People are controlled by their sense of time. You have breakfast at 7, lunch at 12, and dinner at 8. You take your break 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 in the afternoon. You wake up at 6 to catch the bus by 6:30 while grabbing a bagel to the office. You pay your bills every 5th of the month and have your hair cut and foot spa every other Saturday at 3 in the afternoon. It is too stressful to even think that people nowadays act like robots. They don’t even need planners anymore. But have we given some thoughts on what transpires in the middle of these schedules? So unless you are some sort of robot that is operated by a giant monkey, you better listen up because you know your boss will definitely love it. Or if you are your own boss, then you will love it, and your bank account will be grateful, too!
1. Wake up earlier than usual.
Time is one of the few things in life that people in all walks of life have the same amount of. Whether you are Warren Buffet or someone from Haiti, Angelina Jolie or a newbie writer, a child or a senior citizen, a prisoner or a construction worker, we all have the same 24-hour clock ticking everyday. The only question is how well do you utilize your 24 hours. No amount of coffee and buzz-inducing drink will make it any longer. Remember! achieving success is all about effective time management.
So if you are waking up at 7, try waking up at 6 in order to have a longer lead-time for your activities. How many times should we mention that your daily productivity have a direct impact on your productivity tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year – hence, the domino effect.
Remember, the early bird catches the worm.
2. Prioritize and get organized in every aspect of your life
Remember that your personal life affects your work and how you deal with other people. You can’t lock your woes out and tell them to stay there while you are doing your business.
Is this really the type of job that you enjoy doing, or are you staying just because of convenience? Don’t you think it is so much better and so much easier to do you’ve always dream of doing? While this is ideal and easier said than done, deciding things because you want them instead of thinking what others would want you to choose would greatly improve your habits. This is about your life, not theirs.
3. Schedule your work.
Try thinking about the things that needs to be done while on the shower. Thinking while doing mundane stuff like having a shower, doing the laundry or the dishes, while on the subway or on the line at Starbucks will help you maximize your time and let you schedule the things that need to be done.
4. Focus, Actually get things done.
No amount of planning and thinking can suffice a lazy ass. Remember in fourth grade when teacher assigns each student to bring one material for a class project and then Liza forgot to bring glue? How could you put together those Popsicle sticks without glue? Everybody ignored her during recess, right? But you’re no longer in fourth grade. You’re on your own now.
Hold on! I know you’re shuffling PTA meetings, month-end reports, tennis league championships, and the 2,785 other duties of being a mom or a dad but I invite your attention to the two most recent items: prioritize and schedule. And see to it that when you schedule, you actually do what you are supposed to do. Try not browsing the latest collection of Zara on your way to the bank. Or minimize chatting with your office mate. These are little things that when added up, amount to a time you can allot for some R & R with your partner, or a 30-minute foot spa to reward yourself.
Just because you are in the office for 8 hours doesn’t mean you are actually doing an 8-hours worth of job. Work effectively and efficiently by getting more things done with lesser time. Get the Help of latest Information Technology devices to help you organize yourself.
One of the things Gretchen Rubin taught in her book called The Happiness Project is to not postponing things. She said that if a task will only take you a minute to do, then you should not postpone it. Sorting files, responding to important emails, taking the trash out, or returning a book to the shelf — these are examples of things that will only take you a minute to do, but if not done, will pile up at the end of the day. Consider doing this and you will relieve yourself of some menial tasks you worry of doing before going to bed. And trust me, you will have a better sleep or have a stress-free morning after at the very least.
5. Stop telling yourself that there will always be tomorrow.
Remember this saying:
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
E-mail system has been down, neighbor chatted with you longer than usual, Starbucks has an ongoing promo you can’t miss, and the list goes on! Nothing will change unless you change something and this is a good starting point. It is not yet too late to change your habits. You might as well start now and start actually living now.
