Your time is a bit like having money. Sometimes you spend it, you can save it, invest in it and can even waste it. Unlike money, however, you can never change the amount you receive. Coincidentally Richard Branson has the same 24 hours we all have and just look at what he’s built? So we all get the same 24 hours as everyone else, each and every day, but how we spend it varies.
Procrastination, we’ve all been there at some time in our lives. The key to kicking it to the curb is to recognize it, understand why you do it, how you do it and then to be disciplined enough to focus on the things that actually need doing in priority.
I did laugh when I saw this video, it struck a chord with me. How many times have I made a cup of tea for myself? (for no apparent reason) - Funny that, I always happened to feel ‘thirsty’ when I have ‘stuff’ to do. Can you work out the correlation?
Procrastination isn't all bad. There are actually three variants of procrastination, depending on what you do instead of working on something: you could work on (a) nothing, (b) something less important, or (c) something more important.
When I talk about Procrastination, I am talking about the kind that means you work on nothing or something less important.
What does it Look Like?Perhaps you wait till the last minute to buy presents?, put off seeing the dentist?, filing taxes ?(that’s always a good one), do the easiest work task’s first? and file the rest under mission impossible? Before you do anything though hadn't you better just re-check your email and even Facebook?
By the way in any event if you put off what you can do an easy task becomes a harder task and the harder task never get’s done.
You keep promising yourself that this will be the year you make a difference to your life and you can do this by buckling down and putting in the effort. Mmm.....really? How are things ever gonna change if they remain the same?
However you do it, your habit of procrastination can always change and ‘in’ an instant. Make the choice to become a master of productivity and prioritization and stick firmly to this in the belief that this CAN be achieved.
The starting point just has to be mindset. The amount of people that I meet in my daily life that say they just have no time at all......is that really true? Let’s put that in perspective. 24hours = 1440 minutes, that is a fair bit of time. Like it or not if we keep on saying ‘we have no time’ it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. So before beginning to make the change the key is to structure mindset accordingly and change language patterns to suit.
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Here are a few pointers on how to achieve more with less effort.....Yes - you heard me, achieve more with less effort!</strong>
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Where are you at?</strong> Understand this and increase your awareness and you will automatically shift mentally into how you can change.
a)Recognize the Alarm Bells In Your Daily Routine
The ‘I’ll just’...statement refers to a distraction from the task in hand. Another cup of coffee?
b)Recognize the Patterns - How do you tackle life and juggle it? Do you do the easier tasks first?, which area’s of your life tend to suffer? Which are you good at and why?
c)How many To do Lists do you need? - There really is nothing better than crossing off one action however nothing worse than making a new to do list with items on there that are 100 years old.Yep I can speak from a little experience here as this is exactly what I used to do.
2)Shift Into First Gear - Understanding where you are at is great, the next step is recognizing what you want from your life. So is it to be more productive at work or perhaps spend more time with the children?, perhaps you have a goal to write a book?
I suggest whatever is the MOST important to you should be written down and kept at the forefront of your mind. In addition what other elements of your life would you want to spend more time on. The things that provides you the greatest happiness are always a good bet.
3)Upgrade to 2nd/3rd and 4th Gear’s - So, you have your goals? you’re firmed up to making the changes. What’s the key to change? Well the real gem is knowing which tasks to tackle and in which order.
Effective leaders know exactly how to do this. Productive individuals make a choice to spend their time maximizing where they are going to get the best return. This is time investment.
Prioritize your tasks on the most essential and ones that align with your wider life goals. So, remember that list of what you want to achieve?, well - this is called ‘crunch’ time so to speak.
This is what you <strong>MUST</strong> do in order to get to where you want to go. The difference this time is the order in which your tasks are prioritized. That is the key! Sounds easy? Can be, if a particular task really is difficult break it down into chunks, organize it more efficiently and recognize the pain or consequences of not doing something versus the joy of actually doing it.
Zoom into 5th and 6th gears - Ok.....so here you are. Super productive and mega efficient!. Anymore room for improvement? The answer to that is always. I am always improving, tweaking, trying something new to find ever productive ways to sure up more ‘free’ time. Working smarter and having tools that help you to do this is key. Whether this be something as simple as ensuring your iphone diaries are synching with your laptop and phone are a great way to stay in touch and ‘juggle’ the all important family, whatever it is find the methods and routine that work for YOU. Just you. We all live fairly busy lives, the key is to doing what’s right for you and your family to make it a hugely productive outcome and experience for all.
Make a master plan, make it detailed, make it focused and recognize what you are doing every hour on the hour. That is the best way to become more self-aware. The biggest thing is to ensure somewhere in your day, you have some fun and enjoyment. As a super efficient and organized person, there is ALWAYS room for the fun factor.
