Sucking It Up- When Time Management Has Reached Its Limit

Today I was presenting my time management seminar to a group of members at NAWBO-NYC (National Association of Women Business Owners- NYC chapter) and afterwards one of them asked me a very important question. She told me that once a month, she and her assistant would spend 5 hours or more working on invoicing. She said she had felt they had developed a system that worked for them, but it was time consuming and unpleasant. She wondered if I could come up with an alternative solution.

I offered 2 solutions.

Solution number one would be to outsource invoicing which may or may not lead to less time because her clients changed their scheduled time so frequently.

Solution number two was to recognize that she was invoicing her clients. Meaning she was making money! Perhaps the process was not as fun as her other duties, but invoicing helps provide information on the health of the company. I told her the best solution was to realize it was going to be a lengthy process no matter what, allocate enough time for the process to be handled and the only thing she could change about the situation was her outlook.

Often, changing how you think or feel about certain duties you dislike can make a huge difference in how long something takes! If you look at the project more positively, it is easier to start the project, stay on task and finish earlier.

So good luck tackling that project or task you hate but remember, how you view it can make a huge difference.