Day 3

Subject: [firstname] Time to get your priorities in order

Hey [firstname]!

When you've been keeping a time log (like we discussed yesterday) for a couple of weeks, you should have a fair amount of data.   Now it's time to go through and analyze it so you can see what you spend your time on. 

Use a spreadsheet for this. Set it up like you would an expenses spreadsheet. Have a column for each type of task and set the format to “time – HH:MM”. 

In the left hand column (which you'll keep set to “general” format) write down a brief description of what you did, work out how much time was spent on it and enter that time in the appropriate column.  List each task individually – don't bunch them all together.  Total each column at the bottom. You can have one big spreadsheet with everything, or you can have a daily spreadsheet and enter the totals each day on another spreadsheet to build up a weekly picture – it's up to you. 

After a while, you'll find that you spend more time on some tasks and less time on others.

Next, discount things you cannot go without – we're talking things like: eating, traveling, rest breaks etc. Compromising your necessities can only lead to less productivity. Now, rank the tasks you do in order of importance.  Give the highest rank to tasks that generate the most revenue (directly or indirectly) then tasks that don't generate any revenue, and finally tasks that cost you money.

Ideally, you should find that you're spending the bulk of your time on stuff that generates a direct or indirect revenue or profit.  However, if you're like most people at this stage of the proceedings, you'll likely find that you're spending most of your time doing stuff that doesn't make you any money at all.

This can be quite a shock!

Don't worry too much about it, though.  Tomorrow I'll give you some tips that can redress the balance. 

Talk soon!

[Your Name]

PS. I go into more details in my entrepreneur's guide to time management.  Grab your copy now from [link to sales page].  
