Principles for Exponential Impact in Life and Business – Part 3 of 3

At different times, the wave of opportunity shifts to different directions.

This series started with me sharing scenes from the movie, Lucy. I went on to share with you the importance of discovering your purpose. In the second part, we talked about planning. There’s a popular saying among soldiers that when you release your first shot at the enemy, all your plans go out the window. We walked through the various stages of crafting strategies for exponential impact.

In this concluding part, we shall talk about time.

This subject of time is not new at all. In fact, time is among the most frequently used words in the world. Numerous articles, publications, and books have been written to help people manage their time effectively. But as much as time management is a common knowledge, it is not a common practice in many circles.

The landscape around us is continually changing. With the advent of social media and digital transformation, tracking and maximizing one's time has become very vital.

But, in this era of accelerated change and tremendous competing interests, how can you leverage this hyper-connected and real-time world to maximize your time?

1.     Create a virtually connected team to reduce time spent in face-to-face meeting

In our previous career fair for young leaders from 9 West African countries at YALI West Africa, a panel of professionals was asked to list technologies they use to optimize productivity in their work. Google Drive, Email, and WhatsApp are among the tools they both mentioned. What this allows them to do is to work harmoniously with their team members without having to download documents over and over. As the future of work continually changes and employees increasingly work remotely, leveraging technology is very vital for teams to maintain momentum.

Even if you’re a student, these tools are useful for you and your team in saving time and money in back-and-forth communication and data while working in harmony. An example might be a group work that needs everyone’s contribution. It makes more sense to create the document online and share the link with your team. A lot of people have also found Slack to be very useful in maintaining seamless communication among teams.

2.     Keep a journal and plan the day ahead

We organize lots of events that brings individuals at various levels together under one roof for meaningful conversations. I have found that keeping a journal helps me to not only stay on track with the most important things but to maximize productivity. It’s always very exciting to cancel out the tasks I’ve completed at the end of the day or write down what has worked for me.

Your journal helps you maintain focus and traction. It’s not about putting in hours at work. The question is; what are you doing with the hours you put in? Are you achieving quality work or are you being dragged to every other way?

Plan your day with reminders for tasks and rank your work in order of importance. Delegate the less important things effectively.

One of the challenges some leaders face is that feeling that “no one will do it like I would”. This is costly – it drains your energy – but with effective communication, you can get your delegates to understand what their roles are. You obviously cannot do everything all by yourself so you have to train your team to deliver the results you expect.

3.     Work with tools that give you the best leverage

As far as technology goes, always choose the tools that give you the best returns. It’s difficult to be equally effective on all digital media so invest your time in the ones that work for you. For JUMIA Ghana, it makes more sense to use Facebook more than any other social network. Whatever you do, you want to do it massively but the goal is not to spread yourself too thin that you accomplish nothing but to choose tools that would quantum leap your career.

At different times, the wave of opportunity shifts in different directions. We’re in an era when anyone with a cell phone can have access to the whole world. There was a time when anyone with the biggest farm is the winner. In this information cum data age, the currency of the future is what you know. Wise people are building systems, platforms, products, networks, and tools that help them position themselves for tomorrow.

Again, you can do this whether you’re a college student or someone looking for a job. Begin today to create your brand so that anyone looking for you will not be in doubt about what you represent. Develop your networks and prune your competencies. There’re lots of knowledge and tools out there to help you evolve.

We can do so much when we open our minds to the possibility that there are treasures within us. The wealth in the world today cannot be compared to the wealth inside us because everything in the world was once a thought in the mind of someone. Whatever your experience has been, you can begin right now to change your life by shifting your mindset! If you interview everyone that has ever accomplished great things, you’d find out that none of them knew exactly how they would achieve their goals but they seized the moment. Jack Canfield gave a great analogy how that life unfolds before us like a car traveling in the dark. You don’t need to see the whole route but you keep going the few miles you can see.

Your time is the most valuable asset you have. No one has more time in a day whether rich or poor, but some people have developed skills and mastered tools that help them maximize his or her time. It’s time to deliberately take your life and career to unparalleled success and greatness! What you’re doing right now could be what makes it possible for the next generation to move further, faster. With that understanding, what manner of man or woman ought you to be?

The end.