Jeff Bezos, Michael Jordan, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and you. What do you all have in common? Everyone has just 24 hours in a day. Whether you are already the most successful person in your field or you are just on the first steps of becoming dominate in your world, the day only lasts so long for each person.
The key to having an effective day is hidden in the seemingly small increments of time wasted on social media, watching Netflix, and of course, sleeping when its not needed. We’re here to cure the common cases of time wasting, laziness, and the occasional procrastinating.
The importance of planning and prioritizing
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a bunch of tasks you have on your “to do” list, and does not even know where to start? Dean Graziosi says: “Being busy is not the same as being productive.” Here’s where time management and prioritization play a big role in determining your level of success. If you do not design your schedule in advance, something or someone else will, and you will find yourself caught up in the hypnotic rhythm of the day to day life. This is truly the importance of time management and prioritization, to be able to design your schedule based on the results you want. If you choose not to design and plan your schedule, your results will be left to pure chance, or luck. Paul J. Meyer said: “Productivity is NEVER an accident. It is ALWAYS the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”
Do you really want to leave your success to chance? If you are reading this, I am sure the answer is no. If you are here reading this is because you are searching for ways to become better at planning and scheduling, which means you are on the right track for success.
This is what planning and scheduling habits will do for you:
Increases significantly your chances of success
In order to achieve the level of success you truly want, you must have goals and a strategic plan to achieve these goals. Prioritization of tasks helps you identify which are those tasks or activities that are key in the achievement of those goals. This is the strategic part of your plan, the one that will provide you a sense of direction. Once priorities are identified, they must be scheduled for execution taking into consideration their due dates and the needed time to complete them. Now comes the tactical part of the game, in which you use your execution plan, or schedule, and you mix it with consistency, dedication, and discipline, and you take massive action and execute your scheduled tasks. This is what sets you up for success in any area of life.
Increases your confidence levels and reduces stress
Stress and anxiety are the result of the feeling of not having control over a certain outcome or situation. Planning and scheduling gives you back this sense of control over you goals and tasks, thus, reducing your stress and anxiety levels and at the same time increasing dramatically your confidence and sense of certainty. As a result of all this, your overall performance and productivity levels increase.
Improves your quality of life
Work to life balance is a key factor to have outstanding levels of mental and physical health. Once you gain back your sense of control over your time and tasks, you will notice that you have more time available. You can use this time to invest it in those aspects of your personal life that matters the most to you. When you make the decision to invest time in yourself and on the things that you value, you will notice an improvement in your overall happiness and fulfillment. You could even use this time to contribute and help others, and this is where the real joy and fulfillment is, in giving and sharing with others that of which you have.
Now that we have discussed some of the benefits of time management and prioritization, let’s dig into some tips to make this path easier.
Plan your work in advance
Jim Rohn said:
“Don’t start your day until you have it finished. Don’t start your week until you have it finished. Don’t start you month until you have it finished.”
In other words, plan your work in advance. This will give you a crazy unfair advantage. Make the habit of planning your tasks and your schedule for the week prior to the start of the week. You can then go into the details of each day of the week.
Establish Routines
A routine is one of the hidden keys to success. Each successful person knows exactly what the first hour or so of their day looks like. When you can control the controllables, like the first hour of your day, it’s easy to dominate the rest of the day. Life is 90% what happens to you and 10% how you respond to it. It’s important to make sure that you know that you can control parts of your day, and thats when you are able to set the tone each and every day.
When it’s time to put your head down and work, you need to have some sort of routine, and you need to mix that with dedication and discipline. If you have your own methods that work for you, let everyone know in the comments below! If theres a topic you want covered, let us know in the comments too.
Set Time Limits
One of the biggest things that will waste our time during the day or weeks is spreading a small task out too long. Whether its cleaning off the counter top or writing your performance review for your employees, don’t let it take longer than needed. Focus on that task and don’t let others bleed into it.
If you set an hour for a task that takes 50 minutes, you won’t let yourself spend more than a couple of minutes on the task at hand. This is the easiest way to limit distractions while getting some work done.
The Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a decision making tool designed to help you to prioritize your tasks. At the start of every day, take a few minutes and plan out your day using the Eisenhower Matrix. This exercise forces you to know what is important to you, what is considered urgent that day, and what needs to either be pushed to the side or delegated.
If you finish everything on your list by noon that day, that doesn’t mean your work day is over. Sit down and plan it out again. If you can’t find anything that is both urgent and important to you for the rest of the day, this means that you might’ve earned yourself a much needed break from work to spend some time with your loved ones. If you want to learn more about the Eisenhower Matrix and how to integrate it to your planning activities click on the link below and get a free copy of the GamePlan Productivity Framework.
GamePlan Productivity Framework
Use App Settings
When you’re first getting started on the path of not being a procrastinator, its okay to set very simple rules. If you spend 90 minutes on Instagram a day, its going to take some adjusting to get off of it. If you work and network on the app, you can’t delete it. So set a time limit on the app for an hour a day. This will force you to get rid of the unneeded scrolling and will leave you with just enough time to get your work done that you need to.
Another thing that helps is keeping track of your screen time. It’s no secret that some of the most wasted time in the day is coming from our smart phones, so being cautious of what we’re doing on the them will be key for each of us going forward.
Delete Media Off Your Phone
Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video have no reason to be on your personal cell phone. If you are going to spend some free time catching up on your favorite show, set time out for that on your couch when the time is right. Its so easy to find yourself waiting 15 minutes for an appointment and pull out your favorite show. You could be using this time getting your presentation ready, setting your mind right, or even reading/listening to your new self-help book. All time that is wasted is never going to be given back. Don’t let 15 minutes of your show distract you from your goals at hand.
Create Personal Time-Bound Goals
This doesn’t have to apply to your grand plan goals, but coming up with a few goals as far as time management goes can be beneficial for you. Using the Game Plan app, writing it down, or even telling people close to you your personal goals when it comes to time management can be important to your personal growth and development.
A good example would be to write “I want to spend only 40 minutes a day on social media, and it has to be below that number by Monday the 8th.” Its time-bound, its specific, and its something that I can measure without spending too much time to make sure I’m doing it the right way.
Use a Stopwatch
This one is a little more unorthodox than most of the other methods, but it is a very easy and smart way to keep track of how much time you are spending on your work. If you are going to sit down at the desk all day and your goal is to get some typing done, use a stopwatch around your neck. Anytime that you aren’t actively working, press stop. If you need to go to the restroom, press stop. At the end of your workday, look at your watch. Odds are that you will be surprised by the lack of time on there
Set a goal that by the next week or so, you need to either double it or add a couple of hours to it. It’s simple to keep track of and a fun game to play to keep you productive throughout the day.