5 Time Management Categories to Manage Your Time Effectively

As a powersport equipment dealer, you probably have more to do than you have hours in a day to get it all done, especially during the busy season. When you don’t strategically manage your time, however, your stress levels go up and your productivity goes down. Many people think that simply using a planner or calendar is all they need. But it’s important to realize that tracking your time isn’t the same as managing your time.

Time management is about having a system and making changes to the way you’re spending your time so you can work more productively.

One of the most effective things you can do is to block your time out into categories so you can see where your day actually goes. There are five categories that, as a dealer, you can use.

1. Putting Out Fires

How much time do you spend every day putting out fires? Probably a lot. Putting out fires is probably one of the most draining things you do every day, so take a few minutes to figure out what percentage of your day goes to this activity.

2. Dealing with Interruptions

Vendors calling and dropping by, your service manager popping in for an impromptu meeting…chances are your days are filled with interruptions. How much time do you spend daily dealing with these interruptions?

3. Doing Planned Tasks

1. So, now we’re finally getting to some productive work! Planned tasks are things you’ve scheduled yourself to do during the day. This could be using your

power sport customer tracking software 

to create next season’s marketing plan, meeting with your whole goods manager, etc. How often, and how much time, do you actually get to work on planned tasks?

4. Working Uninterrupted

How often do you get to spend working completely uninterrupted from distractions? Probably not that much, right? Chances are you finally get uninterrupted work done when everyone leaves for the day. Like everything else, figure up what portion of your day goes to this task.

5. Uninterrupted Downtime

Do you ever get time during the day to just wind down and re-energize yourself? Most dealers don’t make time for this, but uninterrupted downtime, like during lunch or a mid-morning or mid-afternoon break, is really important for maximizing your productivity.

 

Now that you have a better sense of where your time is going, you need to come up with strategies that will shift those percentages to where you want them to be.

For instance, you might be spending 60% of your day putting out fires. Well, analyze what kinds of fires you’re putting out. What organizational or process changes do you need to make to fix these problems so your time can be better spent elsewhere?

Another good example is your downtime. Chances are, you’re not getting enough, if any, downtime during your day. Well, you need to make yourself take this time. One of the best things you can do is to physically leave the building every day for lunch or break. If you’re not there, your managers are forced to handle issues on their own.

These are just a few examples of how you can improve your time management simply by having an accurate picture of where your time is going now. The more you take control of your time, and how you’re spending it, the more productive and happier you’re going to be in your dealership!