Question: What is it that all people have exactly the same of, that you can’t buy any more of and that is equal around the world?

Question: What is it that all people have exactly the same of, that you can’t buy any more of and that is equal around the world?

Answer: Time

One of my pet hates is people who tell me they are too busy or that they don’t have enough time. As a coach I know I am not supposed to have pet hates but this is one of the only ones I have. We know exactly how much time we have each day and it is up to us how we spend it; we cannot buy any more of it and when it runs out we die. So in reality, time is more precious than money or anything money can buy, yet people choose to believe they have no control over how they spend their time each day. In this short article I am going to show you a few tips and techniques on how to get the best of your allocated time each day to help you get the most out of it.

When someone tells you they are too busy or don’t have time, what they are saying is that they do not want to spend their time doing what you want to do as they would rather spend the time doing what they want to do. To get the person to do what you want you either need to persuade them that the time investment is worth it or understand what they really want to spend their time on and see if you can work out a way to fit your requirements in with that, for example: Linda and Mary, two work colleagues discuss going for a drink after work:

Linda: So Mary, we have been meaning to go out for a drink together for ages, should we go out on Wednesday?

Mary: I’m really busy this week and I won’t have time, maybe the week after next?

This seems like a valid reason, but if Linda delves a bit deeper she might find out what Mary actually wants to spend her time on.

Linda: What are you doing this week in the evening?

Mary: Well I am following the soaps and it’s a really exciting story line this week and I don’t want to miss it.

Linda: Ok, how about we go for a quick drink after work and then you could still be back in time for the soap.

Mary: That sounds great, let’s do it!

As you can see, Mary would rather spend her time watching soaps that week rather than going out for a drink. By asking the right question, Linda found out what she would rather spend her time on and then gave an alte
ative where Mary could do both.

The tip for this week is when someone tells you they are too busy or don’t have time, ask questions like:

What are you spending your time on?

You sound really busy; can you tell me what you have got on?

This will allow you to find out exactly what they are spending their time on instead and then you have the information to:

1) Persuade them that what you want them to do is a worthy investment of their time

2) Align your agenda with their time frame so they can do what you want them to do as well as what they want to do.

To your success!

Joseph Smart

Primary Coach and Business Owner

Mobile - 07403478184

Twitter - @Career_DevCoach

Skype - career_devcoach

Email: joseph.smart@career-and-development-coaching.com

Web: http://www.career-and-development-coaching.com