Time

Have you ever considered where your work time really goes? You'd be surprised to see how much time is spent doing totally unproductive "work".

It seems that would be nearly impossible to calculate. Actually, it's easy.

I use a chess clock like the one pictured here. The left side is real work, the right, not work.

When I start something important, like this post, I punch the left side starting the work clock. If I get interrupted ...
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In the U.S. we push our clocks ahead 1 hour on Saturday. In theory, you're losing an hour this week. Too bad they take it away from our weekend!

Stop. Think.

Let's make this fun.

If we are losing an hour, what if we did something really remarkable and EXCELLENT (Thanks Seth, Tom) to gain back that time?

I'll bet if you turned off your email or at least turned off your computer's monitor, and just used ...
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Wake up!

I simply cannot understand why service is so lousy at most businesses! Don't you understand that we are in a tough economy and the war will be won on the battlefield of customer service?

Business has been slow. Businesses have cut back. But still, they can only cut so far. And the ones left do not have enough to do. They are used to wasting time. Come in late. Take longer breaks. Go home ...
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Small business. In a given day, how much time do you spend talking or communicating with customers or prospective customers about them? Do you just check in and say "hi"? No sales pitch, no strings. Just a simple, "how are you?" will do. Send one thank you card per day. Hand-written.

Big business. Do you ever call suppliers and say, "thank you for your service. I know it's really tough these days but your service is ...
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Supposedly we live in age of leisure brought about by technology. We don't have to grow or find our own food, build our own house, gather wood for heat or cook over an open fire. With the basics covered, we've all got loads of spare time. Seth Godin elaborates on this concept in a recent post to his Blog. I recommend you read it.

You can't have a conversation today without the subject of time coming ...
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