Time does not play favorites

Ever feel like some people have it better than you?  Whether you are Bill Gates, Warren Buffet or reading this post, one asset we all have is the same amount of time.

Everyone receives the same amount of time each day – 24 hours – with the choice to spend it as we wish.  Some may disagree with me, but I believe time is our most precious asset.  Once it has passed…it is gone. (At the time of writing this, I’ve been alive 17,112 days, none of them can get back or change.) We can only hope we will be given more time tomorrow, but time plays no favorites.  Below are 7 ways to better manage your time.

1)   What is your time default?  If you do not have something planned, how do spend your time?  What makes a promising career for a student is determined by their study habits and what they do when they are not doing their homework.  As you probably already know, Americans watch more TV or playing video games than any other country.  This is probably the most popular time default for adults and not a good one.  Again, it is your choice. Keep your E:E ratio in mind everyday.  Education to Entertainment.

2)   Watch your vertical speed indicator.  During my flight training I learned the proper climbing and descending rate (vertical speed) is 500 feet per minute (fpm).  This indicator in the cockpit measures vertical speed during a climb.  If your try to climb at a greater rate than 500 fpm, you ‘stall out’ the aircraft because there is no airflow over the wing.  In managing your time, don’t try to do too much at once.  If you do, you risk burn out, like an aircraft stalls out.  Managing the activities on your plate and ask yourself is it important.  If it is important, can I truly commit to it.  Some things are important, but we don’t have the time to commit to them.  Make your investment of time match your values.  Build a life plan before a business plan.  Do it for your family and future.

3)   Firefight approach.  Have a plan of entry and departure.  A firefighter approaches a burning building with a plan.  They do not rush in, throwing caution to the wind, without planning their departure. Make a plan before starting.  You have probably heard the phrase “fail to plan, plan to fail.”  Break down your task into bite size pieces and concentrate on performing the steps in the plan.  Your perception of the project will appear easier when you think of each task separately.  And remember that everything has a beginning and an ending.  The ending may or may not be your choice, but there will be an ending.  Plan for it because it will happen.

4)   Recreation.  Keep your life in balance.  The word recreation comes from re-create. Don’t forget the experiences that formed your attitudes, beliefs and personality during leisure time with hobbies, sports, friends and projects.  I believe we should work hard and play hard.  But work hard comes first.  When we commit to working hard first, we don’t feel guilty playing hard.

5)   Rome was not built in a day. When I sold advertising in a weekly publication, I was always working at the next issue, when I should have been working on filling my sales pipeline with more prospects and contacts and not the next issue.  Looking at your selling cycle, keep your pipeline full.  It will make it a lot easier to close sales when you have prospects in your pipeline.

6)   Net gain.  When I feel like I’m moving backwards, I review everything that happens in a day or week and ask myself if it was all worth it.  I take all the good events and bad adversities, add them up, and I better come out with a positive number.  And ‘plus one’ is a positive number.  Keep your “why” in mind. (Read: Define Yourself for more.)

7)   Commitment.  If there is one thing that determines your success or failure in anything and everything you do it is commitment.  If you have it, you own your future.  If you don’t, well, it’s not too late to start. (Read: Commitment! for more.)

Lastly, decide to start.  There is never a bad time to start a good habit.  When you wake up tomorrow, decide to start something new.