It always amazes me to hear folks say, "I didn't have time," to explain their failure to get something done.The truth is, we all have time: 168 hours a week, to be exact. It's fascinating that one person can complete a sculpture, compose a song, or send off a book proposal in the same time frame that others will complain wasn't enough time.
Don't get me wrong. Using your time wisely doesn't mean working nonstop or meditating all day.
On the contrary, using your time wisely means managing your time to get the things done that matter to you.
Taking a nap is a very good use of your time to rejuvenate your body.
Spending several hours to write a business plan is a very good use of time to ensure the success of your business.
Singing a lullaby to your baby is an investment of your time that will pay off in immeasurable ways.
Evaluate your use of time by keeping track of what you do for one whole day. Then decide which of those actions advanced your business or your personal life. Those that didn't may need to be eliminated.
Now take charge of your time.
1. Set short-term and long-term goals.
Work backwards from your goals to see what tiny steps need to be done. If you want to gross $5,000 per month in your business, for example, how many $100 products or services do you need to sell to reach this goal?
If you want to finish your 60,000 word novel by the last day of the year, how many words do you need to write each day from now until then?
2. Create a weekly schedule for your standard activities.
If you're a woman balancing family and career, (or a man? Notice how nobody asks a man how he balances family and career?) you need to schedule fun and relaxation on your calendar first. Then make a promise to yourself to keep these appointments. Many men already know to do this. You see them jumping around the basketball court every Saturday.
3. Be flexible and sensible.
You can reschedule and rearrange activities, but you can't keep piling more and more things to do into the same 168 hours without eliminating something.
4. Make a to-do list each night for the next day.
Prioritize. Do the essentials first. Carry the leftovers from one day to the next. If something on that list remains undone for a full week, you either don't want to do it and should drop it, or reevaluate its priority. Maybe it should be a goal for next month or next year. Or maybe it can be delegated to someone else.
When I went back to school to work on my Ph.D., I had a five-year-old and a two-year-old. I had to plan very carefully to balance my home and academic life. Meeting those academic deadlines was critical, but so was picking up my munchkins from preschool, going to violin lessons, feeding my household, and many other things.
To reach your goals, you will have to decide what's important to you and give up the things that aren't. While I was in school, I gave up the notion of a spotless house, going to movies, and wearing designer clothes, especially after we decided to have our third child during my second year of doctoral studies.
5. Don't let your life be interrupted or guided by someone else's priorities or emergencies.
Stop rescuing folks who manage to get themselves into the same fix on a regular basis: running out of gas, running out of money before payday, etc. These people drain not only your time, but also your energy and brainpower.
By the way, you aren't still answering those telemarketing calls, are you? You do have Caller ID on your phone, right?
Turn off your cell phone when you're engaged in an important activity. You do have voice mail, right?
Don't return calls to folks you don't want to talk to. It doesn't make you a bad person, just a smart, purpose-driven person.
6. Plan ahead.
You know your car requires gas, for example, and that you won't have time to get it on the way to an appointment. Fill up the day before.
Being happy and successful is not a matter of luck. It's a matter of doing what is most important to you minute by minute, day by day.
If you don't manage your time, other people will. Guess whose priorities they will put in place?
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