Know What You Need To Do

What DO You Need To Do?

Yesterday we talked about finding the time in your busy morning to do the things that are important to you. Today, think about what you should and should not be doing in the first few and last few hours of the day. I worked in a large organization where the phrase, “we have always done it that way” was prominent. That mindset caused a lot of problems. Get out of your own way. You are here to create a better life. Take the time to figure out what you need to do each day and make the time to do it. :::gentlesmile:::

Find Your Rhythm

Creating a routine according to your personality is about finding your rhythm. The main message from other productivity coaches is often about efficiency and how to do more in less time. While these books are helpful, much of what they teach is not maintainable. You need a long-term strategy for meaningful change.

Create A New Mindset

Do not add tasks or things you want to do in your morning and evening. This whole process is to find out what works and does not so you can have healthier days. As you remove things, you will be able to add things. Or, why not leave that time for calm and rest? Either way, do not add to your already busy list of to-dos.

Make Smart Choices With The Time You Have

Think about the best use of your time. Compare your perfect morning and evening with the current. What needs to change? When you remove some tasks, finding time to do what is important to you becomes much easier.

There are two great ways to find things you can stop doing. The first is to look for busy work. Busy work is something you do out of habit that does not necessarily need doing every day. Maybe it is checking email first thing in the morning or playing around on Facebook for half an hour while you drink your coffee. If that is how you choose to spend your time, great, but if you are doing it out of habit it may be time to replace it or tweak it.

The second way to quickly earn back time is to see if you are doing things for others that they can do themselves. What we do for our children is a typical example. However, another example would be the woman I told you about in the previous article. She wanted business and felt she had to say yes to clients when it was best for them, without regard for what was best for her.

If you give of your time whenever anyone asks, they will take it.
If you give your time when it works best for you, they will take it.

A few small changes may be all it takes to make the time in your morning and evening for what is important and best for you. Then you will have more of yourself to give away during the time you schedule for others.

Until next time…