Words: Violet
When it comes to the stakes of millionaires and billionaires, a simple to-do list just won’t cut it. For these billionaires, time is not only precious, it has the potential to be monetarily very prosperous. Thousands can be made in seconds so they better make sure they use them wisely. Here are 7 things that billionaires do to save time.
1. RECOGNISE THE IMPORTANCE AND PRECIOUSNESS OF TIME, There are 1440 minutes in each day, each of us gets the same, it is all square and even. To become the billionaires they are, the Bill Gates’ and Christy Waltons of the world know that there is only a certain amount of time in the day and it must not be wasted or used ineffectively.
2. DECIDE WHAT THEIR PRIMARY GOAL IS, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.” ~ Napoleon Hill
This has to be very clear in your mind, once you have it, you will have something to focus your energy on. Without it, you will lose direction, passion and drive- all things that are essential if you are to succeed.
3. ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, In order to not only succeed but stay sane, you must accept that there is always more you can do. Always. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg leaves the office at 5:30 every day to eat dinner with her children. Decide how much time it is possible for you to give and give it 100%. Then stop.
4. TOUCH A TASK ONLY ONCE, Don’t be the person that looks at something several times before coming back to it later. Billionaires such as Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison will open an email, letter or voicemail and respond, delete or forward it there and then. Be productive and deal with it instantly.
5. REMEMBER TO PUT THEIR GOALS FIRST, At many points in the day you will be asked to do tasks that you could really do without doing. Whether it’s a courtesy breakfast meeting or a call with an overeager client, sometimes you just have to learn to say no.
6. REMEMBER THE 80/20% RULE, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto found that 20% of the effort generally produces 80% of the results. This means that 20% of the tasks and activities you are doing are responsible for 80% of your results (revenue, sales etc). Figure out what your 20% is and cut the fat.
7. IN ORDER TO MANAGE THEIR TIME MORE EFFECTIVELY, THEY MANAGE THEIR ENERGY, We all know that each minute is made equally, what we do with them, however, is not. One hour you can be fast-flowing and productive and then next you can be struggling to write one line of an email. Make sure you focus on keeping your energy levels up with plenty of water, fresh food, exercise and sleep.
By Victoria Gardiner Twitter @vicky_gardiner
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