Three Simple Steps to Get Back In Control of Your Day

Time to get real. As the CEO of your company it's likely that you're pulled in so many directions that it often feels like you don't own your day rather your day (and the demands it brings) owns you.

In fact, one comment I constantly hear from business owners whom I meet at the conference I am speaking at is that because they are wearing so many hats, and have so many demands on their time, they just don't know where to start to get back on top of their day.

And as a result, they waste hours putting out fires that just help today but don't build value for tomorrow.

Are you ready for this to change? Here is a simple three-step formula you can apply each week to get back in control of your business day. The goal is to help you gain the order you need to build a business you love owning again, even in the face of all the conflicting demands on your time and attention.

So here is the answer, as easy as 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .

Step 1: Start your day by asking what ONE thing could you do today that in 30 minutes or less would have the biggest impact on your business?

I caution you to be ruthlessly realistic about what you can get done in 30 minutes. Chunk down a larger project into the one piece you could bite off and get done in just 30 minutes of focused time.

Step 2: Commit to doing that one thing before you do anything else—before you lose yourself to email, return that phone call, or jump into your first staff meeting.

This may require you to change how you schedule the first moments of your day, or to come into the office 30 minutes earlier. But I'm not asking much—just for you to start your day with the most important and valuable thing you can do that day in 30 minutes or less. Come on, you can do this!

Step 3: At the end of the week, take five minutes and go back over your week and list out the five biggest victories you had that week in your business.

Why is this step so important? Because if you want to shape behavior you need to make the progress you're making visible. And my observation after working with thousands of business owners is that we stink at this. We are so busy seeing how much is left to do, we rarely give ourselves or our staff credit for all the progress we have made.

So if you want to sustain your new behavior over time, I urge you to invest the five minutes capturing your weekly victories at the end of each week. Share them with your team. Encourage them to do the same 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . steps that you are. And watch your business flourish!

David Finkel is co-author of, SCALE: 7 Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back (written with Priceline.com co-founder Jeff Hoffman), and one of the nation's most respected business thinkers. A Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestselling author of 11 business books, David's weekly business owner e-letter is read by 100,000 business owners around the world. David is the CEO of Maui Mastermind®, one of the nation's premier business coaching companies. Over the past 20 years, David and the other Maui coaches have personally scaled and sold over $2 billion of businesses.

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of WITI.