How to Squeeze the
Most Out of Your Time
By: Brian
Tracy
How do you start
your day? Years ago I started planning mine by writing everything
down I would have to do, the night before. I found that drawing
up your list the night before prompts your subconscious to work
on your plans and goals while you sleep. When you wake up, you feel
ready to tackle your challenges.
When prioritizing
and planning your time, consider the following points:
•
Key questions.
What is the highest value-added action I can do? What can I and
only I do that I've done well before to make a difference? Why am
I on the payroll? The answers to these questions help identify all
that needs to be done and in what order. That, in turn, will bolster
personal productivity.
•
Values.
Decide what's important to you, and in what order. Make sure your
values don't conflict with work. Energy spent worrying diminishes
your abilities.
•
Consequences.
Every action has consequences - good and bad. Consider what rewards
you'd reap by completing a task. Then, compare those rewards with
the consequences of putting it aside. This process makes it easier
to see which goals have a higher value.
•
The Pareto Principle.
Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century engineer, argued that 20% of what
you do accounts for 80% of the value. When considering the importance
of a task, ask yourself whether it's among the 20% that creates
the most value.
•
Urgency vs. Importance.
An unexpected phone call or a drop-in visitor may be urgent, but
the consequences of dealing with either may not be important in
the long run. The urgent is other-oriented, it's caused by someone
else. Important things are self-directed and have the greatest value
for you.
•
The Limiting Step.
Standing between you and what you want to achieve is the limiting
step. That's the bottleneck that determines how quickly you can
reach your goal. It's important to identify that step and focus
single-mindedly on getting that one thing done.
•
A Written Plan.
Lists of goals, tasks and objectives are of no help unless they're
written. Putting your plans on paper makes a seemingly elusive goal
more concrete. There's a connection that takes place between the
brain and the hand. When you don't write it down, it's fuzzy, but
as you write it and revise it, it becomes clear.
•
Visualization.
See yourself doing what you need to get done. Visualization trains
the subconscious to focus on completing tasks. Say, for example,
that you want to begin each morning by exercising. Visualizing yourself
doing sit-ups and push-ups the night before conditions the mind
to do those the next day. When you prime you mind, it wakes you
up even before the alarm clock goes off.
Remember you
are a winner and preparation goes a long way in helping you achieve
all your goals.
About
Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy is a leading authority on personal and
business success. As Chairman and CEO of Brian
Tracy International, he is the best-selling author of 17 books
and over 300 audio and video learning programs.
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Tracy International. All Rights Reserved.
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