Welcome to TheTimeItTakes.Me!

When was the last time that you looked (really looked) at how you used your time, either in your job or maybe just around the house? 

For me , I try to take a hard look at this very unfun subject pretty often.  

I'm not sure about you, but I find it incredibly easy to attach deadlines that really are just there because I falsely put value on work for works sake.  The urgency is sometimes totally legitimate.  For example, yesterday, if my assistant is out, someone needs to answer customer emails. 

The important thing is that I realize answering customer emails is not where I really add value.  

I add much more value to my company (and I have a lot fewer urgent tasks) when I ask other people to help.

When I started my first business, I actually wasn't too savy about how to do successfully get tasks off my plate. What I did was take a very scientific and analytical approach to solving that problem.   

The result is that I developed a system for looking at small business processes that allows me to identify steps that can be systematized and automated to free up your time as the owner. 

In this blog, I talk a lot about systems and how to systematize and simplify processes, but I also try to bring you information that I personally have found helpful that will help you run your life as smoothly as possible.  

Please reach out and connect with me if you want help, or to be featured as a case study. 

Cheers to your happiness!

Katie

How a goal change has changed my life

Career Shift in Full Swing! 

I don't know about you, but my view of what the world's possibilities for me has changed so drastically over the past 5 years. 

First off, I'll share how my goals have changed over the past 5 years and how that mental shift has resulted in great benefits for myself, my family, and, I believe, my career.   

My goal changed from "being a chemist" to "being a perpetual learner."  Since then, I have moved away from the subject of my graduate degree, to a management development position at McMaster-Carr Supply Co., to start a business, Dance Yourself Fit LLC, in 2010 which manufactures Slip-On Dancers that are used in dance aerobics workouts across the US and around the world. 

I am continually learning and always looking to make things better.  I have now formed the habit of looking critically at an operation and making it better.   Sometimes, I think I need to learn to turn that off.  Regardless, I don't think that general goal of being a perpetual learner is going to change anytime soon nor do I want it to.  

Now, I'm working on setting a more concrete goal of stepping away from my business (and not having it fall apart).