I wonder what would happen if interviewed 100 people as they lay taking their last breath
(a nice way of saying dying) and you asked just one question, “What would you like more of”?
What do you think would be the answer 99 out of 100? I say 99 as at least one would not get the answer out in time lol. Do you think it would be “more money”? “Success”? If it was an athlete would there be a sigh and then the words “more trophies or medals”? A film star, would they cough and then say, “another film”?
I don't think that’s what people would take a big deep breath and say. What I do think is that they would all say, “more TIME”. Yes folks, it's the only thing we have no guarantee how much we have but when the clock is ticking down on the last final moments, wow, we would do anything to have more. But, we treat it like it's an endless supply.
And when that clock is ticking? We usually do a greatest hits showreel in our heads, a bit of a, “This is Your Life”. We smile at great things, fun we had, love, ahhh so wonderful (violins in the background). But then we kick ourselves with the “If Only” moments. The time we wasted doing things that gave us no joy, added no value, created no best of the best in our newsreel of life. Think about bucket lists, don't have a sense of urgency until you have been given a use by date!
We should be waking up each day, springing out of bed and be streaming, “What will I not waste time on today?” rather than “What am I doing today, Siri?” And definitely, we should be reviewing all the things we do, that in reality, are a waste of time.
There are so many things we do in our personal lives that really are a total waste of that precious time. Seeing as we spend a majority of our time working, these blogs are supposed to be about business. Noting that around 30% of our time is spent working just in case you didn't know, maybe, we should put a little of that time in focusing on what is the best use of time rather than a waste of it.
Now, being the wise old man that I have the glorious privilege of becoming, I can think of so many ways I have seen and see people waste precious time in business. One of the biggest time wasters? Reinventing the wheel.
Yes, instead of spending time doing fun things like finding new customers, making old ones happy, celebrating at the pub when you have a big win, you still see people day after day, burning the midnight oil, staying away from fun and business building things and wasting precious time reinventing the wheel.
Things that can be easily purchased from others, services that you can use, in our website world, the templates that will make your sites look like Picacsso designed them, widgets that will guarantee you tech guru status, SEO and Google Ads services that will make your clients smile with success that you bring to them.
Now, if you are a truly gifted person, a real Avenger that has all the talent and ability in all these areas, can walk on water, leap tall buildings in a single bound and are faster than a locomotive? Bravo, more power to you. But, if you're just like the rest of us mere mortals and gifted in one particular area of excellence? Do that and do it well, the other stuff? Why waste time, and why reinvent the wheel?
When faced with finding a design, looking at a function and wondering OMG how long will that take? Do a quick google search, find some that does that, let the butterflies escape from your wallet and save time and let them do it.
And then? Spend the time you saved on quality fun stuff like finding new customers, having a great lunch, playing golf, having a manicure, and relaxing, so you can live long and prosper.
So folks, the wheel does not always need reinventing. Time is limited, use it wisely. Remember, you can't recycle wasted time, 99 out of 100 people can't be wrong!
Hugs to all.