It is very easy to get into the REACTIONARY circle of life! We deal with what comes up and are hard pressed to make progress on our to-do lists! Here are a few strategies on how to maximize your time, energy and effort through good planning, habits and personal perspective!
PLANNING
- Plan ahead.
- Take: 10 minutes to plan your day
- ½ hour to plan for the week
- 1 hour to plan for the month
2. Do the most important things first (with-in the first ½ of your day take 10 minutes to plan for the day)
- What do I need to do?
- How long it will take?
- What is most important? (prioritize)
Do the top 3 important things FIRST! You have heard the Rock story… if you fill your jar with pebbles, sand, gravel, water, and dirt first (distractions, routines, crisis’s, tasks), there is often not any room left for the big rocks (important priorities that often get cheated, ignored, procrastinated, and left undone because there is just not time).
3. Evaluate. We often spend 80% of our day doing things that are 20% effective and 20% of our day on things that are 80% effective. Look at what you are doing with your time. What are the essential things that make the biggest impact? Look to stream-line or eliminate the things that are least effective and spend more time on those things that are most productive.
DEVELOP STRONG HABITS. Habits are a silent contributor to how we work. Often we do not see these as part of the equation because they are so natural to us. One way to increase your efficiency is to identify old habits that are not working and replace them with good habits that support what we want.
1. Identify Old Habits. Evaluate:
- What am I doing & why? (procrastinating, distracting myself, fire fighting, etc.)
- What is not working? (running from one thing to the next, getting frustrated, etc.) List 3 things you want to stop (reacting, procrastinating by cleaning, making excuses, etc). It is good to create a structure for what you will do if you catch yourself doing something you want to stop.
- What is working great? (AM to do list, listening to holiday music, writing my goal daily, etc.)
