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What can be done to insure that we make better use of our time? What is that “silver bullet” that once delivered will make a difference in how we dig in and do the things that enable us to get more done, with less stress, and gain more satisfaction with our lives in general?
Here's the Last of 8 tips:
8) Challenge yourself to improve, have fun and employ time. One time Chairman and founder of Hallmark Cards Joyce Clyde Hall said, “Time is everything. Anything you want, anything you accomplish—pleasure, success, fortune—is measured in time.” There will be new innovative ideas to review about how to better utilize your time. You must be open to reviewing those ideas. Who knows, you may just find your “silver bullet” which enables you to gain greater leverage in how you are utilizing your time and gaining the greatest return. Understand that if we apply the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule, too often we can find ourselves spending 80% of our time on activities that relate to only 20% of our total needs or goals.
Another part of the challenge is discovering the time of the day we are most productive. It differs for each person so this is an exercise you will have to conduct personally. When you have this discovery in hand, it will enable you to put your key actions in time slots that are most effective for accomplishment. That way you find that the reverse of the Pareto Principle can help you. By applying 20% of your most productive time on key issues, you are able to achieve or eliminate potentially 80% of your challenges.
Having fun, that is important too. Develop some rewards for yourself as you reach planned criteria. For example when you do avoid the strong desire to look at your email during a time you have your computer cut off and are to focus on that key report, reward yourself with a sweet treat or perhaps an extra half-glass of wine at dinner. Be sure you make the reward an event or prize that is meaningful. That small stimulus could be the very thing that enables you to control yourself as you control your time.
Finally, you must employ time and do not allow it to steal itself from you. Airports, as an example, are great places where you can employ time. Use the time waiting on flights to read that periodical you have been carrying in your briefcase for weeks; catch up on the latest business book you received 2 or 3 months earlier that has been lying on your desk or perhaps still in the shipping box. There are also down periods at home, or even in restaurants when you are on the go and drop in by yourself for a quick meal. Use the time to read the Wall Street Journal on your I-Phone or I-PAD as an example. You will be surprised how much you can learn in a short time as you enjoy that burger or sub. If you will think about it, you will find many times during the day or weeks ahead that you can utilize so time is working for you not stealing from you.
In the final result, what does over 40 years of discovering and utilizing these tips on better time management produce? Simply time to do the things that need to be done so that there is time to do the things that you really want to do. It is a simple process that can become the difference between success and failure. As the Christ Church, Brookline, Mass. Unity Church Bulletin once stated:
“Take time to look. It is the price of beauty.
Take time to work. It is the true price of fulfillment.
Take time to play. It is the price of perennial youth.
Take time to read. It is the price of distilled wisdom.
Take time to laugh. It is the music of the soul.
Take time for prayer. It is the secret of ever-renewing power.
Take time for a love that will outlast you. Only then will you produce a lasting legacy.”
The hourglass of time finds its way for all to use it wisely. The value you place on its use will have a vital impact on the remainder of your life.
Next week I'll start a new series on building your business!
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