We are all busy. Hopping or jumping or running around from task to project. Fitting everything in is a task only organisational gurus can manage to do. We are bred with a belief that we must work hard — that the only route to success is sweat and toil.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way?
What if we could do half of the work and achieve all our goals and dreams in half the time?
It’s easier than you think; it just involves a little bit of planning and a lot of common sense.
In Work
Do you ever start out the day at work without planning what you want to achieve? I’m sure you have done it, but you know that you shouldn’t. You spend the day reacting to things that come your way rather than taking the lead. If you work in this manner — allowing your emails and the people around you to dictate your task list and your schedule — you will never be effective in work. You know that by setting the agenda ahead of time you are much more likely to get the important things done…and done more quickly. You should be in control of your work day.
Of course there are times when you have to react and do work that was not previously scheduled. But if the work that you are putting aside is scheduled, you can reschedule for the following day and ensure that it will all get done.
In Life
It is just as important to be clear about what you want to achieve in your personal life. If you know what you want (and have a clear picture of it in your head) it’s pretty obvious you are going to achieve it more quickly than if you let the ideas float around in your mind.
Here is a list of what you need to do to get clear about what you want and how to start moving towards achieving it:
- Spend time on your goals. Don’t just have a vague idea of what you want to achieve. Take some quiet time to identify what it is you want. Even if you are not 100% sure, start by taking some action. The only bad decision is indecision. You need to start walking down a road to see if it is the right road for you.
- Plan your time and prioritize what’s important. If you have lofty goals and dreams the easiest way to achieve them is to work towards them bit by bit. Ensure that everything that you do daily is helping you towards their attainment. Don’t waste your time doing things that aren’t going to help you fulfill your dreams. By having clear goals you can regularly check that the work you are busy with everyday is in alignment with them.
- Eliminate time-wasting activities. Life is too short to drink cheap wine — and it is also too short to waste time on aimless social media and browsing the Internet aimlessly. Get with it; there is work to be done, grand things to achieve and dreams to fulfill. I’ve heard some people say that Facebook is their way to relax, mindlessly moving from post to post, page to page. There are much more powerful ways to relax than that. Meditation, yoga, mindfulness — these are ways to relax the body and still the mind. Social media is not.
Get clear about your goals, write them down and use them as a gauge to check if the work you do daily is supporting your bigger picture. When you start to do these things, you will find that your goals will begin to manifest more quickly than expected.
(Photo credit: Businessman Winning a Race via Shutterstock)
