Finding time for what matters most is a matter of making productive time choices that are congruent with your values.
Sticking to those time choices is a matter of prioritizing, setting time boundaries, and of self-discipline.
Sound simple? In some senses, it is.
Planning and Productive Time Choices
For moving forward on your goals, having a plan is key. Also key to using your time well is implementing your plans as efficiently as possible and sticking with them over time.
As with so many things in life, it’s in the implementation that the challenges can get really interesting … and really personal!
For example, there are lots and lots of “productivity systems” available (my Google search just now came up with 16,900,000 results). How do you find the one that’s best for you? How do you not get so caught up in the thousands of options that you leave yourself paralyzed?
Know Thyself
In an excellent post on GTD Times, Mike Vardy offers some sound advice about overcoming The First Big Productivity Hurdle. His suggestion?
“Know your habits, your strengths, and your weaknesses. The more you know how you’ll handle working towards a more productive lifestyle, the easier the hurdle will become.”
An honest self-assessment will lead you toward choices that will actually work for you – as opposed to choices that you think “should” work. Choices based on a “should” will peter out eventually, and you’ll be back to square one – and likely feelings frustrated and discouraged.
Being and Doing
Whatever you are doing, it’s important to remember that you are a being – and your being affects what you do and how you do it best. You will be well served by using “Know thyself,” as a guiding principle as you sort through your choices – be they about productivity systems or time priorities – or just about anything else, for that matter!
You are the base, and the better you know yourself, the more solid your base will be.
How do you make your time choices now? Have you explored productivity systems? Were you able to follow through on your choices? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
And for more help…
What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!
Let’s explore time together …
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