Show your schedule who is boss
You’re a busy construction contracting business owner and you feel the pinch. Your schedule can be your best friend, or it can bite you in the butt.
Do you remember the TV show Monk? Do you recall how Monk frequently described his abilities this way, “It’s a gift, and a curse?” The same can be said about the very real situation of being in the construction industry. One of the best parts of being the owner of a construction company is the variety and the constantly changing set of challenges. Yet, the worst part of being in the construction industry is the variety and the constantly changing set of challenges. It’s a gift . . . and a curse.
The simple action of building a set of routines into your daily activities gives you the best chance of showing your schedule who is boss. Get this right, and your calendar becomes your ally rather than your enemy.
Anchor your schedule – in the morning
The first step in dealing with your variable schedule issues is to design a workable routine. By scheduling at least some amount of routine into your day you have a better chance of conquering the end of day what-the-heck-happened feeling.
By starting and ending your work day with a set of routines (some describe it as rituals) you are better able to focus on the daily issues which are sandwiched between them. The morning routine and the end-of-day routine become your anchors.
Your lifestyle, your personal attributes, and your business needs should all be considered when developing your routines. Do you need a morning routine which will add to your peaceful meter? Or do you need one which will be motivational? Do you need to have one routine follow another? Think of them as optimization routines and you can begin to see how important they are to your day.
In fact, done correctly, your morning routine will give you momentum, not take it away. And again, done correctly, your end of day routine will give you “mental permission” to shut it down and enjoy your family, friends, and “play time.”
This article from Forbes names 6 morning rituals designed to make you productive all day. And, this Business Insider piece about athletes is fun, yet may give you food for thought concerning creating your own morning (or pregame) rituals.
Anchor your schedule – at the end of day
End of day routines are a signal to the brain. They let you know it’s time for a specific mindset, a different action, or change of pace. They act as triggers, if you will, to aid you in more effortlessly getting ready for something else to take place.
On the dodoist blog there is an excellent article about ways to close out the day.
Look it over. It is full of great information. You’ll see that something as small as clearing your desktop (both physical and digital) is a good way to let your brain know you’re moving on to something else. Among other things, you’ll learn about the “doom loop” and how to deal with it, plus how you can end your work day on a high note even when you might otherwise feel as if it has been a less-than-productive day.
Schedule the rest of the day
No, I don’t mean fill in the blocks. The blocks tend to be filled in with other people’s needs, with appointments, with . . . well, you know, the stuff-of-calendars. Yet, I do offer these three suggestions to make your schedule (and therefore your business) better equipped and more productive.
Be sure to schedule in regular (make it daily) time for tasks that improve your construction contracting company. You’ve heard it before, but I’m throwing it in there again. Work on your business, not in it.
Set aside at least an hour each week for continuing education.
Understand the difference between tasks and events. Tasks can take place anytime during the day, whereas events have a specific starting and ending time.
Remember, even though you assign different levels of importance to each of your tasks, your calendar doesn’t. An hour is an hour no matter how you’ve spent it. Determining ways to include or remove tasks or events from your daily schedule based on their importance moves you from constantly scrambling to regularly nailing it.
Schedule the time
Schedule the time (make the time) to include calendar maintenance as a part of your daily routine. Making your calendar work for you depends on your ability to work your calendar. Monk had another oft used statement. This one went, “You’ll thank me later.” Develop your calendar skills in order to put the schedule back in your schedule, you’ll thank me later. *wink*
Your call to action
Be sure to include Schulte and Schulte, a construction-centric bookkeeping and financial advisory firm in your schedule. We’re extremely good at lightening the load for our clients. Don’t wait, call now 480-442-4032 or Toll Free: 866-629-7735.
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