Learn the seven most important tips for managing your time whether in the field or in the office. Construction contractors and subcontractors including painters, roofers, builders, carpenters, remodeling, doors & windows, siding, commercial, residential or industrial contractors will save countless hours of frustration, confusion and mindless wondering from task to task.
1. Set Goals and Keep Them Simple
You need to set a few simple and achievable goals regarding the management of your time and resources. An example could be “As of January 1st, I will no longer check my email until I get at least one pro-active thing done to grow my business.”
Goals must be written down to be worth the paper they’re written on. A specific time limit or completion date is also essential. Without it, we will just make excuses for not getting things done on time.
2. Reduce or Eliminate Interruptions
The biggest time waster of all is the dreadful Interruption! You must pledge to eliminate or at least substantially reduce them at all costs. There are many ways to accomplish this. Typically, contractors invite a vast majority of these distractions.
We have a tendency to want to know every little thing that is thought, said or done within the business. Simply delegating responsibility to your employees and being unavailable to deal with whatever “emergency” crops up this hour goes a long way to adding countless productive hours to your schedule.
You will be surprised at what actually can get done without your micro-management.
3. Get Up Early and Get Going Immediately
Most contractors I know don’t have a problem with getting up early. They rise before the sun with nothing but their internal alarm clock. The problem lies after they roll out of bed, jump in the shower, grab a cup of coffee get out of the house.
Many like to take their jolly ol’ time getting the ball rolling. Arriving at the jobsite with three guys waiting for him as he wastes even more time talking on his cell phone to some vendor that can wait until later. Get after it immediately…whatever it may be at the time.
4. A Clean Desk Is a Sign of a Sick Mind
We’ve all heard that, or some version of it. It is absolutely FALSE. There are only two bigger wastes of time than not being able to find something that should be easily located: Interruptions and Procrastination. I will cover those two more in depth in separate articles.
A desk must be clean and your immediate space well organized. No clutter other than what you’re working on at the moment. As soon as you’re done, get your space cleared and ready for the next task. Which brings us to number 5.
5. Multi-Tasking: Good or Bad?
Every single resume I’ve ever received says the same thing somewhere: Good at multi-tasking. It is my contention that multi-tasking (a great new, overly-used buzzword meaning “I can’t get anything done because I’m always starting something else.”) is not a good thing.
Now I’m not saying you can’t be on the phone and writing a note, or walking and chewing gum at the same time. What I am saying is you cannot possibly complete two tasks simultaneously. A vast majority of contractors have six or seven things going on at any given time.
The key is to quickly prioritize and complete each task accordingly before moving on to the next item at hand. If you hunker down and concentrate, many seemingly overwhelming tasks become relatively minor and can be completed in a matter of minutes. Check them off the list and move on. You’re energy will be renewed with a sense of accomplishment.
6. Work In Blocks Of Time
To avoid having to multi-task in the first place, a contractor should set regular, certain blocks of time to get the same things done at the same time each day. Humans are creatures of habit, and this habit will help you be twice as productive as before.
For example, since you probably wear several hats in your business, you may want to break down times according to each hat. I would suggest no shorter than an hour in length so as to give yourself adequate time for substantial completion of any given item.
7:00 – 8:00 Estimating & Bidding
8:00 – 9:00 Advertising Projects
9:00 – 10:00 Return Calls, Faxes, Emails, Etc.
10:00 – 12:00 Visit Jobsites
You get the idea! During these times, ONLY work on stuff pertaining to the current item at hand. Jot down any new thoughts or ideas and maybe have an hour each day dedicated to coming up with new strategies on how to meet your long-term goals.
7. Implement Systems In All Your Business Functions
Just like interruptions are the biggest time-wasters, fool-proof business systems are, bar none, the most incredible time-savers at your disposal.
From the simple office organization & filing procedures to complex project scheduling nightmares, bookkeeping to installing crown molding, systems are set into place to make things run as smooth as possible…automatically!
Set it and forget it. That’s the sign of a well-oiled contracting business machine.
Have you ever ordered a burger from a fast food restaurant in your home town, then, two months later order the same thing in a town 100 miles away? What do you get? The exact same thing. Every time. Not even a sesame seed’s difference on the bun.
How is this possible? Systems. Get a few going today and see just how much time is really available in a day, week, month or year. You will be amazed!
Dave Fadorsen
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