Most of us have a to-do list ? some of us have a very long one! While a to-do list is a valuable tool to help us stay on track for the urgent tasks of the day (and while there are many ways to improve your production and use of this list), that isn't the focus of this article.
This article isn't about managing your time. It is about taking the limited time resources we have and determining how to leverage that time for greater results in our lives. When we use a lever we use specific, correct actions to create great results. That is what we all want to do with our time --find the activities that will create greater results -- personal, professional, business, financial, or others in our lives.
To use this lever we have to go beyond our daily to-do list. This lever will require 30 or preferably 60 minutes of your time each day. Considering the returns (leverage) you will get on this investment, it will be time well spent.
Exercise. We all know it is important for our health. Exercise, whether it is walking, running, weights, or some other regimen, makes us more fit, creates energy, gives us time to be with our thoughts, and releases valuable enzymes into our bloodstream. This is a highly leveraged activity. We all know its benefits, but do we do it?
Engage in your hobby. Hobbies are opportunities to learn. They keep our minds, and in many cases our bodies, active. Hobbies allow us to divert our attention from the workings of our day and allow us practice focus on a single task. Most of all, hobbies create joy. Do you have a hobby that could be your greatest time lever?
Develop a new skill. Learn how to juggle. Play a new game. Pick up a musical instrument. Or paint landscapes. Perhaps this skill is related to your hobby (or will become your hobby), or is work related, it doesn't matter. Developing new skills keeps us learning, keeps our minds active and allows us to learn other things faster. What you learn about yourself and how to learn better is the great by-product of this activity.
Work on a goal. Do your short or long term goals get enough attention on your to-do list each day? How much progress would you make towards any goal in your life if you spent 30 ? 60 minutes on it each day? Invest the time, and see the power of leverage in action.
Read. Read for learning or read for pleasure. Read relating to your hobby, or your goal. Just read. Reading will provide opportunities to learn and see things in a new light. Reading keeps your mind active. Reading gives you new ideas and information to when solving problems. Reading gives your subconscious mind time to relax while you engage in a useful and enjoyable activity.
Think and write. Many of us don't take time to think. To think about our values, our beliefs, the challenges we face, the events of our day, or just to think.. Take time to reflect on your behavior, your results, your challenges ? take time to think so that you can go through your day in a more proactive, thought-filled way. Consider using a journal or your computer as a way to stimulate and help your thinking. What you write may be designed to be shared, or just designed for you. Thinking and writing go hand in hand. If no one ever reads what you write, the process of writing has clarified and strengthened your thinking.
Be present with your family or friends. This doesn't mean sitting in the same room watching television (or at least not only this!). Listen to them. Learn about their day. Show your caring through your actions. Use this time to get out of yourself and into the lives of others you care about.
Each of the suggestions above can be a lever to catapult us forward. Each will help you think clearer, plan better, learn more, create energy and generate greater focus. These are the reasons they are such highly leveraged activities!
You may be reading and saying, I wish I could do all of those things each day ? but that would be seven hours a day ? I wouldn't get anything else done! Drop that thought and focus. Let your intuition guide you to the one or two of these that you will do each day, or alternate days, that will have the greatest impact for you. Don't let the fact that you can't do them all keep you from doing the one or two that will be the greatest lever for you.
These are powerful levers to help you achieve greater joy satisfaction and results in your life. I wish you great success in applying them ? starting today.
Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://kevineikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Kevin publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques and inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to http://kevineikenberry.com to learn more and subscribe.
taxi o'hare Wisconsin Dells ..Zak is my three-year old godson. He is the apple... Read More
When a good friend asked me to contribute a little... Read More
When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More
I've divided my tips into two sections - 5 ways... Read More
Many of us get so caught up in day-to-day pressures... Read More
A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More
If you have spent any time at all working at... Read More
If you work from home, you know the kind of... Read More
Does choosing which time we do an activity really make... Read More
Of all the Attraction Principles, the most popular class I... Read More
What does it mean to practice self care? It's creating... Read More
As each day passes, and more and more things need... Read More
Whenever you have projects that can't be done in one... Read More
My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More
Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can... Read More
Here's some time management tips to try:1) Set strict office... Read More
Time is inelastic. Despite what some of us persist in... Read More
Riding the subway home yesterday, my typically silent car was... Read More
How often have you tried to manage your time in... Read More
Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More
Recently I was working with a new client who had... Read More
I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a... Read More
I used to think video game addictions were a joke... Read More
This may not sound like a big deal. But it's... Read More
As a professional organizer, consultant and trainer, I have come... Read More
bmw rental chicago Ackley ..TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind... Read More
As the song goes, this is the time to relax,... Read More
You can lose, damage or waste some things in life,... Read More
One of the most common complaints that small business owners... Read More
The biggest time management mistake you can ever make is... Read More
Today, it is hard to open an e-mail newsletter, a... Read More
Want to improve your time management?Edward W. Smith, motivational speaker,... Read More
This may not sound like a big deal. But it's... Read More
Q. I have several projects going at once -- but... Read More
Many of the clients I work with in success coaching... Read More
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is... Read More
I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More
If you can motivate yourself at will to get any... Read More
Do you believe that the best way to deal with... Read More
We don't realize many things we do until we draw... Read More
Does it seem like there is never enough time in... Read More
It's amazing how many sayings there are in our culture... Read More
The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More
How you spend the first sixty minutes of your day... Read More
Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can... Read More
As mothers we play so many different roles and most... Read More
My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More
If you have ever missed an appointment, forgotten to pick... Read More
How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More
Time and money are both very important in business. Yet,... Read More
Time Management |