Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 - (Page 28)

3 Time Too Much To Do, Too Little By Shelby Murphy when all you had to focus on was training clients? There you were, the staﬀ trainer, training hour after hour, concentrating only on the client in front of you, eager to reach your self-imposed quota so that you could rest up at home or recharge with friends until the next day, when you did it all again. Now you manage a business, simultaneously handling ﬁnancials, marketing, planning, client relations for you and your other trainers, oﬃce management and a host of other duties, while still training clients! All of which creates a new dilemma: How do you get it all done and still have some semblance of a life? Never fear, frantic one. I have assembled the following sure-ﬁre tips to create more productivity, reduce stress and remember why you love this business so much. A quick time management guide for the ﬁtness entrepreneur Remember the good ol’ days, time frame. Most highly creative and ambitious people are eager to take on every new project or opportunity that comes their way. Be aware of how much time you have to dedicate to something. Don’t overextend your time commitments. Even more, understand that your time is your most precious resource. Be very cautious in how you dole it out. If you’re in a leadership position, you know delegating is often easier said than done. Learning to delegate is a skill that many entrepreneurs fail to hone because of their hands-on, get-it-done style. Although your work ethic is exceptional, be prepared to share your task load by training your employees eﬀectively so they can take a project to completion with minimal guidance. You don’t have to do it all yourself if you make the time to train others to assist you. Work without diversion until the job is 100% complete. Make sure you have all the necessary information and tools ready before you begin a project so that you can work without interruption until the task is complete. Every time you break from a task, you waste an incredible amount of time getting refocused and back on task. If you know you’ll be interrupted often during a given period of time, use that time for small, quick wrap-up tasks that don’t require much focus. how many people still operate out of their heads and then they wonder why they’re awake at 3:00 AM with important tasks rattling around in their head. When tasks are recorded on a to-do list, it clears brain space for other things. Also, don’t do anything that’s not on your to-do list. Even if you have to write it down just before you do it, that will keep you on track. We often waste our time doing non-essential things that happen to crop up. Write everything on your list, highlighting the things that are urgent and important, and do only those things on your list. When you plan out your day on your to-do list, make sure you’re not setting yourself up to feel like you’ve failed by expecting too much to get done. Give yourself a realistic amount of time to accomplish each task, and then hold yourself accountable to that Write Things Down I know this seems like a big “duh,” but it’s amazing Delegate Focus Solely on the Task at Hand Be Realistic about Your Time 28 NOV-DEC2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Your Scope of Practice Combating Youth Obesity Current Controversies The Balancing Act Product Profile Building a Base of Special Populations The Right State of Mind Mark Your Calendar The Equipment Dilemma Too Much To Do, Too Little Time Exercise Spotlight Holiday Gift Guide New on the Market Alyte Piedra

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.