Your relationship with time.
Let’s start with this phrase. Undoubtedly, in these times where things move so fast, it has happened to all of us that time is not enough and, with so much activity, it’s human to forget something.
However, for many, this becomes a recurring inconvenience and adapting to new routines and constant changes requires internal work on ourselves.
Have you thought that your relationship with time is a cause of your current problems?
Do you find yourself saying “I don’t have time,” “I haven’t stopped all day and I haven’t done anything,” or maybe “I’m running around all day”?
It can be overwhelming and frustrating – we understand. Although we cannot add more hours to the day, we can share certain keys to make your days more pleasant:
1. Know yourself.
Your mental state is closely related to your level of productivity – the work starts inside to see the changes outside. Recognizing and accepting yourself as you are is the first step to get closer to what you want to achieve. Defining your goals and visualizing yourself in them will help you be more aware of your actions because where your attention goes is also where your thought and your energy goes.
Another recognized practice to help change your state of mind is practicing Mindfulness which is based on being aware of the present moment. A few minutes of guided meditation a day can help you improve your mood and attitude.
2. Develop habits.
Best-selling authors like Hal Elrod of “Miracle Mornings” or James Clear of “Atomic Habits” can better guide you on how to add positive habits to your life. We can tell you that it is not a science for the gifted. Every aspect of our lives is based on our habits – regardless of whether we are aware of them or not – can be both positive and negative for you.
Creating good habits helps us to be more aware and take advantage of our time: they are small decisions that give us great results in the long term.
If you have the benefits of remote or hybrid working, at first you will have to reorganize yourself to adapt your time to your habits but remember that in the end, these habits must work for you. So ask yourself “why?” and find your reason that would give strength to your new habit.
3. Have a strategy.
A plan without a strategy is just a door in front of a wall. Your brain is not a good manager, it does not work like a to-do list or an app that reminds you what to do. In fact, using it in this way wastes your energy and increases your stress levels. So we have to be very clear about what strategies we are going to use to achieve goals that we have set ourselves. So take note of the following:
- Know where you have your pending tasks written down.
- Organize and realistically prioritize the deadline of your tasks.
- Know where you need to take control and have reminders for your pending meetings and appointments.
- Make a plan of short, medium, and long-term goals.
4. Eat the cake.
Now that we already have our agenda, tools, and mindset to achieve our goals, the only thing left is to take the first step. Plan that pending meeting you have, make that urgent call, clean your mail, and get respond to those unread emails in your inbox. Keep in mind that each action on your daily task list counts and, although at first, you may not be able to complete everything, with time you will see the benefit of organizing your time and your spaces. Take the first step and eat your first piece of cake.
5. The power of NO.
Last but not least is learning to say no. Sometimes it is so hard for us to say no to commitments that are not aligned with our purpose – even harder for us to accept the fact that we will not finish everything today. Knowing your limits is included in the journey of knowing yourself, prioritizing yourself as the captain of your ship, and learning to recognize what takes up your time, what steals your peace of mind, what does not help you – above all, what does not belong to you.
As far as productivity is concerned, the power of no is as vital as each of the keys that we have given you previously. Dare to say no and remember that you can do everything, but not all at the same time.
Interested in helpful tips like this? Follow us, @SourcefitDR and SourcefitPH, on our social networks and visit our website www.sourcefit.com for more information.
