Time Management is a Silly Thing to Say

The title of today’s teaching is “Time Management”. I don’t like it. I’m calling it that so that you know exactly what this is about just by looking at the title. What I really mean is “Self Management”.

We can’t manage time, at all. Time happens, we can’t speed it up, slow it down, pause it, get more of it. Time will always be 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and so on and so on. 

We all have the same amount of time, that’s why it’s funny when someone says, “I can’t do that, I don’t have time!”

So we do NOT manage time, we manage how we SPEND our time.

When someone says, “I don’t have time”, this is really what’s going on.

Either…

1. They choose to pass the time doing something else
2. They have taken on too much
3. They are poor stewards of their time

Actually, you know what? Time is all you DO have! The only thing we all have in common on this earth is the passing of hours, days, weeks, months and years. We are all at the same time and we all have the same amount of it – all people, animals and plants.

Today, I will be showing you how to manage YOURSELF to feel efficient, accomplished and to get to your goals faster. For many years now, I have thought deeply about this and I’ve experimented a LOT to get this right.

Here is a fun fact that will totally blow your mind and change your life

Have you ever heard of the 100 Hour Rule? The rule of 100 states that if you spend 100 hours a year, which is 18 minutes a day – in any discipline, you’ll be better than 95% of the world, in that discipline.

Now, just imagine that for a moment. Everything you ever fantasised about doing or learning but you felt intimidated by the very thought of it. “I can’t learn a new language, it’ll take too long and I don’t have the time!”

Now you know that in a mere 18 minutes per day, in one year, you’ll be better than 95% of the world in that thing. Can you find 18 minutes per day for your dream? I think you can.

Here is what you need to know to harness your time and achieve more

Know yourself

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you want from your life? What do you want to do?

How much of your day is dedicated to doing activities in line with what you want from your life and what you actually like doing? What percentage of the day, week, month?

If you know your strengths and passions, you know what you want and have goals to get there, you’ll be less likely to waste time on things that are not in alignment with your plan and desires. This one step alone will go a long way towards time management because you will always gravitate back to working toward achieving what you want.

The Golden Hour

The first hour of the day is called the Golden Hour because it sets the precedent for the rest of the day. This first hour of the day when you wake up is very important. Don’t screw it up.

What you DON’T want to happen is upon waking, the phone starts ringing, people are making demands and all manner of chaos ensues. Never open your mail in the morning when the mailman arrives, put it aside and open it later UNLESS you can see by the envelope that it is something that will make you happy. Chances are, it’s bills!

Now, I know that for those of you that are rushing around in the mornings, getting the kids up and off to school, the Golden Hour is more like the Devil’s Hour but believe me, I can’t stress this enough, you NEED the Golden Hour and you may just have to wake up an hour before everyone else and tip-toe around the house.

So, what is this Golden Hour? It’s the first hour of your day that you relax and contemplate. For example, this is what I do, I make coffee and I sit, drink my coffee (or two) and smoke a cigarette (or two). As I sit, I listen to the birds, and I contemplate how grateful I feel and I think about the day ahead.

Everyone is different. Some may go for a walk, walk the dog perhaps, some may workout, some may read, meditate…you get the picture.

The last thing you want is to wake up to all manner of shit that is going to wreck your head. It WILL happen from time to time but make this quiet, golden time a new habit, the best you can.

Have a Written Down “To Do” List

You may already write To Do lists but here are a few pointers that could improve the way it is constructed.

If you are anything like me, I used to write these really long To Do lists that were pages long. Guess what? I failed just about every day because I would never reach the end of them. Not a nice feeling. Distractions would come, unforeseen things. Does this sound familiar?

This is what I learned:

Never answer the phone, email or Social Media when you are in the middle of a task. Every day, have your scheduled times for answering people (common sense applies, of course there are certain loved ones who may need you and you should answer).

Personal things ought to be mixed into your To Do list alongside work and chores. Do you want to be happy, healthy and fulfilled? Yeah! Well then some of the day is for you and your personal needs/wants. Don’t make a To Do list of all your chores alone. You are a priority. You are your greatest asset, your health is your wealth. Looking after your body, mind and soul is a very important step in time management and productivity.

Being “Selfless” is absolutely NOT “a nice way to be”, you should be 51% selfish and 49% selfless AT LEAST. The better you look after yourself, the more useful you will be to others. Being selfish (to a point) is the kindest thing you can do for others. Yep, I said it.

Get some easy wins on your To Do List

By easy wins I mean something you CAN NOT fail in and you are guaranteed to check it off. Checking off items on your To Do list is a good feeling, the more you check off, the better you feel and the more motivated you will feel to keep going and finish your list.

So, make sure you have some easy stuff on there like a movie, take a shower, read a chapter of your book etc etc.

Right now, I’m doing a course that I’m excited about and it’s at the top of my list and I do it right after the Golden Hour.

Finishing something is NOT necessarily the goal today

Now let’s suppose you want to clean the garage and you have that on your to do list. DO NOT set out to clean the garage! It’s boring, intimidating and it sucks! What you are going to do is you are going to spend 30 minutes cleaning the garage. Does that sound better? It may take you 9 x 30 minute sessions in the garage over the next 3 days BUT you’ll be highly likely to be successful in finishing and you’ll feel really good that you did.

If you say “The garage has to be cleaned TODAY and I’m not stopping till it’s done”. You are going to neglect other things you need to do and you may just quit a few hours in.

Everything you do, you do for 30 minutes, then you take a break

I no longer write a massive to-do list, now I write 10 items only. Each item, I may or may not finish, the goal is to spend 30 minutes on the task. At the bottom of my list, I write “Notes For Tomorrow”. As you go through the day, you’ll think of things you need to do that you forgot to put on your list. You write it down. This will remind you to put it on tomorrow’s To do list or later in the week.

Are you ONLY doing what’s on your list? No, you can do other things, random things. The purpose of your list is PRIORITY things. Do these things with total focus and dedication.

Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard

Spending 30 minutes on something is a lot more appealing than undertaking a big project right? Everyday, it’s important for your mental health to feel like a winner. Success breeds success. 

What sounds more comfortable?

Write Your To Do List The Night Before

If you want to hit the ground running in the morning, write your list last thing at night, before bed. This has two benefits. Firstly, you’ll not waste time in the morning wondering “what do I need/want to do today?” Successful people NEVER stand around wondering “what shall I do next?” It’s all planned and mapped out. The second benefit of writing your list the night before is that your subconscious mind will be processing this information and you’ll find that your day is more accommodating in what you planned to do.

This is how your To Do List Might Look

Here we have 10 x 30 minute activities. Do you need 10? No but I would not have more than 10 if I were you. 10 is 5 hours. We all have different lifestyles. You may have 4, 5 or 6 things on your list.

Do you do them in order? You can but you don’t have to, I don’t.

What do you do in between activities or when you are finished or before you start? Whatever, life happens. Remember, this is a list of priorities and things you really want to accomplish today, it’s not including blowing your nose or cooking dinner etc.

But I commute 1 hour to work, work for 8 hours and then an hour home. When I get home, I’m exhausted

Personally, I work from home. My life may be drastically different to yours. It may be that you leave the house in the morning and work somewhere for 8 or 9 hours before returning home. While at work, your time is not your own and you don’t get to do what you want, you are working for someone. When you get home, by the time you have made dinner and relaxed, it’s not long before you are going to bed.

In this case, you may have 4 To Do items per day on your list (that’s 2 hours), you may do one thing in the morning and 3 things in the evening when you get home. You may want to do 7 or 8 things on a Saturday.

You do what you want according to what your life allows. We are not doing this for the sake of it, we are doing it to feel good about our accomplishments, get more done and move in the direction of where we want to go.

If you hate your commute to work and the job you have, you need to make a daily to do list to change your life and start that business you always dreamed of…remember the Rule of 100.

Your Monday To Do List May Look Like This

Please tell me how you get along. If you have any questions, please reach out to me and remember, I do a Live in our private group once a month.

If your life is stagnant, you owe this to yourself. Give it your best shot, do it! I’m here for you.