STOP WASTING TIME AND CONTROL YOUR BUSY

Are you someone who hits the snooze button multiple times in the morning, and then when your feet finally hit the ground your off and running… living in a reactive state rather than a proactive state all day? (No judgment here, my friend! I used to be one of those people.)

You’ve got a lot going on every day and, no doubt, have the unexpected thrown at you day in and day out.

You want to do something that’ll get you closer to that goal you set for yourself but it never seems to happen because of all the busy work that must be addressed.

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We talk a lot on FOI about how to conquer goals and achieve your dreams.

You’ve got to identify your strategic tasks (the ones that are going to truly get you closer to your goals) and learn how best to schedule them in your day so that you also get that busy work done.

Because as Brian P Moran and Michael Lennington say in one of my favorite books, The 12 Week Year….

If you’re not in control of your time, you’re not in control of your results.

Being proactive rather than running through your day in a reactive state will make the difference between accomplishing your goals or getting to the end of your year defeated…..again!

You certainly can’t ignore the busy work that has to be done each day.

After all, you’ve got to go through and answer e-mails, balance the checkbook, pay the bills, do the laundry, clean the house, run errands, pick up the kids and get them to their activities…..

The “busy list” is endless! And it’s tough to get any strategic tasks done in your day with your busy list growing by the second.

The answer is in this simple, but powerful, little word…..intentionality!

Intentionality is your secret weapon in your war on mediocrity. (Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, The 12 Week Year.)

You must be intentional with your time. You have to stop letting your day direct you and, instead, schedule your day with your goal in mind.

The Plan

Every morning you have a choice to make.

Either run the day or the day will run you. (Jim Rohn)

So just how do you go about being proactive? The key is in how you schedule your day.

This is where time blocking comes into play. If you aren’t familiar with this way of scheduling, be sure to read, Time Management Made Easy – Time Blocking.

Time blocking is one of the most powerful strategies available for achieving your dreams!

Your Strategic Time Block

Begin by looking at your big goal. What one, high powered, strategic task needs to be done in order to get you closer to your goal?

Now sit down with your calendar and block off 2-3 hours where you’ll only work on this one task.

This means turning off all notifications on your computer and phone. Get to a place where you can work on this with absolutely no interruptions. Set your timer and work until it goes off.

Now you’ve just spent 2-3 hours on your most important task and are that much closer to meeting your goals.

You don’t have to schedule a strategic block every day. In fact, just 1-3 times/week will make a HUGE difference in accomplishing your goals!

Your Busy Work

Now that you have your most important task out of the way, you can block off time to spend on busy work.

Take care of e-mails, set your timer and do some cleaning. Between time blocks, switch a load of laundry around.

Block off time in your schedule when you’ll be chauffeuring the kids around to their afternoon activities.

Working through your day in this way will make all the difference in whether you’re in control or letting the day control you.

The unexpected

I’m sure you’ve had days where something comes up that you must address, in fact, maybe that happens every day!

It’s tough to handle those little emergencies when you’re trying to tackle the rest.

Or perhaps you start handling those little emergencies at the expense of your strategic tasks and busy work time blocks, and That! Can’t! Happen!

Instead, start blocking 30-45 minutes at the end of your day to manage the things that came up.

When that emergency presents itself, write it down to be addressed during your “unexpected” time block and then get back to working on the task at hand.

Now you’re still tackling your strategic tasks and your busy work, but you have time to address the unexpected as well.

The difference?

You’ve now planned for it. You’ve now begun living in a proactive state rather than a reactive state. You’ve now become intentional with your time, and learned how to control your day rather than it controlling you! (Go ahead! Do a couple air fist pumps! You deserve it!)

Wrapping Up

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to take control.

When you’re intentional and in control of your day, you’ll not only be able to tackle your busy work more efficiently but you’ll also be working towards achieving your goals. You’ll be working to make your dreams a reality.

This is such a simple strategy, and yet, it’ll completely change the way you work and the best part……IT’LL SAVE YOUR SANITY!

There’s nothing like getting to the end of the day and looking at your daily conquer list to see that most, if not everything, has been checked off and yet, you’re not exhausted and feel like you’ve just participated in a triathlon!

If you need help with setting goals, you can read, How to Set Goals You Can Actually Achieve.

You can also find help by downloading our FREE Goal Crushing Action Plan. It’ll walk you step by step to living the life you were created to live. Simply subscribe to our newsletter by filling out the form below and get your instant download.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I’d love to hear your #1 goal or even how using this strategy worked for you. Just leave me a comment below!

Until next time, my friend…….

P.S. Need more help conquering your goals? Be sure to enroll in our free e-course, Conquering Your Goals – Turning Your Dreams into Actionable Steps, below. These are the exact steps I use every day to manage my time and go after my goals!

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