Foundation Days: Time Management for your Business Operations
As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to prioritize tasks over anything else and, sometimes, we need to do that. In the same breath, we don’t want to get stuck only managing our time. Instead, we want to establish new habits for time management, which become a system of life.
At MasterPlan Coaching, we implement the Priority System. A methodology that utilizes purpose-driven days to structure and manage your priorities, rather than managing your time. Implementing this system allows you to steer versus row the boat. That is, working on your business versus in your business.
Within the Priority System, there are three types of days to guide your time:
Personal Days, which are a full 24-hours where you can detach from your business
Pay Days, which are days devoted to activities that make us money and building relationships
Foundation Days, which are days devoted to setting up highly effective Pay Days and planning Personal Days
Foundation Days
The overarching concept of the Priority System is that a strategic infrastructure constructed specifically for your business and personal life will provide the foundation to achieve your business and life goals [LINK Blog 1]. This foundation is built around Foundation Days that empower you to use your time for effectively and align your visionary goals for the future. In total, there are three primary project categories that can be worked on to achieve a productive Foundation Day:
Fix-it Projects
The first project category is a Fix-it. Fix-its are intended to correct all of the distractions in your life, both personal and business. The definition of a Fix-it is the permanent systematic solution of an issue or an obstacle that saps your energy, diffuses your focus, lessens your self-esteem or causes us guilt.
Fix-it projects are situations that you want to resolve, such as:
An administrative mess
A legal mess
A relationship mess
A physical surroundings mess
A physical health mess
Shift Projects
The second project category is the Shift. A Shift is a systematic elimination or the transfer of authority and responsibility for activities that do not make you money. These are typically systems and processes that keep you busy needlessly. There are three ways to Shift:
The first is to simply stop doing an activity and get it off your plate
The second is to bring in an expert on a per-project basis, identifying the result you want the individual to achieve
The third is to turn over responsibility to a member of your staff to achieve the same result
New Resource Projects
The third project category is New Resource. A New Resource is the systematic development of new capabilities that will enable your business to perform at a higher, more effective level.
This allows you to focus on things, such as new:
Technology
Skills
Products
Services
Alliances
Personnel
Brach offices
Etc.
The goal is to add new resources or capabilities that will empower your business to function at a higher level.
Each project category is designed to make progress by working on your business, not in it. Once you’ve identified your projects, Fix it, Shift it or New Resource projects, educate your staff to adopt these strategies and launch the Fix it, Shift it process.
We can help you to organize instead of agonize.
MasterPlan Coaching is designed to help entrepreneurs achieve authentic success by creating and implementing a strategic plan that integrates both personal and professional life.