When you think about where your time goes, it becomes very evident very quickly that time is something that can’t be managed. But what can you do to make the best use of it? Indeed, how can you ensure you manage yourself and your tasks effectively?
1. Plan an hour per day for time for yourself. That still gives 23 hours to everything and everyone else. During this hour, add a new dimension to your life that is not there because you haven’t felt you have the time for it. Learn a hobby or foreign language, develop computer skills, start a business, spend time on health development, etc. By taking one hour per day of focused study, any of us can become a world-class expert in a topic of our choice. How would your future look if you became an expert in the subject of your choice?
2. Establish a regular reading program. It can be just 15 minutes a day. Even with that small investment, the average person will read 15 books in a year. Also, consider taking a speed-reading course. All leaders are readers, so get a reading habit going, and listen to CDs or MP3s on your commute.
3. Complete a ‘Will-do’ list from your ‘To-Do’ list. What this means is you create a definite list of items you absolutely, positively will do today. Don’t fill your day with ‘will-do’s'; make sure you leave some time for items that are out of your control. You can then fill quiet time with items of your choice, having prioritized your ‘to-do’ list.
4. Have the right mental attitude. When you are in a negative mood, you tend to repel the positive people who don’t want to be strained and drained and brought down by your negativity. And when you are in a negative mood, you naturally attract other negative people who want to share their stories of misery.
Positive people bring us up. Negative people bring us down. You can decide and choose which one you will be. Time reflected on is better when you choose the positive option.
So take time to consider how you can be proactive with your most precious asset…your time.
