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.
best value cleaning service Northbrook ...Work life balance is the new Holy Grail; that search... Read More
We don't realize many things we do until we draw... Read More
In working with and coaching people across the country, one... Read More
We are constantly inundated with routine (often boring!) tasks around... Read More
?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me... Read More
Whatever providence has in store for us tomorrow is not... Read More
Your productivity depends on good tools and effective environments, and... Read More
Your time and energy are the two most precious gifts... Read More
This is one more article on "Organizing and Enjoying Your... Read More
Do you wish you could work less and play more?... Read More
This may not sound like a big deal. But it's... Read More
As each day passes, and more and more things need... Read More
Friends, colleagues, and clients are all telling me that one... Read More
Time is money in your online business, just as in... Read More
If you have ever missed an appointment, forgotten to pick... Read More
Many people want to be coached to manage their time... Read More
Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase... Read More
In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task... Read More
Would you like to know how to get 10 times... Read More
Everyday life can present us with opportunities to make us... Read More
If you have spent any time at all working at... Read More
Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More
"Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the... Read More
One of the biggest problems most people have when it... Read More
The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More
one time home cleaning Buffalo Grove ...Our daily lives are inundated with a crammed to-do list.... Read More
I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a... Read More
Many of the world's most driven and successful people sleep... Read More
1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More
You can lose, damage or waste some things in life,... Read More
It's amazing how many sayings there are in our culture... Read More
As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More
Almost everyone in business knows the balancing act between the... Read More
Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More
I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates... Read More
Frustration is when an obstacle blocks your ability to achieve... Read More
Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that... Read More
Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More
* spreading yourself too thinTaking on too many things at... Read More
There is no such thing as time management. You cannot... Read More
Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality... Read More
Many people want to be coached to manage their time... Read More
Handle small emergencies fast: When a small emergency does pop... Read More
A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More
One of the most challenging situations people face when planning... Read More
Any habit of mind or body that interferes with taking... Read More
Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More
Sounds too good to be true?It really isn't!In fact, studies... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
When is the best time to plan your day? Well,... Read More
Time Management |