HAVING ENOUGH TIME

“I don’t have enough time.”
Think about that statement for a second. How often do you say it? How many times a week or even each day?

There is no bigger killer of dreams than those five words.

But have you ever noticed that the busiest and most accomplished people never seem to say them? The CEO always has time for that last minute event. Richard Branson does not have more than 24hrs in a day and still he seems to launch business after business and still have time for supporting charitable causes and more. The list goes on.
But what set’s them apart?

They have a strategy. Most of us don’t.

There’s only one real reason why the big-time successful people seem to get so many of the important things done – and still have time left over. It’s not because they were born with something special or only sleep three hours a night. They simply have found a strategy that works. And they execute on it continuously.

Most people go into the week with little idea of how they see their days unfolding. If they do any planning, they write a jumbled list of tasks. Without a process for doing what matters, on a daily and hourly basis, you are not likely to succeed.

The good news is that with the right process, it’s very possible. But you need a process that gets results. So here is one you can start using today;

1. Make Time and establish a routine. 1 hr each week is all you need but you need to do it every week.
2. Connect and visualise your big picture. This helps you focus on what is really important.
3. Celebrate last week. Think of everything that went well, even the small things.
4. Write down major lessons and learn from them.
5. Analyse what didn’t happen and try to understand why, maybe there are some themes in there?
6. Clarify and commit to your biggest outcomes, what are really the most important things you need to get done.
7. Schedule everything, make sure to book the time in your diary to get it done.
 
How to not fail at weekly planning – a few tips:

• Everything takes longer than we think.
• Leave windows of “buffer time”.
• Know you won’t get it all done.
• Schedule the most important things early in the week.

Everyone has enough time.
There is a reason why the people who get the most done tend to continue to be able to do more and more of what matters. Many of them also tend to love the work they do.
None of this is a coincidence.
 They traded excuses for a process that gets results.
 Whether you use this process or any other – please just use something. There is no excuse for showing up underprepared. If it’s in your control, then it’s time to start controlling it. Trust me, you have enough time to do the things that matter. We all do.
 The only question left is how are you going to spend it? 

For more detail on how to use this weekly planning process download the full article here