In Pharmacy, Time Management? or Time Damagement?
Every morning, I come into the office and read all my work-related blog subscriptions. Yesterday, Chris Brogan, new media expert and author of Trust Agents, posted a video explaining his thoughts on time management. Watching his short video got me thinking about PDS’s view towards time management and pharmacy. And then, ironically, Dan, Sharon, and I had a product development meeting and the topic was discussed. Talk about timing! Here’s a recap:
Each second of time is precious. The more you are aware of that, the more likely you’ll be never to waste your time. Unlike other resources, time is non-renewable, available in limited quantities, and substitutes are not possible.
Consider this insight from from Life’s Little Instruction Book: “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”
Time is not something you find - it's something you make.
There are 1,440 minutes in the day. How much better could your pharmacy business be if you took just 1-2% of your day and invested that into improving your business - thinking, planning, strategizing, and prioritizing. We’re talking 14-28 minutes a day. Think about it--your pharmacy, which is quite a large investment, has a profound impact on your family, employees, and customers. It shouldn’t be that hard to find a small amount of time to invest in securing and growing the livelihood of your business.
“Consequences are the tangible evidence of choice.” (One of Dan’s favorite quotes)
Many pharmacy owners get lost in the minutia of owning an independent pharmacy because they don’t prioritize. Yes, every now and then you’re required to put out small fires and meet with an elderly patient that just loves to tell you about her grand-daughter, but these interruptions are not the reason you do not have time to work on your business or manage your time.
As explained in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you need to manage and make choices on how to spend your time. Staying structured and having a system for managing your time is just as important as having a process for anything else you do in your business. Time management takes discipline, especially in a pharmacy with so many distractions. At the end of the day, it's all about the choices you make. It's not about having the time - we all have the same amount of time - it's having lack of priorities.
Think about where you may be spending time. I'm all about having a healthy balance between work and play - but do you really need to watch that re-run of Seinfeld or Friends? Give up on one of them and see what an impact that can make in your business in a small amount of time.
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