I have a certain lifestyle freedom that others wish for. But I couldn’t have that without time management and project planning.
I am an entrepreneur. I am a digital marketer. And I run a fast-growing baseball organization.
Every evening I transition from being an entrepreneur and marketer into baseball mode. It’s not always easy. It requires a lot of discipline and structure. But it’s worth it.
When I started the baseball thing, I wasn’t sure I would have enough time. But, the more I thought about it, the more i realized I had to take that chance.
I have a wife and two kids. And I loved coaching them, and volunteering when I could with their teams. I was spending two to three hours at a baseball field every night. But I wasn’t having the impact I knew I could.
The problem though is that I can be lazy at times. Procrastinate a little too much. Not make the progress I need to make.
And, I often have a hard time saying “no” to people. And that often leads to over-committing and under-delivering.
But, when I focus, I work hard. I love motivating and inspiring others to be their best selves. To pursue their passions. Most important though is that I am passionate about those things. And passionate about the game of baseball.
Just like life, baseball is about dedication and perseverance. It’s about your hustle, effort, attitude and, yes, teamwork. Life and baseball are about controlling the controllables.
I am against giving up. You can’t lose if you never give up. It’s that simple. Giving up prevents you from moving forward, making progress, and growing.
At the end of the day, I know I can do it all. It just takes time management and project planning.
I can have several million-dollar businesses. And I can be a great husband, father, and baseball coach. Time management. And project planning.
I realized a couple of years ago, when Cameron was 10, that travel baseball burns through kids. And their parent’s wallets. It’s often about highlighting the coach’s kid. Or promises of exposure to scouts in elementary school so they can charge you more. And then, the exposure never comes.
It’s not designed to help them become better baseball players. It’s not built to help them develop into amazing young men.
And it disappointed me.
So I took matters into my own hands, and I started the Regulators Baseball Club.
The problem for me when I started though – at least in my mind – was time. I remember thinking that there would be a massive trade-off. A trade of success as an online marketer and entrepreneur for success on the baseball field.
So, for a year, I kept Cameron (and Cole) in a bad situation from a baseball standpoint.
I didn’t feel like I had the time to devote to helping them be the types of baseball players I knew they could be. Even though, every night, I drove them to and from practice and sat in the stands watching them work.
That year forced my hand. I had to make a decision not only for me but for the welfare of my kids. I could no longer sit on my hands.
And the Regulators Baseball Club was born.
I immediately reconnected with an old baseball friend who had a kid the same age as Cameron. Josh knew me well enough to know that I would have to overcome some challenges.
He knew that I had built-in flexibility into my day. But he also knew what a challenge starting a baseball team – much less a baseball organization – would be.
Josh offered his help in getting everything going. And he was a guidepost in what hard work and dedication look like. When Josh commits, he commits all the way. I admire this quality a great deal.
Josh is also good about pushing back when he feels there might be a better way of doing something. And while I don’t always agree or follow his advice, it causes me to think about what I’m trying to get done.
The last thing Josh helped me with is moving at the right pace. He encouraged me to not try to do too much at once. Though we are up to seven teams now, we started with one.
So, in 2019, the 12u Regulators played in their first tournaments.
That season was a blast. The kids improved a great deal. And by the end of the year, they received recognition as one of the best teams in North Carolina at their age.
From there, we (the Regulators Baseball Club) have doubled in size each season. First to 2 teams, then to 4. And now, we are at seven.
And, with Josh and the help of a few others, I run the entire organization. Each day, I stop work, change my clothes, and head over to the baseball field.
But before that, I script out the practices.
I have the pressure of being there – and being on time – to help the kids. I have the pressure of making sure that they stay engaged and moving. And I have the pressure of making sure they improve.
I have to have discipline. The discipline to get my work done each day. The discipline to get to the field on time. And the discipline to make sure there’s a practice plan.
It’s tense. But it’s immensely rewarding.
Getting all that done takes time management and project planning. From running multiple online businesses to running an efficient practice.
Of course, there have been some hiccups. I’ve suffered attacks online from other baseball coaches. I’ve been late to practice. And I’ve sometimes shown up without a real plan.
I get late afternoon calls from clients that throw off my schedule. It’s not avoidable all the time. And there are deadlines that get underestimated.
But, over time, I have learned to cut the distractions. To manage my time. And to treat every day and every practice like a project. To plan them out. I’m getting better at estimating how much time each day to dedicate to unplanned chaos.
Because, whether it’s my clients, or my players, or my family, someone is counting on me.
After all is said and done, however, I’ve become a better entrepreneur and digital marketer. Because I’m always looking for efficiency, I’m able to produce 10x more than I was able to a year ago.
The biggest time management and project planning tool I’ve leaned on is the time block. I set aside a block of time for a specific task. There are no excuses. In the block, I give myself 25% more time than my original estimate. This accounts for two things. First, underestimating the task at hand. We all do this way more than we realize. And second, to account for unavoidable distractions.
But the most important block each day is between 4 and 5 PM. That’s the mental transition block. I plan that night’s practice. Down to the minute. I write it out in a script and I print out six copies. I then email it to the coaches.
At 5 PM, I go upstairs and I talk to the kids. I find out about their school day. Because they are in transition too. From the long drive home to changing out-of-school clothes into baseball gear.
At 5:15 I start putting on my layers. It’s cold this time of year, and at practice time, it’s usually 40 degrees or less.
Then, at 5:35 I get in the car, and I drive to the field.
At 5:45 I arrive, unlock the gates, and start unloading the trailer.
And finally, at 6 PM sharp, I start the ballet of movement. From drill to drill and from age group to age group. Making sure everything runs smoothly.
By 8:30, I’m back in the car on the way home.
Everything must be project planned and time managed.
Because the fact of the matter is this. If I fail to make the daily transition from entrepreneur to coach, I fall behind in both tasks.
Through this, I’ve learned something special. Something life-changing.
I’m capable of accomplishing more than I thought possible.
And so are you. It just takes time management and project planning.
