It’s important to determine and discuss the timeframe. In time management, short out‐of‐balance time periods likely won’t hurt your health or relationships. And at the end of the out‐of‐balance time period, offer a reward that’s shared by all: a reward that your family or friends can experience together. Discuss the reward and come to a consensus so everyone benefits, not just yourself or your business.
Streamlining interactions with co‐workers and customers
Most people find themselves in a work environment in which they regularly interact with others, whether co‐workers, business associations, or customers. The workday is rife with opportunities for interruption, distraction, and time‐wasting. In addition to the phone calls and cubicle pop‐ins, you have business appointments, associates who keep you waiting, or meetings that are unfocused and poorly run.
Maintaining control of your time at work requires you to develop some ways to manage meetings, appointments, and other work interactions so they’re as efficient and productive as possible. Whether you initiate the interaction or you’re merely a participant, you can have some control over the meeting.
Because of my background, I tend to have a soft spot for sales. If you’re in sales or a customer service capacity, in such positions, taking control of your time is a little more challenging. To make the sale, you want to take as much time as your prospect wants. And when addressing a service issue, your most important objective is to make the customer happy. But you can be successful in sales and serve your clients well and still keep control of your time. In fact, in Chapter 20, I show you how to speed up the decision‐making process during sales so you get a positive answer sooner.
According to Earl Nightingale, the dean of the personal development industry, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or worthy ideal.” His definition doesn’t confine achievement to a fixed point but instead presents success as a journey. Like most goals, mastering your time‐management skills isn’t something that happens overnight.
Take motivation to the next level by involving others in the reward. Let your spouse know that an evening out awaits if you fulfill your week’s goals before deadline. Tell the kids that if you spend the next couple of evenings at the office, you can all head for the amusement park on Saturday. I guarantee this strategy is a sure‐fire way to supercharge your motivation.
As you work through this difficult but worthy bout of self‐improvement, keep your mind on the positive side and remember two simple truths:
✓ You’re human.
✓ Work always expands to fill the time you allow for it.
No matter how productive I am, whether I have just a couple things to accomplish or a sky‐high pile on my desk, and whether I leave work on time or stay late, there’s always something that doesn’t get done. So I don’t get hung up on those things I don’t accomplish – I just keep my eyes on the goal, prioritize accordingly, delegate what I can, and protect my boundaries carefully so I take on only as much as I know I can handle while still remaining satisfied with all parts of my life. When you start to get frustrated about the never‐ending flow of work that comes your way, remind yourself that you’re blessed with more opportunities than time – and that’s not a bad place to be.
Chapter 3
Linking Time Management to Life Goals
In This Chapter
Today, more than at any time in history, you have limitless opportunities, especially if you’re living in the United States. However, having so many choices can lead to confusion, distraction, and wasted time. Achievement in anything in life takes focus, diligence, and patience. So the question arises: Can getting a handle on your most precious lifelong dreams and desires help you get more done on a day‐to‐day basis? Absolutely! Say, for example, you and your spouse have always dreamed of taking six months to travel the world while you’re still young enough to hoist a backpack. Such a focus may motivate you to put in extra hours or accelerate your sales quotas at work to build up the necessary funds and time for that adventure.
Even long‐range goals can shape the way you use your time in the here and now. Suppose your goal is to retire to a modest cabin in the Smoky Mountains and spend the rest of your life writing the Great American Novel. Even if that goal is 30 years away, your priority now is more likely to be on investing your income and perhaps taking some writing courses rather than on building a 4,200‐square‐foot home and learning to ski – or it should be, anyway, because the preparations you need to make first and foremost are the ones that’ll enable you to build that cabin and have the money and time to write.
Everyone has dreams and goals for the future. But in order to accomplish more in less time, to create a sense of urgency and command efficiency, having a clear sense of goals and purpose is critical. In this chapter, I guide you in the process of committing your goals to paper; categorizing, balancing, and breaking them down into manageable chunks; and allowing that powerful action to spur your productivity.
Some studies calculate that only about 3 percent of goal‐setters document their aspirations. And I can assure you that these folks are the ones who have the most money, influence, power, prestige, freedom, and time to work toward their dreams. Why? Because, as numerous studies suggest, people who clearly define and write down their goals are more likely to accomplish them – and in a shorter time frame and more direct fashion. People who don’t clarify and write out their goals invest more time and accomplish less.
When you take the time to write down your goals, you clarify them and sharpen your vision for attaining them, which allows you to do the following:
✓ Take control of your life. By identifying what’s most important to you and putting it on paper, you tell your brain that this isn’t a dream to be ignored as a hope‐to, wish‐to, or would‐like‐to. It’s really something for which you’re willing to invest time, effort, energy, and emotion.
✓ Map out the most direct route to achievement. When you put your goals in writing, you’re setting your sights on the destination before you begin. Your life goals become the framework for how you prioritize and manage your time. You begin the process of planning and strategizing about the steps you can take to achieve that goal. Your brain starts to look for the best, most direct route and the route with the lowest time investment.
✓ Limit detours. Ever hear the saying “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”? Problem is, if you head off on just