Bare Bones Business: Time discipline frees up busy calendar

It's summer in the Ozarks, and nature is working its way into my house, my garden and my car.

The spiders are creeping their way into my office. The birds are nesting in the roof of the shop. A raccoon ransacked my birdseed in the well house. And, the other day, I watched a big black snake slither its way into the undercarriage of my car!

Life in the country is about beating back nature. You move to a rural community to enjoy the grass, the trees, the critters and the bees. You just don't want them all moving inside. So, you beat them back with broom, mop, weed-wacker, power-washer and the occasional shout: "Hey, get out of the birdseed."

You can slow the tide and carve out your own space. It takes discipline and the right action. (I have no idea, however, what I am going to do about that snake!)

Discipline is a loaded word. According to my dictionary, it means "punishment inflicted by way of correction and training." It also means "activity, exercise or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training."

Bound by the first definition, I used to hate this word. As I explore the second definition, I am growing to love it.

Focus on activities

The busiest people I know have empty calendars.

If you don't block out your time and plan your week, you will find your time sucked away by everything and everyone.

If you don't block out time to work on projects, the projects won't get done. Instead, you will spin on the hamster wheel of too much work and too little to show for it.

Once a week, sit down with your to-do list and your calendar. Review where you want to go, and commit to a few hours of focused activity that will move you in that direction.

What are the projects - activities with more than one thing to do - that will help you solve a problem or expand an opportunity? Block out time on your calendar to work on them.

Here are a few example projects:

• Work on a top projects list (a good start!)

• Redesign the service truck inventory

• Create a training program for the customer service representatives

• Increase phone calls in through acquisition

• Revamp the bonus and compensation program

• Establish a safety program

• Write the operations manuals

Hole up

When the project time appears on your calendar, shut the door, forward the phones and get to work. I rarely schedule more than two hours at a time to work on any project because if I do, I waste time. If I scheduled a whole day to clean my office, I would screw around for six hours. I'd make a cup of coffee, call my sisters, check out USAToday.com - after all, I have all day.

I noticed that I only do about two hours of focused work if I plan eight hours for a project. So, now I just schedule two-hour blocks.

Having the time blocked out on your calendar increases the likelihood that the project will get done. And, I guarantee that you are wasting two hours every day.

Or you're spending two hours running around dealing with the fallout of a bad system.

If you fix the system, you free the time. Author Stephen Covey calls this "sharpening the saw."

It takes discipline to keep a house in order, to keep a business humming or to keep a relationship working.

Most times, you know what needs to be done. I encourage you to take action. If you don't know, sit with it a bit and ask for inspiration.

Now, about that snake ...Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant who offers systems for getting focused and organized, making money and having fun in business. Her latest book is "The Bare Bones Biz Plan."