Are You Being a Good Steward with Your Time?

Patients In Doctor's Waiting Room While running multiple errands I stopped by the audiologist. Our oldest son’s cochlear implant wire had gone bad. The audiologist loaned us one until the company shipped the new cord.

When it arrived, Ian switched out the cords. I had to return the loaner cord to the audiologist and pick up Ian’s defective cord to be shipped to the cochlear implant company.

So it was basically a switcheroo operation.

The audiologist told me to swing by anytime for the exchange.

The waiting room was packed when I entered. I told one of the receptionists that I needed to trade a cord with Carmen, the audiologist. In the past Carmen has left items at the front desk for me.

The woman looked but couldn’t find anything left for me at the front desk. She went on to say that both doctors are working. She didn’t know when Carmen would be available to discuss this. She asked me to sit down in the waiting room.

I observed the receptionist made no effort to contact the audiologist to see if she was free. I was unwilling to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a transaction that should a few minutes. I politely stood near the reception desk.

Seeing I did not sit down, the receptionist glanced at me and then called the audiologist’s office.

She peeked into the audiologist’s office. She let me know Carmen was on the phone and would come up in a few minutes.

Carmen did come to the front desk. We completed the switch in about two minutes.

A 45– 60 minute potential time-wasting disaster was diverted into a 10-minute encounter, and a time mastery for entrepreneurs tutorial.

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to be very busy. Often moms struggle with finding personal time and time for prayer, not realizing they are giving their time away unnecessarily. For others to respect your time, you must respect it first.

Some people would feel uncomfortable standing at the reception desk when asked to sit down. I wasn’t rude. I let my silence and my choice not to take a seat in the waiting room speak for itself: I value my time and theirs and I don’t use more than necessary to complete my responsibilities.

Often hourly rate workers or those with little connection between their compensation and results have much different concepts of time. In fact, wasting time or dragging out a project could be advantageous, leaving them with fewer responsibilities and less stress. Even salaried or other employed people view time differently from entrepreneurs.

I can personally attest to the differing time perception when I freely took my sick days when working for Xerox. As a self-employed person, a “sick day” translates to a day you don’t get paid.

Not everyone is called to be a mompreneur, but if you are you’ll only find success if you master your relationship with time.

Those enviable mom business owners with profitable businesses, and time for family and themselves, know and live an important secret. They understand the implications of how they use time because a proper use of time produces the life and business they love.

Once you know the right mix of strategy, activities, focus, and structure you’ve earned the key to juicy mompreneur benefits of freedom, flexibility, and more time and money.

But you still have to implement it…and that takes focused time.

And there’s a learning curve for new mom business owners to have time mastery for entrepreneurs. They have lots to learn about running a successful business and are initially clumsy about implementation.

A minute wasted here, 15 minutes wasted there rob you of the time to do those high priority activities both at work and in your relationships. Getting clear about tasks better suited to outsource, more productive work flows, and ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness sometimes involve very awkward encounters with people who have no comprehension about why you are doing what you are doing. Oftentimes others look down on you or put you down for your actions.

Steadfastly and politely moving ahead regardless of popular thought steps up your business without stepping on someone else’s toes. You are taking responsibility to create the life and business you want and are giving others the dignity to do or not do the same.

Catholic Mompreneur Biz and Life Tip: Bone up on time management techniques so you ensure the important not urgent stuff gets done. For mom biz owners, sometimes a mompreneur coach can offer the support and guidance you need when you are developing time mastery surrounded by those who don’t recognize and live the power of time.