Time
We are all given the same amount of time per day. 24 HRS. Why is it then that some people use their time effectively and efficiently and others are always chasing their tails.. My learnings have taught me that some people are ‘in time’ people – meaning they live in time, are on time and value time. Others are ‘out of time’ people – meaning they sometimes have no concept of time and do not value time as much. Yeah, you know who they are.
There are different archetypes (personality types) when it comes to Time. There’s the PROCRASTINATOR, the CREATOR, the DAY DREAMER, the ACTION MAN, the KING/QUEEN OF EXCUSES, the POSTPONER, the RESISTER, the MASTER, the SLAVE, the WASTER, the UNFINISHED TASKS person. Any of these sound familiar? Which one are you?
From my experience its not so much how we USE or PLAN our time but our BELEIFS about time that can bring us unstuck. What do you believe? – “There’s never enough time” or “Time is Money” or “No time like the present”. There are hundreds of sayings, poems or songs about Time that support our belief system. What you need to do is to challenge yours, seriously.
I’ve discovered there are three Secrets to Success with Time.
The first is “SURRENDER TO THE PRESENT MOMENT” – Learn to Live in the NOW. Training the mind to BE in the moment can be challenging. Many people use the art of Meditation to help them achieve this. I also believe that if your not meditating ( bit hard at work or surrounded by screaming kids, yeah) it can be difficult to Stop your thoughts. It is a more natural state for the mind to experience thoughts coming and going as it takes willpower to actually STOP them. However, its when we give them meaning and then add pictures we entertain our mind and its here we lose the present moment or our focus. However, have you ever noticed when you focus on the task at hand, completely immerse yourself in it, give it relevant meaning, create a vision of the end result that you can make time stand still. You’re actually surprised you achieved all you did in the time that you had.
The second secret is “CHOOSE THE RIGHT ORDER IN WHICH TO DO THINGS”.
There are many rules to follow here and it is a matter of which suits you personally.
Either * First Things First
- ABC Order of Priority
- The Time Quadrant (Urgent/Important, Urgent/Not Important etc)
- The 4 D’s (Deal with It, Delegate It, Divert It or Ditch It)
For me, I turned my whole life around when I started using my Diary for absolutely everything. Educating all the members of my family to use it too and enter in their activities on a weekly basis made life run a lot smoother. DIARIES AND TO DO LISTS are a great tool to help you plan ahead and is also a visual confirmation of the structure of the day/mth/yr or event etc. Having the willpower and discipline to use it religiously proved trying (apologies to my chiro for missing that appt) but persistence won out in the end.
The Third Secret is “HAVE A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE ABOUT TIME”.
Establish a belief system that serves you. Educate yourself about time. Learn from others who have mastered the art. Eliminate time-wasting activities. Find out what time of the day you are more effective and efficient and use this to your advantage. Affirm daily ” I have more than enough time to achieve all the things I set out to do”.
Make all of this your new mindset and then you’ll have plenty of time to rest and then maybe after that just do nothing.
Angie Quinn