Ever feel like you are fighting time? Like there isn’t enough time to get everything done?
This is one of the biggest struggles I hear repeatedly in my coaching practice and group programs. Hence my fascination.
Check in with yourself:
How do you currently feel about time?
What do you tell yourself about it each day?
How you feel about something determines how you engage it… which impacts your experience of it.
[ctt template=”1″ link=”DBz7U” via=”no” ]Time is neutral. It doesn’t pick favorites or give more to one person than another. Master your time. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/DBz7U+[/ctt]
Time is simply there FOR you. It never abandons you and always provides more of itself unconditionally.
Yet, so often we hold the thought of “lack of time” in our minds. And of course, whatever you focus on is what grows in your world.
So how do you choose to be with time? How might you honor it differently, and therefore have it begin to work for you?
Below are 12 Time Tips to Help You Get More Done with Ease
1. See Time as Sacred
When you hold something as sacred, you honour it with greater intention. There is a rise in energy that creates expansion in your being. Put down the gloves and start loving time. Practice saying this affirmation:
“I am loving the time I have today for <this task>.”
It’s a subtle yet powerful shift to begin loving the time you have to complete something. If you keep practising this mindset shift, you’ll notice over time that you feel aligned with time, instead of feeling behind or fighting it.
2. Relax into Tasks
Even when you have enough time, do you notice how you can feel anxious about it? You are doing the task but your body is tense and you feel that you have to race to get it done before time runs out?
Recently I caught myself in that tense race over something that didn’t warrant it. I was putting myself in a state of stress unnecessarily.
If you can relate, trying relaxing into tasks. This is not the same as being unfocused. It is the opposite. Bring relaxed focus to each task, so you get rid of the anxious response that can trigger your fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system.
3. Remove Distractions & Stop Multi-tasking
I know, I know. You pride yourself on multi-tasking. But it isn’t multi-tasking. It’s task switching. You are requiring your brain to keep switching between two things. And while we can pride ourselves for being uber-efficient, making it our regular habit isn’t ideal.
Why? Because every time you switch, you are wasting energy in the switching.
The amount of time grows exponentially the more you add to your plate.
[ctt template=”1″ link=”Uad33″ via=”no” ]Multi-task 5 things and 75% of your energy may be lost to task switching. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/Uad33+ [/ctt]
The next time you are multi-tasking, pay attention. Are you peaceful or wired? Are you running on adrenaline (and soon to crash later?) These are signs your prided multi-tasking DOES NOT work for you as a long-term solution.
To create that relaxed sustainable feel, take one task at a time. Breathe into the one task. Focus lovingly. Give yourself time and space to complete it distraction-free.
4. Track Where You Spend Your Time
I have a challenge for you. Prepare to be illuminated. For the next two weeks, track your time from morning until night down to the 15 minutes. Be honest with yourself so that you get a TRUE picture. You can use a journal or spreadsheet or an online tool such as Everhour.
Where are you lovingly engaging your life and where are you wasting it away?
5. Decide Where You Pour Your Life Energy
The older (and wiser) I grow, the more I realize that you and I can each choose where we pour our life energies into. It matters less what others think and more what we desire.
So, it’s time to be discerning, dear soul.
[ctt template=”1″ link=”a_7aw” via=”no” ]Ask yourself if what you are doing is what you want to be pouring your life energy into. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/a_7aw+[/ctt]
Yes, that’s a big question, but an important one. It takes courage to say, I’m making a change!
If you look at where you are investing your time day in and day out, does it align with the bigger vision of your life? Tracking your time will give you big clues. So do your energy and emotions.
Personally I’ve been experiencing some divine whispers instructing me to get out from my home office — to be in the world connecting more in person and perhaps get an office somewhere else a day or two a week (I’ll write a separate post on that soon!)
We can’t ignore these whispers. They are opening doorways to new opportunities. I always say, follow the flow of inspiration when you get the whispers!
6. Set Targets
I’m a big believer that if you are going to invest time and resources into your business, you want a fabulous return. That means focusing on those activities that give you that return and letting go of those that don’t. I can’t tell you the number of times my clients have discovered that where they are focusing their marketing efforts is not where their ideal clients are. That is why targets are so important.
I define a target as a supportive mini goal that, when achieved, helps you achieve your money goal.
You choose your targets by looking at where you create money flow with ease in your business.
For example, if you gain clients each time you speak, a valuable target to set is a certain number of speeches a month or quarter to a quality audience of say 20+ people each time. Another target may be a certain number of those audience members signing up for your next step in your sales process.
7. Choose Priorities For Your Week and Days
Once you know what targets to focus on, then you can break your efforts down into weekly priorities and daily top tasks. Yes, your to-do list may be 50 tasks long. But is everything equally important? And is everything due at the same time?
[ctt template=”1″ link=”3ELjO” via=”no” ]When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/3ELjO+[/ctt]
And that is why so many people feel overwhelmed. They struggle to know what to focus on first. Learning to discern what is most important and in what order takes some shifting in how you think about your week and days.
In my SoulBiz Group Program, we focus on setting Weekly Priorities (3 biz + 3 personal) and Top Tasks for the Day (3 biz + 3 personal).
The goal is ensuring these tasks are advancing your targets — because, by definition, your targets are driving your money goals.
As you practise this every week and every day, you will find over time that you learn what is important.
8. Delegate or Delete
Look at your task list, and consider if there is anything on the list that doesn’t need to be there. Perhaps it is a project or task that overwhelms you, or feels out of your areas of expertise. Is it time to ask for help in order to grow? There are very talented people out there destined to support you. I firmly believe this.
In my coaching practise, I guide clients to get clear on what support they need so they have a solid “role description” to go to the marketplace with. Hiring with that clarity is key to truly freeing up your time.
Or, maybe certain projects or tasks need to be deleted altogether.
Is there something on the list that has been there for months, and you know you’re not going to get to it any time soon? Are there tasks that just aren’t delivering the results you expected, or don’t support the focused targets you’ve now chosen?
Remember, you do not need to do everything to create success. What if you let certain tasks go and trust in the simple, strategic few? Worth trying, right?
9. Batch Your Time & Energy
[ctt template=”1″ link=”s49F3″ via=”no” ]To create efficiency in your day, batch your time and energy by grouping like tasks. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/s49F3+[/ctt]
On your to-do list, think about what items are similar, or at least of a complimentary energy. Can you sit down and return all needed phone calls in an hour? Returning phone calls is a very different energy than say, writing a blog post.
If you can stay in similar energy, you can become accomplish more with less stress, instead of jumping from one unrelated task to another.
10. Start Your Day Differently
How we start our day sets the tone and energy for how it will unfold. Do you begin each morning reaching for your phone and scrolling through emails, stressing about what you have to get done before you’re out of bed?
The most successful people start their day differently. Consider 1) movement; 2) nourishment; and 3) inspiration.
Experiment with a new morning routine you love, so that your energy is raised and sets a higher energetic set point for the day.
For example what if you did gentle stretches and read something inspiring as you sipped on lemon water, tea or a green smoothie? What if you allowed yourself that time, uninterrupted, before you looked at a single email? How would that make a difference in how you felt once you sat down to work?
11. Design Power Sessions
Another way to set the tone for your day is to focus the first 90 minutes of work time to your top 1-2 tasks for the day. That way, instead of procrastinating and worrying about them for hours, you’ll be able to cross them off your list before lunch, and feel a sense of accomplishment and positive energy momentum leading into the rest of your work day.
You can also define power sessions throughout your day ranging from 45 minutes to a couple of hours with short breaks to keep your energy high and focused. The key is to come to the power session knowing clearly what you want to accomplish, having all the information ready to do so and removing all other distractions. The thing to avoid is wasting 20 minutes of your power session clearing off your desk or looking that email that has the details of what you are writing about. All of that should be gathered in advance so you can sit write down, centre yourself and then dive in!
Need help getting on top of your time? Check out my monthly Productivity Power Sessions.
12. Identify Projects Versus Tasks
Speaking about procrastinating – we’ve all done it – there are few things worse than that nagging feeling of knowing you should be working on something, but feeling so overwhelmed by the mere thought of it, that you keep putting it off and don’t even get started.
An easy way to get unstuck is to stop and determine if what you are considering to be a task, is actually a project – with multiple tasks to complete it. If you’ve got something that consistently overwhelms you, book time with yourself for a brain dump that spells out all the tasks that project involves. You can do this with a piece of paper or pen, or head on your favourite walk with a voice recorder. Or, if you work better sharing with someone else, ask your assistant to take notes while you talk through things.
For example: you might have on your task list – ‘Redo my website’. Well, if you’ve ever redone your website, you know that’s not a single task! It’s a project, that likely has several phases.
Write out the actual task items that need to happen in order to get that project completed. In this case they might look something like:
- Brainstorm a new headline for the home page
- Update my bio
- Upload a new testimonial
- Map out the program page
- and so on…
These are tasks. And even then, there may be sub-tasks within them.
[ctt template=”1″ link=”H8caM” via=”no” ]Good rule of thumb: Can you get the task done in less than a hour? If not, break it down. @paulaonysko https://ctt.ec/H8caM+[/ctt]
Once you get clear on the difference between a project and a task, you will be much better equipped to define and complete do-able tasks that move your project forward. The goal is always to set yourself up for success so that you feel a sense of accomplishment, not defeat.
Forward is forward! The speed is less important than the direction.
13. BONUS TIP: Create White Space
Here’s bonus tip I love. You don’t need to jam pack your schedule. Try the opposite and create more white space.
That might seem counter-intuitive to getting more done. But it’s not. When you have white space, you can breathe. Ideas can flow, and so can your brilliance. You aren’t stressed out, fighting time or people or traffic. You can actually arrive early. You have a buffer in the event something took longer than you expected. And you can take a break, move your body, do something fun, and enjoy your life!
With white space, you can trust this freeing affirmation: I have enough time to complete all that I’m meant to do today.
Doesn’t that feeling more honouring of your life and daily flow?
Join the Conversation:
WHEW… That was a lot of information. Thanks for reading! Which tip stands out the most for you? Share in the comments below. Or perhaps you have your own favorite time tip? I’d love to hear. Please share.
To your abundant success,
Paula
