No More Time-Wasting!
Do you keep careful track of how you spend your day? Is every minute accounted for and put to the best possible use? It’s an intriguing question in a nine-to-five world where the latest research suggests that only a third to forty-five percent of the time spent working is devoted to anything that could be interpreted as worthwhile tasks and activities.
It might be a shocking conclusion but that means the rest of the time is mostly wasted!
Are you surprised? Especially since Americans are now working an average of four more weeks per year than they did in the 1970s. It seems however that, rather than boosting productivity, those longer working hours and reduced vacation times are taking their toll on our efficiency and our creativity. As well as degrading the quality of life. Longer hours do not always equate to success.
This is the key to time management - to see the value of every moment.
-??????Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The fact is that it’s all too easy to equate long hours with dedication, commitment and a very serious attitude towards work. But this is where we need to open our minds and appraise the results rather than attach a particular value to the number of hours worked. We need a fresh approach and a refreshing injection of reality. Because there really is no virtue in slaving away at a hot work station or sitting through endless online meetings that do not produce measurable, worthwhile results.
Perhaps one aspect of the problem is the human tendency to lapse into habits. It’s the way our brains seek shortcuts to maximise efficiency and avoid the necessity of having to evaluate every single action we take. And this is where we pick up habits and behaviours that become so familiar that we can’t imagine an alternative. We do things in a certain way and then unconsciously resist any attempts to make things easier, better or more productive. This also applies to the habit of spending long and often unproductive hours at work. We do it because that’s the prevailing convention. Of course, there are situations that require long hours and a dedicated burst of applied energy, focus and dedication – but these are the exceptions rather than the rule.
Have you ever noticed some people are able to stay organized while getting a massive quantity of work accomplished, while others appear to be busy but never actually produce results? Effective time management is the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
-??????Clay Clark
The answer is to know exactly what you need to do to advance your cause and bring your goals to fruition. There’s a certain degree of brutality in this suggestion because we need to discard any activity that wastes our time or distracts us from our quest. Clarity of purpose combined with the clearest possible description of what we intend to achieve will highlight the essential over the irrelevant and harness our precious time and energy in the service of our goals.
The irony is that this selective process of discarding the inessential can make us much more productive. It frees up more time and energy to focus on what really needs to be done. It grants us the freedom to say ‘No’ when distractions conspire to hinder our progress. It frees up more time to think about better ways to get the job done. It stimulates our latent creativity to find more productive avenues of endeavour. You can reserve time to learn, study, read and develop your skills and talents. You can free yourself from the old, redundant and time-wasting habits and start to enjoy the well-deserved benefits of your success.
You've got to know what you want. This is central to acting on your intentions. When you know what you want, you realize that all there is left then is time management. You'll manage your time to achieve your goals because you clearly know what you're trying to achieve in your life.
-??????Patch Adams
So, make a new commitment to evaluate what you intend to achieve each day and decide exactly how you’re going to make it happen. Strip out unhelpful activities, distractions and time-wasting habits. Use your focus to harness your energy in the pursuit of your dreams. Aim for efficiency and be prepared to be surprised when you discover how many hours you really have at your disposal.
If you found these suggestions helpful, please feel free to share this post. Encourage all of your family, your friends, colleagues and acquaintances to harness their deeper potential for a better and more successful way of experiencing and enjoying the gift of this life to the max.
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It’s our intention to be a positive force for change in the world. Let’s help everyone to rise above their limitations and enjoy greater levels of freedom, happiness, inner calm and success in all areas of their lives.
Together, we really can make the world a better place.
Greg Parry created The Wellness Foundation and the Cognitive Empowerment Programs specifically to help people master their stress, overcome their limitations and explore the power of their true potential.
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