3 Steps to Time Management

What could be more stressful than not having enough time? The day comes and goes and you still didn’t get even half the things done that you had intended to get done. So how exactly do you manage this elusive thing called time? Actually, you don’t. Time can’t be managed. Time just is. (In fact, time is not what you think, but that’s for another article.) So the title of this article is a bit misleading, but it’s named as such because most people still believe it’s TIME they need to manage, when in truth it’s really ACTIVITIES that they must manage.

Step One
The first step is to sort out all the helpful, goal-oriented activities from the dead-end activities. And by the way, don’t list the activities you always do, like getting out of bed, eating breakfast, etc. Those you already know you’re going to do, and they are part of your routine. The activities I want you to concentrate on are the ones that are unquestionably linked to a big and spectacular goal.

For example, if your spectacular goal is to earn at least $300,000 this year, then what activities in your daily life are supporting that goal? Reading a book about your particular industry, or taking a seminar in goal setting, or replacing watching a TV show with going to the library and looking up information on how to write a business plan would be definite and constructive goal-oriented activities.

So weed out on paper the activities that are non-supportive from the activities that are fully supportive. You might be amazed at all the non-supportive activities that have been filling up your busy days.

Step Two
Once you have your list on paper, take a look at the supportive activities and add to them or amplify them to really target your goal-oriented direction.

For example, let’s say you have on your list that you read every evening. That’s great, because that’s a possible way of expanding yourself and your knowledge. However, if the book is a comic book, it might not be helpful towards your goal of making at least $300,000 this year (unless, of course, you’re a comic book writer, artist, or store owner!), but if you exchange that comic book for a book about your industry, or a successful person’s biography, or some other related material, then you are in alignment with your goal.

Step Three
Now, of all those goal-oriented and supportive activities, choose the six most important ones that must be done first—the ones that are the first steps of an enormous goal. (Remember, the longest journey always begins with a single step!) You should be able to complete all six activities within a single day. Of those six most important activities, decide which should be done first, second, and so on, so that all six activities are in their order of importance.

Write these six activities on a blank sheet of paper, in their order of importance, and begin work on the first one. Only go on to the second one when the first one is complete. If you don’t finish the entire list in one day, let it roll over to the next day, adding the next activities so that you always have a list of six most important things to do in a day. Make sure to carry this list with you so that you can always remind yourself of what comes next on your list.

Follow this strategy for at least a month, every day, and you will change your life.

Kim for Hypno-Freedom

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