Do you need more time?
If so, the solution may feel counter intuitive, but you might need to add a few things in to your schedule, rather than remove them.
The key is that you add in the right things.
Then, once you set up your schedule to accommodate these desirable activities, other, less attractive, time-consuming but low reward activities will need to be removed or delegated.
Put simply, if you have more things you want to do in your day and week, you work more efficiently, or find a way to remove, less attractive obligations.
You gradually reduce the number of things you feel you have to do each day.
Here’s how to do it
Make a list of all the things that you would like to do in a day / week, but currently don’t have time to fit in.
You can include in this list, anything that you used to do in the past that was enjoyable but that’s slipped out of the schedule.
It may sound silly, but for most of the people we work with, there are a multitude of enjoyable activities, hobbies, relationships that they’ve compromised on over the years, usually to accommodate an increased workload, and it can be very easy to forget some of the many things that used to bring great pleasure to life.
Only by having clear line of sight on as many different enjoyable activities as possible can you go about making them happen.
Now begin putting some of these activities into your schedule. This immediately raises them up the priority list. You can start to view them as an integral part of your successful week rather than a 'nice to have' afterthought.
As you get excited about the opportunity to follow through with some of these desirable activities, your mind will quickly turn to what you need to delegate or do differently in order to make your day more efficient.
Your day is already shaping up in a very different way in your mind.
And this planning and visualisation will quickly turn to reality.
Give it a go and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to change the balance of your weekly routine to include way more of the things you love to do and where you add value and enjoy your time, and dramatically reduce the time you spend on tasks and activities that suck your energy and sap your enthusiasm.
How this process makes a difference
Here’s just one example.
On any typical day, the end point of your work can keep drifting until you feel you’ve done enough at which point you either sign off for the day and trundle home exhausted, or you leave the office with the intention of catching up later at home. The downside here can be that you don’t really wind down from work effectively, if at all, before you go to bed to try to sleep.
Compare this with an evening when you have something planned that you’re really looking forward to. Meeting a friend, a family event, going for dinner or attending a club, class or hobby.
On these days you work more efficiently because you know you have a hard stop. You can apply your energy with greater gusto because you know when the finish line is and when you can take your foot off the gas and focus on something completely different.
You make quicker, more effective decisions because you don't want to spend so long revisiting the same topics.
You delegate more efficiently when you recognise that getting caught up in too much work that others could execute just as well as you (and in many cases better than you) could jeapordise your ability to follow through on what you want to do that evening.
The feeling that this type of day has better balance immediately reduces stress. When life is not all about work you feel calmer. More enthusiastic about what you need to get done before you sign off for the day.
In time, with this approach, you work your way into a position where life is more balanced, you’re spending time on the things that matter, where you add more of your unique value value and on what you enjoy - both professionally and personally - all of which provides a clear sense of purpose and progress, motivation and inspiration.
So don't delay - start maximising your time, energy, focus and effectiveness today!
Further reading to help you plan your ideal week and make the best use of your time
Comments