Making the Most of Your Time as a Leader

"The days are long, but the years are short" is a favorite phrase of my mother. The line means that while things may seem slow at the moment, one will see how fast time has passed when one looks back. Work, in general, can feel that way too, which is why it is essential to try to make the most of your time as a leader. Making the most of one's time is how a leader can make a positive impact. Any true business leader desires to impact their company and society at large positively. Making the most of one's time includes seeing where you can have the most impact, time management, and building relationships.

Since one does not have infinite time, there is only so much that one can do. This means leaders must choose what they want to focus on in their work. If a leader's goal is to make a significant positive impact, they should look at where they can make the most considerable positive impact for the better. Staying close to your company's mission can help to achieve this. Since the company's mission contains the positive impact that a company wants, a business leader should analyze what they do against the mission. Asking for feedback from others is another excellent way to assess where one can make the most impact and focus their time and energy.

I have written before about how leaders can time management, but understanding why it is essential for making the most of your time is also important. Tasks pile up quickly; without time management, it is easy to become stuck in them. All the piles become a time sink, stopping a leader from making the most of their time. Wasted time is lost time. Time management helps leaders achieve more in their day, allowing for a greater possibility of doing impactful work and helping them decide what work is most impactful and essential for them to do.

A person's interactions with others make an impact. Strong relationships can positively impact others. Investing one's time in building relationships and interacting with others can make a significant impact, and use their time wisely. Relationships also allow one to have an impact outside their presence because the positive effects they have on that person can be passed on by that person having a positive impact on others. The same is true of a company as well. A company's impact on a person can sometimes outlast the company, thus highlighting the importance of relationships for business leaders.

Ultimately, time is finite, so leaders have to decide how they spend their time. Analyzing where you can make the most impact, managing time, and investing in relationship building are tangible ways to use one's time best. Through these three steps, leaders can maximize their impact on their companies and the people they serve.