That’s the first thing you notice when you leave college. Suddenly nobody has any time anymore. Especially you.
I like Sherry. She’s a nice young woman, mid-twenties, a web designer, she’s a barista where I get my coffee. We always have a wee natter when I stop in.
Last time I visited her cafe, the subject was “time”. Sherry was suffering the same pains as every young web designer working a second job- the demands of her paid gig left her too tired in the evening to pursue her own business properly. Added to the mix are a boyfriend, a pet dog and a social life needing cultivation. You know, all the normal things.
Sherry asks, “How the hell does anyone fit it all in?”
Short answer: “They don’t.”
We all spend our lives scrambling away, trying mostly in vain to catch up.
And the thing is, even when you get successful, it doesn’t get better. Because then suddenly everyone wants a piece of you. Hiring an army of minions won’t help you either, because it’s *you* they’re paying for, not your minions. Besides, minions are expensive.
The show must go on, and so you get on the metaphorical bus. Phoenix one night, LA the next. And somewhere a wee voice is telling you how you’re supposed to make it look all so effortless.
With enough time, you can do anything, be it finishing an assignment, find a paying customer, or spending enough time being a good spouse or a parent.
That said, being an entrepreneur is such a time suck, the trick is figuring out what you are good, at and hiring great people to do the rest.
“All you can do”, I tell Sherry, “is acknowledge what you’re up against, and formulate a plan.”
Everything comes down to a deliberate strategy, whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or running a billion-dollar business; one needs the time to get a line on the future, and then dig into the execution. That’s where it happens.
All careers are wrestling matches with time, so you might as well get used to it. Just saying.
