Too Busy, So Was I...

The Power of Time-blocking and How Your Calendar Reflects Your Values.

Thank you to each of you who invest your time and efforts toward growing yourself and the people around you. Time is definite, but your impact can be infinite. - Coach Jay

“Either run the day or the day runs you."- Jim Rohn

CUT THE EXCUSES

Ever caught yourself saying out loud, "I wish I had an extra hour in my day," or "wow, where did the time go?" Me too, guilty. It seems as if these cliched quotes have tarnished our ability to see the true value of time. They simply slip off our tongue when we miss a deadline, or miss making it home for the family dinner. But, these clichés take on a different tone when going through a divorce or death of a loved one. Oh, how the value of a second can dramatically increase...

During my early entrepreneur years I'd work every second I possibly could, each day of the week included. I'd bring the family into the office on the weekends just so we could be under the same roof for more than just sleep. I thought that in any moment, I could lose everything, not truly understanding what "everything" really meant.

THE MIRAGE

At the time, I'd convinced myself that I was a good husband, dad, and a friend, so my sole focus was on growing my business. I'd look forward to my weekly meetings with my business mentor, Tim, to show him my progress and gain his strategic insight. Little did I know how valuable the time he invested in me would become.

During one of our mentor meetings, Tim reviewed my calendar, skimming across all of the meetings I was so proud to show I'd kept. But, Tim's face looked more perplexed than I had expected. He looked me straight in the eye and in that tone of voice that no student wants to hear from someone they look up to, said something I'd never forget, "your schedule reflects your values." Tim highlighted everything that contradicted my original beliefs, no family time, no time blocked off for friends, and zero time even for myself. Naturally, I was defensive and had every excuse, but deep down knew that Tim was right. My schedule reflected all of the values I didn't want. I didn't prioritize the people or things that were important to me. The 30lbs I'd gained from not taking care of myself acted as physical proof.

TACTICS & COMPOUNDING RESULTS

Creating my own "Ideal Calendar" was one solution that Tim offered. So, I pre-blocked off time on my schedule for family dinners, time to work out and so forth. I felt extremely accomplished after completing the task and followed through with it...for the most part.

I found that sometimes things just happen. I was out of town during certain weeks, or sometimes appointments just ran longer than expected, but this wasn't the point. For each time I kept at least 1 dinner, it was 1 more dinner than I had before. Simple math shows that if I averaged only 2 kept dinners per week out of an entire year, I'd gain more than 100 extra times at the table with the people I cared about. This math made sense to me.

But what about the business? Efficiency is fundamental. We've all heard that "working smarter, not harder," saying. This may not be new to you but, "working on your business, not just in your business," takes on the very same concept.

Invest in learning from others. The books, The One Thing, by Gary Keller and The 12 Week Year, by Brian P. Moran, give some great pointers on how to simplify the way you manage your time.

You'll find that some of the material needs to be adjusted, but I'd encourage you to tailor their tactics to you. Use the same simple math I mentioned above, even if it's 10 minutes per day invested in yourself, your business, and your goals, you'll have invested 60 hours over the year in simply getting better!

Stop with the excuses and wishing you could get that extra bit of time, you already have it.

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now." - Chinese Proverb

SO NOW WHAT!?

Implement and Adapt

Disclosure: Tactics towards development are always temporary. However, doing nothing does nothing, duh. You will fail repeatedly, try again anyways!!!

Things pop up and circumstances will change, therefore, adapt!

Will Smith's Goalcast video perfectly describes how we should shift our perception of failure. The video is less than 2 minutes long, invest the time here: https://www.investexcellence.com/videos