We’re all busy. Life doesn’t necessarily lend itself to achieving your personal or business goals. If you learn these simple time management tricks, you will achieve anything you desire, much faster than you would if you waited around for “when I have time.”
These tips take a little prep time in the beginning but they’ll have a huge ROI in terms of making the most of your precious time, no matter how many balls you are juggling. They are the secret to goals-achievement when you’re super busy – the secret is not “finding time.”
1. Be clear on what you want. For example, if your goal is to “be fit” identify exactly what fitness means to you -enough to run a 5k, or enough to run an ultramarathon? If your goal is to “succeed in business” then what does that mean – what does success mean to you? To be rich – what’s the dollar figure?
2. Research what it takes to achieve the goal. Again, whether it’s a personal or business goal, talk to people who have achieved what you want and pick their brains. Most people love to help out like this – they’ll be flattered that they are seen as a success! Read books, browse the Internet, join trade organisations, research an industry, find out what sort of gear or resources you’ll need, etc. so that when it’s “go” time you’ll know what to expect. Then you can start working these tasks into your schedule. Begin with at the very least, 15 minutes every day, no matter what, and add to it as you can.
3. Be in love with your goal. If you’re not in love with it, you’re not going to commit to it. You’ll be more tempted to quit when things don’t go your way. If you’re interested in starting your own business, are you aware that you will have longer hours and less freedom than you do now as an employee? Are you aware that physical fitness goals will require additional time in a sport and possibly dietary changes? A huge component of being in love with the goal is being in love with the process. That makes success inevitable, even if you don’t reach your objective. This involves a choice to be excited about the adventure of this goal. The everyday work needs to be perceived as fun and fascinating – something that you really want to do, at the expense of TV and other time-suckers. Your mindset and self-talk have to be based on LOVING what you’re doing. NOT: “Uhg, I have to go run a 10k today and it’s raining” but “Yeah, it’s raining but that will make today’s 10k a lot more refreshing!” NOT: “I wish I could spend more time with my kids but these long hours are killing me!” but “I’m putting in long hours now but I’m also delegating some more tasks so I can be with the kids more.”
Now that the prep work is done…
4. Commit to 15 minutes a day on your goal, come hell or high water. If you establish this as a habit (after about a month or so of DAILY commitment) even on days when you insist you have no time or you’re too exhausted, you’ll start seeing results and you’ll get caught up in the momentum. Then you can start adding a few minutes here and there. And believe me, 15 minutes of focused effort goes a very long way. Very soon you’ll find yourself prioritising your time to make room for your goal.
Inspired by: http://smartgoalsguide.com/