome of the other. As entrepreneurs, we are not excluded from the burden of time; rather, we bear more of this burden. As people who take on risk in order to make change happen, entrepreneurs are held more accountable for the use of their time. Because humanity relies on entrepreneurs for the provision of goods and services that can improve the quality of life, the burden of time is heavier on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to be lazy as entrepreneurs with the use of our time!

The 5C’s of Effective Time Management for Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur, here are 5 highly productive ways to be spending your time;
Create – The first use of your time as an entrepreneur is for creation. The very word entrepreneur describes a person who undertakes risk for the purpose of creating something worthwhile. Entrepreneurs make ideas happen. That’s who they are, that’s why they exist and that’s what makes them different. The day you cease to create is the day you start becoming irrelevant as an entrepreneur. Your purpose as an entrepreneur is the creation of unique and useful products or services that helps humanity solve their everyday problems cheaper, faster or better. If you don’t create, you’ve failed mankind as an entrepreneur! How often should entrepreneurs create, every day.

Creation is not something you schedule or plan to do; creation is something that gets done through you. So you must always remain in the creative process daily. How? By inventing play. How do you invent play? By searching for better ways and ideas for improving on what you currently do. In the invention of play, you must be willing to make mistakes, don’t be deterred, keep on playing with ideas for improvement. Never stop asking; how can we serve humanity better? The more of this question you ask, the more ideas for improvement you’ll come up with and when these ideas flow through you, you must never hesitate to act on them however foolish they might seem.

Consume – The second use of your time as an entrepreneur is for consumption. What should you be consuming as an entrepreneur? Knowledge, ideas, thoughts and experiences. After creation comes re-creation – the refilling of used up energies. Every act of creation is emptying yourself into something else greater than you. Creation is bringing ideas to life; you cannot bring something to life without giving up something in the process. Creativity is simply using up existing energy or resources for the production of more. Consuming is how you sharpen yourself as an entrepreneur. It is time spent on personal development. As entrepreneurs, to do more we must be prepared to give up more and as we give up more it becomes naturally expedient that we take in more. You’ve heard of the saying; “you can’t give what you don’t have”.

Your time after creation must be spent learning, thinking and observing. All three are essential to your success as an entrepreneur. If you learn more, you will ultimately do more. If you think more, you’ll ultimately come up with more ideas for improvement. And if you observe more, you’ll ultimately discover more opportunities to exploit. How often should entrepreneurs consume? Every single day.

You must become an incurable learner, thinker and observer. You must keep on developing your natural talents, skills as well as business competencies. You must be open and aware to your environment, trends and your personal experiences, including your mistakes. They are all different forms of feedback that you must consume in order to produce more. Read great books, blogs, magazines and reports; get a coach or mentor; listen to great tapes and watch informative videos. Whatever it takes, always strive to be better today than you were yesterday. The moment you think you’ve known it all, seen it all and have it all, and stop consuming, before long, you would have lost your capacity to create. As an entrepreneur, your cup is never full or empty; it must always be half empty or half-full. You are never fully done, so keep on keeping on. The path of an entrepreneur is a never-ending one! TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK
Tito Philips Jnr. is a young Nigerian that is M.A.D – Making A Difference