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Someone asked me to share some practical tips on how I find the time to get so much accomplished. I thought that was a great compliment, but also a great idea because it’s a wonderful discussion to engage all of the Begin with Yes family in too. Maybe I’ll learn something new and get even more done!
I’ll start the discussion by sharing are a few of my tips:
1. Make Lists – I stay focused by keeping a notebook of lists, categorized by the project I’m working on, and I actually use paper and a pen!
I try to do a few things on each list every day to keep them all moving forward. I revise them often, but seeing them every day helps to keep me focused and enables me to use my time wisely. It’s so easy to get distracted and lose hours on something that’s not really important, so for me, lists are extremely important.
If you want to feel good, make a list and start checking things off of it – it’s a great feeling!
2. Control Shopping – We all need to do it… whether it’s buying things we need on a daily basis or just finding things we want. I found that by the time I get in my car, drive to the store, park, drive home, etc., each trip to and from the store takes about an hour.
It also takes time to walk around and browse, wait in checkout lines, etc. If you do this a few times a week it can take 5 to 6 hours. I can cross a lot of items off my list in 5 to 6 hours!
So what do I do? Believe it or not I use Amazon. This may sound like a shameless plug for them, but it really saves me time. I get personal daily use items, business supplies, and anything else you can imagine, and you can even get a copy of the new Begin with Yes Workbook there (now that’s a shameless plug!). And I use Amazon Prime so everything comes in 2 days, and even on Sundays. Gas savings alone pay the annual fee. If you’re interested in trying it they’re offering a free trial.
3. Limit Television – I read that the average adult watches 4 to 5 hours of TV a day. I don’t watch anywhere near that much! I’m very selective and only turn it on when there’s something I really want to see, which is typically 3 to 5 times a week.
All the teasers make it easy to sit there for hours, so it takes some discipline to know when to hit the off button, but I do. Then I go back and look at my lists to see what else I can do with the time I’m saving!
It wasn’t always easy, but the more I get done, the better I feel, so the discipline becomes easier.
I’d love for you to share your ideas too, so we can all learn some things, so please join in the conversation!
Paul
Lists organize me.
1.On an unlined piece of paper randomly write a list of “everything i want to experience, become or own in your life. To do, be or have.
The more complete the better, take a little time.
2.Turn the paper over and draw 2 lines to make 3 Coulombs. title one 6 months, (short) one 2 years (medium) and one 10 years (long) and sort your original list into these three columns.
3.On a new piece of paper write 6 months and prioritise the items into it from the last page you made, repeat this for 2 years and 10 years.
4.Starting from the first thing on your six month list, decide one small thing that can be done towards achieving the things on your lists. Start using a planner chart or daily diary to plan out target achievements and time frames.
Be flexible about time frames, make allowance for others and not too hard on your self. Repeat until lived, then write a bucket list.
Dear friends, Greg Reid helped me tremendously with these three simple ideas:
1. A dream written down with a date becomes a GOAL.
2. A goal broken down into steps becomes a PLAN.
3. A plan backed by ACTION makes your dream come true.
Hope this will help you just as much as it helped me.
Another thought is to limit social media and surfing the Internet. I started tracking (by using RescueTime) how much time I spend on the computer and it’s way too much. I’ve cut back by about 30%, but still need to cut back more.