Take Back YOUR Time

I often hear from my clients and friends that they never have enough time in their day to do the things they need, never mind the things they really want. I hear them complain (and with good reason) that they feel like they are running in a million different directions, doing a thousand things at once, but never feeling like they are accomplishing anything.

If you can relate then I promise you, you aren’t alone.

As a new business owner and mother I often found myself running around crazy trying to be in way too many places all at once. I found that I never had enough time to complete my entire to-do list, and I always felt like I didn’t get enough things done. I would get the kids off to school, send a few emails, make client calls, do some laundry, wash the dishes, do another client call, send another email, write a blog, check FB, send another email and before I knew it, it was time to pick up kids. (Exhausting just reading that right?)

My evening would continue in the same fashion and I’d fall into bed at night trying to remember exactly what I did and what was still left for tomorrow. I felt like I couldn’t do anything till I made sure all of my work for my business was done, and I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that I never got it all done.

I missed events with friends, stopped doing the things I loved, and always felt like I was never finding the end of my list.

Often times we find ourselves as entrepreneurs and business owners stuck with too many things going on, and never enough time to finish them all. Just running day to day operations in a business is enough, never mind all the additional things that are taken on with clients, associates, projects, and personal life.

When you begin to do too many things you start to fall behind in your day, then your week, and you start to feel like you can never catch-up. It begins to feel like your life is controlling you and not the other way around.

It took me feeling totally stressed out and realizing how unhappy I was before I decided to do something about it. I wasn’t a novice at this. I had LEFT my 9-5 (or rather 6:30 am – 6:30 pm) job for this exact same reason. I hadn’t been happy and I hadn’t been doing what I wanted. Then there I was, I had gotten myself right back into the same situation.

I knew that I WANTED to be happy.

I knew that I had the POWER to change how my life was.

I knew that I desperately NEEDED a change immediately.

I knew that life was WAY TO SHORT to live any other way.

Once I got clear on wanting things to be different I was able to take back my time and begin to control my life and so can you.

Here is a few things you can do to take back your day!

Stop the Distractions

One of the biggest problems you can face in your day is the hundreds of distractions that creep into every single moment. From FB browsing and phone notifications, to the dog who lays at your feet in your office barking at the leaves blowing by (my dog barks at everything). There is a never ending stream of distractions taking your attention away from what you need to be doing and focusing it on the things that can wait.

Now you might be saying that replying to a FB message, answering an email, or letting the dog out 5 times in the morning isn’t causing you to lose that much valuable time. What you might not realize is that a little bit of time here, 5 minutes there, all adds up to a LOT of wasted time.

Now I don’t  know about you, but to me every minute is extremely valuable. If I can save 10 minutes in one area, that will give me 10 minutes to sneak in a morning yoga video, or a much need call to my best friend.

But something is only a distraction if you let it be. Don’t let these things get in your way. Turn off your notifications and silence your phone when you need to focus. Log-out of your social media and have set times during the day that you check it. Put soft music on so the dogs don’t hear the crickets chirping and go crazy. Set a timer if there is some place you need to be so you can stop constantly checking the clock. There is always something you can do to limit your distractions.

Have a clearly directed action plan.

I know when I start my day with no direction, that’s exactly what I find, no direction at all. I will jump from one thing to the other and my focus will never be where it needs to be. I’ll start a project only to remember that I wanted to get something else done and then jump over to that.

When you’re able to begin your day with a clearly defined purpose and plan you will be able to get working fast and be much more productive.

Something that will help you is to set 3 goals for yourself for your day. When you focus your attention on completing three important goals then you have a direction and an end result. You know exactly what needs to be done, and a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when you’ve completed them.

However, having three goals isn’t enough to keep you moving forward. You also need to create a schedule for your day with times and activities clearly defined. Write down what you are going to do, when you are going to do it, and how long it will take.

Be exact and stick to your schedule. This will help minimize distractions and keep your attention on completing the things you need so that at the end of your day you’ll have something substantial to show for your time and energy, and you’ll be able to walk away from your desk and be fully present in your personal life.

Get crystal clear on what’s important.

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things I use to say was “Sure, yes, I can do that.” And don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t saying it just to make the other person happy. More often then not, I really want to do what they are asking of me.

What I very quickly discovered was that I was doing way more then I wanted or had the ability to complete.

You have 24 hours in your day just like everyone else. What you do with those 24 hours is completely up to you. If there is something that you don’t want to do then DON’T DO IT. It’s as easy as that. There should never be anyone holding you to doing something you don’t want to do. (If there is, then that’s a whole other topic we can talk about.)

When you have total control of your life and the choices you make then you also have to be good with the consequences and outcome that follows those choices.

• If you don’t want pay your bills then you need to be good with bad credit and possibly no lights.
• If you don’t want to write your blog or reply to emails, then you have to be comfortable with possibly not connecting to the people you should.
• If you don’t want to do the laundry or dishes every time something needs cleaning then you have to be good with not having a perfect looking house. (I’m good without perfection.)
• If you say yes to speaking at an event, then you need to approach that event with positivity, confidence and a desire to create what you are intending to with your message and your presence.
• If you say yes to a project then be sure to move other things around if needed so you have the ability to complete it when and how it’s do.

Every decision you make has the ability to shape your day, your week and your life. Get clear on what is important to you. Get clear on what you want to create. And get clear on what you want to unfold in your life as you continue to move forward. Make space for the things that are important and remove the things that aren’t. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, does or wants. All that is important is what is right for YOU.

Life isn’t all about work. A truly satisfying life is a well balanced mix of work, play, family and self. When you take control of your time, your day and your week, you start to take control of your entire life.

I know you want to be happy.

I know you want to feel fulfilled.

I know you want to feel like you’re truly enjoying every single day.

Start to make a conscious effort to be purposeful in all of your actions and all of your commitments. If you want something bad enough there are not enough excuses in the world to stop you from doing it. All you have to do is take back your time.