Finding ways to make good use of our time is always a challenge. In any given day, no matter how organized you think you are there is invariably something or someone that comes out of nowhere to disturb your thoughts or actions!! We have the power to determine how we will use out time and whether we will spend it well or waste it well. Of course in the business of running a studio as we know, no two days are the same and we definitely need to be able to shift gears at a moment's notice but life can be a lot more productive if we make every moment count. That does not mean that you shouldn't have quiet undisturbed 'You' time because you most certainly should, but in a way that time needs to be planned into your life too because otherwise those moments can definitely escape you. How many times have you just become so embroiled in something to do with the studio that everything else goes out the window? I know it has happened to me. When it does I revert to plan B to make sure that I have some moments away where I can recoup both physically and mentally. It doesn't always have to be a trip and it doesn't always have to cost a lot of money you just need to make sure that it happens.

I know with my students I always advise them when they start to get serious and take many classes in a week that the two most important things to remember are that there has to be balance in your life and you have to really plan and allocate your time so that you don't become overwhelmed and feel like you are just spinning your wheels. It is so easy to waste time and end up not producing what you are capable of. For myself I, like most people, start to become a time waster and less capable of producing when I feel tired. So taking care of yourself is important if you are going to be able to constantly produce. I know I always preach that to my students and I try to apply it to myself especially as the need to produce becomes greater.

Finding the time to do your work or plan your classes or meet with your staff or anything else that you need to do will help you to stay on track. Make definite times when you are going to do certain tasks and try to stick to those times. If you just leave it open ended you will find a way to not do whatever the task is or you will put it off for another day and before you know it you will have a pile of things to do and no time to do any of them. Making your business life disciplined is going to help you to succeed and keep moving ahead. As dancers we have to be extremely disciplined so it is just a matter of applying it to our business lives. Build a definite work schedule of days and times for your business work and then stick to it. Just as if you were an employee for a company. Keeping that structure is going to help you to keep both sane and well prepared.

Make a chart or have an appointment book so that everyone who works for you knows when you are in business mode and that will help them to respect your time also. If you are working on your Quick Books then you don't want someone to distract you and ask questions about something completely unrelated. Set times each day when you are available to answer questions or parents, staff or faculty can make appointments to meet with you. If you are always available it is human nature for people to take advantage of that and it will result in you feeling used and abused which is never a good thing. My staff knows that when I am choreographing I really don't like to be disturbed unless it is an emergency. Anything that needs to be dealt with I will take care of but I know that if I permit myself to become distracted I will not have the focus I will need to be productive with my creative needs or my business ones.

Finally, it is a good idea to look at what you have produced in your business at least once a month and determine where you wasted time and where you could have been more productive. If you are wasting time and effort doing things that do not help your business move forward then it is time to eliminate them. Concentrate on what is going to make your business stronger and you will really be able to spread your wings and fly.