Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2016 76 M y New Year's resolution is to use my time more wisely in 2016. So in December, I started researching ways to get more out of my time. I knew that if I utilized my time better in 2016, I would get more accomplished, spend more time with my family and have a more profitable year. So, I dived head first into every time management technique I could find. I made a list of different methods in an Excel spreadsheet; even created an algorithm that would help me determine the best time management technique to take with me into the New Year. After hours of study and research, I found the answer. (Disclaimer: What you are about to read is deep stuff. You may want to pause and meditate in the gravity of this next sentence.) STOP DOING STUPID STUFF! • Stop scrolling through Facebook when you should be working on a project. • Stop watching TV when you should be reading. • Stop checking e-mail when you should be talking to the person sitting right in front of you. • Just stop and do what you know you should be doing. I've found that time management isn't so much about a technique as it is making the decision to do the best thing right now. Allowing time to do the wrong things at the wrong time is what wastes your time. It reminds me of a golf lesson I took a few years ago. I was slicing the ball bad so a friend recommended that I take a lesson from his instructor. I reluctantly agreed and scheduled the lesson. As the lesson got closer I started to think about what I would tell the instructor. What did I need the most help with? My short game was lacking, but my driver got me in the most trouble. So, I decided the driver would be the focus of the lesson. I had not even stepped one foot on to the driving range when a short, middle-aged man called my name from across the range. "Doug! What part of your game do you want to improve on today?" As I approached him, I responded, "Well, there are a lot of areas of my game that need help but, I think straightening out my drives would make the biggest impact. Right now, I am hitting the ball about 100 yards right of my target." He nodded and walked me over to his station. Once we were set up, he said, "I want you to understand that your problem isn't that your ball goes 100 yards right of your target. Your problem is the angle of your driver is off by 1 millimeter. That's what creates your 100-yard problem." Now, every time I swing a golf club, I'm reminded that the big issues we have are always a result of the little things that get in our way. If you hit a golf ball and your club is 1 millimeter off, the result is a 100-yard slice with a walk in the woods to find it. If you are having a big problem managing your time, it is probably not the big things, but the small things that are creating your big 100 yard problems. Think in terms of millimeters; what are the small things you can do to make sure your time is invested wisely and you don't end up slicing 2016 into the woods? Take an objective, look at your business and seek out people in your network that can help you uncover ways to become more profitable and efficient in 2016. At MEGA Group, we have dedicated ourselves to creating community for independent retailers. This month in Orlando, we will hold our semi-annual convention where ideas are shared by industry experts. Best practices are discussed in inter- active workshops and business owners are able to connect with one another; sharing ideas and feedback to help adjust that 1 millimeter from success. Don't let this year end up in the woods, let MEGA Group USA help you change the trajectory of 2016. B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S SECRETS TO USING YOUR TIM E WISELY RO Doug Stewart, Director of Training at Mega Group RO

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