"You cannot hope for high achievement with low quality preparation." Frank Dick

A few years ago I was fortunate to attend a presentation by top sports coach Frank Dick. In case you don't recognise the name, Frank was coach to such sporting legends as Daly Thompson, Boris Becker and Gerhard Berger.

Among many fascinating insights I heard that day, Frank talked about time management, which is an issue that many business people seem to have challenges with. He said that people who lead have a unique interpretation of time management and enjoy achievement in all three lanes of life's motorway.

The fast lane, the over-taking lane, is your occupation or business. The middle lane is your family, partner and friends. The inside lane, the slow lane, is you.

A common pattern is that people can spend far too much time in the fast lane, in the belief that this is where superior performance comes from. They are consumed with their work and spend little time in the other lanes because they feel they really need to be in the fast lane. For many, it is where they get their whole sense of identity.

But this strategy is flawed because a high price is often paid in terms of quality of life, health, relationships and productivity. The real high achievers realise that all lanes are heading in the same direction and it is spending time in all three that produces the energy to accomplish more with less. The activities in middle and slow lanes are equally important as those in the fast lane and need to be planned as well.

Many business owners take far too little time off. Yet, more than most, business owners in a position to decide how much time they allocate to the various aspects of their lives, aren't they?

Being at the beginning of the year you have a blank canvas and perfect opportunity presents itself for you to block out the right amount of time off in your schedule. Ask yourself "Am I taking the free time I really want this year?" If not, book it in and then plan your work around it.

By taking more time off your work time becomes more, not less, productive because it's about working smarter not harder. Your ultimate level of success will correlate to the time you take to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy a high quality personal life.

Written by John Dashfield Dashfield Coaching and Development www.dashfield.com We help business owners make more money with less effort’