Tag Archives: timemanagementtips

Get Back In The Driver’s Seat

Life Lessons, Lists, Love/Relationships, Mental health, , , ,

Is your life out of balance? From time to time, our lives can feel out of control. You spend too much time focussed on work, and your family life suffers. Or you spend too much money on your social life, and your finances suffer. Maybe you’re running yourself ragged and your health is taking a back seat. If this sounds like you, then I hope the following tips help!

Regain balance in your life with these strategies:

  1. Identify the different parts of your life. If you were going to divide your life into columns, what would the column headings be? For most of us, they would include family, work, health, finances, and social life. You might have additional categories such as music, spirituality, and volunteering.
  2. Start with your health. Is your health negatively impacted by your lifestyle? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating properly? How much exercise are you getting each day? Have you been to the doctor lately? How is your bodyweight? What can you do to improve your health?
  3. Evaluate your family life. Does your family only get attention when you have time left over from your other obligations? Are you spending enough time with your partner and children? What do each of them need right now? How can you provide it to them? How can you enrich your relationship with your family?
  4. Is your social life getting too much attention or not enough? Have you lost track of your friends? Is your family upset that you’re spending too much time socializing? Or maybe your overactive social life is causing challenges in other areas of your life. Consider what changes would help balance out your social life.
  5. Take a look at your values and priorities. What is most important to you? You can’t have it all unless your wants are quite limited. Make a list of your values and priorities. Alter your life to emphasize those things.
  6. Where are you wasting time? Perhaps you can bring your life back into balance by freeing up more time for what’s most important to you. First, identify how you’re wasting time and eliminate or minimize those activities.
  7. Learn to say “no”. There’s not enough time in the day to say “yes” to everything that crosses your path. This goes back to your priorities. One of the most effective ways to regain balance in your life is to eliminate the unnecessary. What can you live without? What will you be glad to get off your plate?
  8. Be grateful for what you have. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be easy to see the dark side of things. Remind yourself of how much you have in your life already. With a positive outlook, you’ll have a better chance of making progress. Begin each day with a grateful heart, try gratitude meditation, works wonders.
  9. Make a plan. Once you have a few ideas, make a plan on how you intend to put them into practice. Avoid the mistake of believing that identifying the cure is a cure in itself. It’s necessary to take action.

Everything gets out of balance once in awhile, including your life. The key is recognizing the challenge you face and setting priorities. Eliminate those things that don’t add value to your life so you have more time for the things that do. Take control of your life and create a life that truly fulfills you.

Here is a simple, free. Defining-Your-Life-Purpose-Goals-Worksheet-IV to kick things off. 

To Your Success,

Juan

$15,000 Less?!?!

Once Upon a Line, , , , , , ,

The stats are staggering: 94% of people surveyed said procrastination affected their happiness. Studies also showed procrastinators earn $15k less than each year..wowsers. At least 20-25% of adults are affected. The full article is posted below. Be warned, get ready to be shaken up. I know I was.

We often struggle to finish projects, even when we have every intention of finishing them. Full disclosure, this was once my biggest flaw. There, I said it. At times, it has gotten so bad, I resorted to scheduling my entire day, hour by hour, to get anything done! Believe it or not, this is a common problem people face. After taking stock of myself, through trial and error, I discovered that luckily, there are ways to improve, which actually work. I have gotten a lot better! Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but if you find that procrastination is a constant problem for you, it’s time to make a few changes in your life. Below are several tactics you can use to help you kick the habit.

Divide Up The Task
Often, when you procrastinate, the task seems insurmountable, one which you don’t believe you will be able to finish. Put a stop to this thinking by breaking up the task into more manageable pieces. For example, if you were supposed to clean the basement, resolve to clean one of the four corners each day, instead of trying to tackle it all at once. This tactic helps to make tasks more manageable, leaving us feel less overwhelmed.

Make A Deadline
Now is not the time to tell yourself you will do something “later.” Instead, set a strict timeline for yourself, with sections of your goal having deadlines. This way, you known when you will be completing something. It may also help to have a small reward for yourself along the way. An example of this would be a student needing to write a four-page paper. And for each page the student completes, they would reward themselves with fifteen minutes of phone time.

Stop Your Common Distractions
Usually, when someone procrastinates, it’s for the same reasons each time. You planned to clean the kitchen, but got sidetracked with a trending TV show instead. Put a stop to this by eliminating common distractions. If the TV is a distraction for you, maybe it’s time to work in another room.

Make Small Goals and Reward Yourself
As you plan how you will conquer your task or project, break your goal into smaller mini-goals. Then, cross them off and reward yourself as you complete them. It will help keep you on task, and you’ll be able to feel as if you are making progress, even if it’s small.  This progress will do wonders to keep your spirits high. The little rewards you are giving yourself will do wonders.

Spend Time With Motivated People
There is nothing quite like hanging out with someone motivated to boost your motivation. Find a friend or colleague whose motivation you admire, and resolve to spend more time with them. Or get a buddy in on your plans, keep each other motivated regularly. Either way, it’s much easier to stop procrastinating, when you’ve got others around you accomplishing remarkable things!

Overall, discontinuing your procrastination habit can be extremely difficult, but it can be done just by changing some minor things in your life. Start by dividing up the task, making deadlines, and getting rid of your most common distractions. Then surround yourself with other positive people, and you will soon find yourself accomplishing more than ever before!

Procrastination Statistics: Interesting and Useful Statistics about Procrastination

To Your Success,
Juan

 

Double Your Productivity: Three Simple Steps

Goals/Dreams, Life Lessons, , , , , ,

If time is one of the main reasons why you have not accomplished some of your New Year’s resolutions, help is here. With no time to waste (pun intended), let’s examine three ways in which 2022 can be different.

Learn to delegate. At work, consider delegating projects and tasks. Match the task with the person who can do it the best…provided you are comfortable in asking for help. You now have time  to focus on parts of the projects you excel at. Refrain from trying to control their actions. Be confident the team around you can do an exceptional job, even if their methods are different. Fostering a team spirit allows everyone be part of the success. The better you are, the less everyone feels the need to turn to you for everything. At home, delegating chores teaches children responsibility, enables them to feel like an integral part of the family, and enjoy the feelings of pride and confidence for a job well done. You now have more time to enjoy with family, and practice self care. Relax, exercise, pray, and meditate, all contribute to helping you relieves stress, and recharge energy. 

Affirmation: I will let go of the need to do and be everything. Taking time to rest fuels my creativity and stamina.

Self-Reflection Questions:
Do I ask others for help?
How can I delegate some of my current responsibilities?
Do I arrange my schedule so I have time for myself?

List Making. Our days quickly become full of tasks. Priorities are often incredibly fluid, forcing us to constantly reevaluate what we must—and can—accomplish before the end of the day. Creating lists aids our ability to focus on the current tasks, while maintaining an awareness of what needs to be accomplished next. Start the day by plotting work. Visualize which tasks need to be completed first, and estimate how long they may take to complete. Giving yourself extra time to complete assignments allows for a buffer, in case unexpected obstacles arise. If possible, attempt to plan for the unexpected. After a break or lunch, quickly revisit the list. Bear in mind the working list is always open to revision, because new tasks arise throughout the day. Priorities change, and  being adaptable is key as things change. Removing completed tasks and adding new work, enable us to see the progress we make during the day.

Affirmation: Today, I anticipate the unexpected. In order to be successful, I must be flexible. Therefore, I allow my list to change with time, fluid priorities, and the can-do attitude that I bring to each new task.

Self-Reflection Questions:
How much time should I spend creating a list of tasks and priorities?
When is the best time to evaluate (and reevaluate) my priorities for the day?
How does making a list help me outside of the workplace?

Organization. Throughout the day, we encounter situations that require us to take action to resolve them. The more efficient the action, the quicker we can tackle other tasks. Your organizational skills are paramount to living life the way you want. You can fill your days with accomplishments and still leave time for fun. Plan ahead, by preparing as much as possible the night before. Before beginning a job, gather the materials and tools needed to finish it. Know beforehand where everything you need is located.  Give everything a home. Declutter regularly. Avoid procrastination. If you encounter something that requires sorting or straightening, do it right away.

Affirmation: Today, I plan to take action to increase my organizational skills. I know I can streamline my home to provide easier access to tools, materials, and personal items I need to live a more organized life. I find that the more organized I am, the better life I live. 

Self-Reflection Questions:
In what situations do I show effective organizational skills?
Are there times that I wish I was more organized? When?
Starting today, what can I do to increase my organizational skills?

Oh look, January is almost over. Where has time gone? I know many of us have discarded our resolutions, because why bother? If you are plagued by self sabotage, keep putting things off, need a mental shift, to help you refocus, the posts I have planned for the rest of the month, will push you to do just that. 

To Your Success,
Juan

Fix Your Focus

Once Upon a Line, , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you constantly wishing you had more time? Truth is, you probably have plenty of it. You’re just not focused, and not using your time wisely. Everyone receives 24 hours each day. There’s a reason why some people accomplish much more than others.

Reasons you never have enough time, and how to free it up

You fail to prioritize. What’s the most important activity you must do in order for you to accomplish your objective? If you’re not asking yourself this question regularly, you’re not getting the most bang for your time and effort. It’s easy to stay busy and accomplish very little. Once you decide what is important, the next question is “ “What is the best way to accomplish it?”
You waste it. This could be due to procrastination, and inefficient work habits. Make the choice to avoid wasting time, period.
You’re disorganized. When you’re not organized, everything takes longer than it should. You spend valuable time looking for a pair of clean socks, car keys, searching for computer files, trying to pull things off at the last minute.
Disorganized people never seem to have enough time, they’re frequently late with their work. There are countless resources available (apps, calendars, dropbox, project management software, etc.). Use them.
You have too many distractions in your life. Social media interactions, TV, needlepoint, your baseball card collection, noisy kids, clutter, or your prize-winning rose bushes. Remove unnecessary things and schedule. Minimize the distractions you can’t remove!
You don’t start your day early enough. Most of us do little in the evening. Often, we ly around the house, crawl social media etc. Many highly successful people skip these hours, by going to bed and waking up extra early. Your brain tends to shut down by the late afternoon, whether you started your day at 9:00AM or 5:00AM. Give yourself a few extra productive hours, by getting up early and going to bed early.
Failing to keep track of your time. Track how you spend your time every day. Switch tasks when appropriate so everything receives the attention it requires. Keep a simple journal. Make a record of how you spend each hour.
You don’t have a plan for the day. Your days shouldn’t be random or determined on the fly. Plan the next day before going to bed. Spend your day executing the plan as much as possible.
You’re not focused. We’ve been told to “focus” or “concentrate” since kindergarten. Too bad the education system never taught us how. If we sit down to work on something for an hour, how many minutes is our attention truly focused on the task? We probably have plenty of time to accomplish our daily tasks, if we focus. Practice meditation. Practice focusing. Every change we desire takes time. Be patient with your setbacks and failures.

Make the most of your time by prioritizing, removing distractions, and learning how to focus. You have all the time you need if you’re willing to make the necessary adjustments to yourself and your life. You have 24 hours each day. What will you have to show for tomorrow?

Until the next post,

Juan