I reckon most people waste at least three minutes every hour, probably a great deal more. Taking phone calls from sales reps. selling something you just don't want, for example, creating all eBay listings from scratch rather than using 'fill in the blanks' templates for repeat products, checking how many of those 100 emails in your box today are genuine and how many are spam or scams, arguing with unreasonable buyers whose sold aim is to ruin your day. And so much more.
Let's say you waste just three minutes every hour and you work an eight hour day, five day week. Let us see how all that wasted time adds up.
Three minutes lost each hour is 24 minutes per day, 120 minutes each week. Two hours.
Two hours each week is eight hours a month (actually more because this figure is based on four weeks - 28 days - whereas most months include 30 or 31 days).
Eight hours is an entire working day lost each month.
One working day lost each month is 12 working days over the whole year.
MORE THAN TWO WEEKS you lost, just because you did things you should not have done, you failed to create systems to shortcut repetitive tasks, you responded to emails and phone calls and letters you really should have ignored.
Did that surprise you? It certainly surprised me because in reality I waste far more than three minutes each hour, it's more likely ten, or fifteen. Because I daydream a lot (a.k.a. researching on eBay), I continue replying to difficult people who are never going to buy from me (at least I hope they never do), I watch the final few minutes of auction endings like a hawk to see just how much my listings fetch.
We must all begin to value time, and remember that time really is money!
Let me tell you where most of my time is wasted. It's with difficult people, they're the bane of my life, I get them every day.
They email saying: 'Your download page isn't working!!!! Get it sorted or I'm leaving negative feedback'.
I reply saying: 'The page is fine, perhaps you are using a search engine to find the site. I try to keep download pages free from search engine directories to avoid unauthorized access, so important people, like yourself, are the only ones to receive my products. Please try the browser instead, that will work'.
They reply: 'Don't be sarcastic with me. I know you don't think I'm important, if you did you wouldn't hide the page. I repeat, get it sorted out or I will leave negative feedback'.
And so if goes, often for most of the day, until finally I refund the payment and the individual goes away.
That same procedure can take twenty minutes out of my day, several times a day, over the week that makes ….. you get the drift I'm sure!
So, now that I've analyzed the problem, just for this article, I'm shocked at how much time I'm losing. And from today I will stop selling downloadable products on eBay and process them on CD instead. All-in-all, that will save at least three hours a week, thirty six hours a year!
Let me treat you to a few more ways to cut down on wasted time and help you spend more time listing items to sell.
TIME SAVING TIPS
* Make a 'To Do' list at the start of each day. Divide it into three lots: 'Urgent', 'Important', 'Only if Time Allows'. Allot each task to the appropriate section and mark items 1, 2, 3 and so on, ranked most important to least important. Start on 'Urgent' items and work your way through these, in number sequence, from 1 to however many tasks time allow. Don't even consider doing 'Important' and 'Only if Time Allows' items until all 'Urgent' tasks are completed.
* There is an allowed exception to doing all Urgent tasks before commencing less important tasks. If Urgent tasks are tiring, and you really are beginning to jade, it's better to focus on less important tasks for a while rather than make mistakes on Urgent matters.
* Make a new 'To Do' list at the start of each working day, beginning with all outstanding Urgent tasks ranked, again, in order of importance. Add any earlier 'Important' and 'Only If Time Allows' tasks that might have gained urgency. You'll be amazed how many tasks you once considered Important, even Urgent, no longer need your attention, because they're no longer important or they've been resolved elsewhere.
* If the phone isn't an important feature of your business, put it on answer and monitor calls as you work. Pick up on important ones, let photocopier salesmen waffle on in the background.
* Learn to type faster and therefore list more items each day. QWERTY is the formula used by the world's fastest typists and it isn't difficult to learn. Anyone can reach 35 wpm - words per minute - in short time and knowing how to use the QWERTY system means your fingers will never get tangled and you'll make fewer mistakes. Ask about courses at local Adult Training Colleges or learn to type online free of charge at http://www.senselang.com or http://www.learn2type.com
* Use Turbo Lister to list items in bulk and upload your listings while you're relaxing, so you'll won't tie up the computer at any time during working hours. You can download Turbo Lister free from your eBay account. It saves lots of time and also allows you to create custom templates and so cut time normally spent listing items individually.
* Add a signature file to your PayPal email address, telling buyers you have received their payment and that their goods will be despatched very soon. This saves a lot of time normally spent contacting buyers individually and no one will ever guess it's coming from an auto-responder and not a real person.
Avril Harper offers Internet Marketing Articles to help new and experienced marketers and also offers a range of downloadable free reports including 103 EBAY POWERSELLER TIPS at http://www.toppco.com
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