Ten Ways To Make Time For The Important Things
Making time for the important things in life is a real challenge. Have you ever ended the day with the feeling that you were as busy as you could possibly be, but didn't make any progress on the really important things? Have you been resentful of the time and energy you have to spend on meeting the demands of others? Have you ever felt out of control - that outside forces take up all your time - and you feel like a victim?
Here are ten ways you can make time for the really important things in your life.
1 - Decide what is really important to you. The 3 to 5 most important things in your life - no more than that.. This sounds so simple - and so easy. It isn't. I challenge you to sit down and write out the 3 to 5 most important things you want to accomplish in your life. Most people won't do that. It takes time and focused thought - but it is the single best investment of time you can make.
2 - Make what's important to you the foundation of your goals. Then align your goals with the requirements of those people, institutions, organizations that are important to you and can contribute to your success. This requires a shift in thought from feeling imposed on by others to seeing the requirements of others as contributing to your success. Making that mind shift can be the most liberating thing you can ever do.
3 - Adopt a "good enough" habit of thought toward the the things you must do but that are not part of your top goals. Trying to make everything the "best possible" sounds laudable - but it's a sure recipe for failure. "Best possible" and perfection can literally suck up all the time you've got, and for things that aren't really that important.
4 - Place a high value on creating structure and limiting your choices. See them as positive behaviors in your battle to preserve as much of your time as you can for the important few. Set boundaries of time, energy and money around the less important.
5 - Create a habit of thought that allows you to replace instinctive reaction with considered response. It's very easy, and lazy, to wait for an outside stimulus to create response. It's hard to sort out and choose response - but critical to your own success.
6 - Learn to say "No." There will always be demands on your time in excess of the time you have available, and while the demands of others may be good for them, they may not be good for you. Work to act only on those demands that are a win - win. Remind yourself that the price paid for having too much to do and too little time is that nothing gets done to even a "good enough" level.
7 - Make routine, predictable and structured all the "good enough" stuff. To the extent that you create routines, the focus of your thoughts and actions can be used for the important stuff. It's amazing how much real thought and planning and decision making can be accomplished while performing the routines of mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, doing the dishes....... A friend who travels a lot on business sees routines as his close friends - they keep him supplied with all his day to days, and allow him to focus on the important things. An example - he always parks his rental car under a light post while traveling - always. Why? It's easier to find it if he forgets where he parked it. Simple - effective.
8 - When it comes to the really important things, forget "multitasking." A focused hour spent on a top goal beats a day spent on "thin things." Busy is not the same as effective - often it's just an avoidance tool - it's procrastination dressed in activity.
9 - Act with enthusiasm - nothing makes things work better than energy and optimism - the belief that good things will come from our actions, and the expectation that our goals will be met and exceeded. And. if some of the routine things simply don't call for enthusiasm, then adopting a mindset of acceptance places a much higher value on accomplishing them. Saying to yourself " As soon as I've got that done - I can get on to the neat stuff" creates a reward for yourself.
10 - Enjoy the rewards of your self discipline. When the combination of the most important and the" good enough" results in your success - however you define that elusive word - take the time to celebrate.
Use these ten ways to protect as much of your energy and time and optimism as possible. The result will be greater success in the things that matter to you most - whatever they may be.
Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and implement change through the application of goals focused on the important few elements that have maximum impact in achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com or acox@coxconsultgroup.com
Six Ways To Become More Efficient At Work And At Home
Most of us are eager to give of ourselves and then give some more. Whether it's giving advice to friends or coworkers, volunteering for activities in the community or at our child's school or just saying yes to every request that comes our way. What happens with all this giving is you become so buried under a mountain of responsibilities that the most important things in your life suffer. You have to take time for yourself and your family. One way to do this is to become more efficient in every area of your life. Let's look at six ways to become efficient.
1) Schedule your day. If you have to, get up an hour early each day and write out your plan for the day. Then priotize each task on your list and put it in order of priority. Schedule what you need to do into a planning sheet and block out time to get it accomplished. Do this every single day, even on the weekends.
2) Stop trying to multi-task. Turn off the email notification function on your computer. Email kills your concentration and makes you lose focus on what you were doing. Don't get side lined by interruptions from others. If you are trying to finish a report for an important client or meeting, don't accept a request from a drop-in visitor who "just has a quick question"
3) Learn to control self-interruption. You are at your desk absorbed in your work, when all of a sudden you brain starts talking to you. It reminds you of something that you need to tell a coworker or an important task that you need to take care of. Instead of grabbing the phone or shooting off an email, write down what you need to tell that person or the task that you need to do in a separate binder that you keep for such purposes. Keep working on your current project and set aside time later to take care of things on your binder list.
4) Say NO more often. Know what your priorities are. When someone requests something of you and it doesn't fit into your priorities, just say no. You don't have to justify your answer with a long explanation or excuse.
5) Delegate as much as you can. We often think we can do everything ourselves, or that others will not devote as much care to the task as we would have. That is delusion, as we do not have enough time to do all that anyway. Other coworkers or other members of your family could easily do some of the tasks. Get away from the thinking that you are the only one who can do the job right.
6) Stop trying to be perfect. Some tasks can be done and are just as successful even if they are not perfect. Trying to be perfect with everything will slow you down and cause too much un-needed stress in your life.
Your time is a very precious resource that should not be wasted. Efficiency is the key to getting things accomplished in your work and at home. Implement the above steps and you will find yourself accomplishing more in less time, and with less stress.
By: Shafir Ahmad
Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Shafir Ahmad is the author of "The Experts Guide to Managing Your Time". If you are not managing your time, you are wasting it. Don't waste time! Get your 7-Part eCourse on Secrets To Better Time Management at www.PlanYourTimeNow.com
