time management Archives - The Goalden Lady

#TBT: Make The Commitment To Do Your Best Everyday

Commitment begins with a thought or an idea. The goal is to stick with the task, so that you can incrementally improve day by day.

You have an unspoken responsibility of becoming the best person you can be. No one has to tell you this, you just know. Laziness can kick in at any time, followed by complacency.

To become better and more productive, you must make a commitment. How do you start? What does it mean to be committed?

Identify Your Commitment

When you commit to something, you make a conscious effort to do it consistently. No matter what you decide to do, a commitment has to be made first.

Do you want to lose weight? Start by committing to drinking a glass of water and an evening walk everyday. Are you ready to take control of your finances? Commit to saving ten dollars a week. Want to study history? Do the research and find the right books to read and documentaries to watch.

Identify what you want to do and go for it. Most times, we think about what we want to do, but we never get around to actually doing it – that’s because a commitment was never made.

Establish what it is that you want to achieve, commit and take the first step.

How To Make Your Commitment Stick

It may be difficult for you to commit to a personal goal – it happens to everyone. Comfort sneaks in and takes over any challenge you had in mind. How can you make a commitment stick?

One strategy you can use is writing it down. Creating a list of things to do will hold you accountable for taking action. Instead of relying on your memory to do something, write it down. Writing it down makes it official. You won’t get away with conveniently forgetting about it and it allows you to ‘see’ what needs to be done, so you can plan accordingly.

If writing it down isn’t your thing, find a responsible person to hold you accountable. This should be someone you trust. If you don’t perform your committed task, the consequences should be something uncomfortable, like paying them one hundred dollars. You wouldn’t want to give up that kind of money, therefore, you’ll do your best to follow through. Check in at a certain time with this person everyday to be sure you are staying committed to your goal.

Be Relentless

Making a commitment doesn’t work unless you’re consistent with your actions. You have to be ready to see past the distractions and adapt to change. If not, the whole idea of being committed to your idea simply won’t happen.

If you make a commitment and it doesn’t work out, that’s fine. It’s not the end of the world. You always have the choice to do it again. Has success ever come easily on the very first attempt?

Your will encounter adversity of some sort. You will have to shift in order to keep going. Be relentless with your commitment. If you’re serious about reaching your goal, you’ll do what’s necessary to get there.

Your ambition and determination should drive your commitment. You must be convinced that no matter what happens, you won’t give in to negative ideas and people. When it does happen, you must make the adjustment and adapt to the new plan.

Are You Ready?

Making a commitment says a lot about you. It says that you’re focused and decisive about what you want to do. Too many people drift into a life of nothingness, by giving away their advantage. The power is within you, but you have to be intentional and use it proactively.

Like anything else, it takes time and effort to be committed to your plan. Don’t be the one who stops at every obstacle you come across. Trust yourself to build the future of your dreams. You don’t have to start big – don’t let someone else’s accomplishments deter you from beginning your journey. Everyone has to start somewhere.

It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Take baby steps. Make the commitment and take the responsibility to grow into your greatness.

#BeGoalden

Using Your Time Wisely

Time management is not a ‘one size fits all’ type of thing. Everyone is different, so we have to figure out what works best for each of us.

Everyone doesn’t do their best work in the morning. Everyone doesn’t work well after a full meal. Weekends are precious to some because that‘s their family time. Others see the weekend as a time to do uninterrupted, quality work.

As you can see, time management plays a role in how efficiently you do your work. How do you know what works best for you?

Self Awareness

You must know who you are and how you work best. This means you need to know your strengths and weaknesses. It will take trial and error to figure out the best times to do certain things.

When is the best time for you to tinker with your invention? Is it when the kids are up or when they are asleep? Is it early evening or late evening? Do you generate your best ideas while driving to work or in the shower? The most important thing is to be honest with yourself because you are aiming for the best results for productivity.

I find it hard to write early in the morning. When I write early in the morning, I struggle. My mind is chasing what I need to do throughout the day and I have no focus. Some writers do their best work early in the morning.

By paying attention to how my body and mind responds to different environments and time, I can determine what works

best for me. My best time to write is mid-afternoon. I don’t know why, but that’s when my focus is strong and my words flow.

Knowing that my best time to be productive is mid-afternoon, I’m able to use my time wisely and schedule everything else around it. We can’t control time, but we can create a plan and use every minute to our benefit.

Being able to make the best use of your time will take some effort. People waste time when they don’t know exactly what they’re doing. Some people think they have all the time in the world, so they don’t plan – they play everything by ear. Everyone has a different perspective.

To use time to your advantage, become self aware – know what you do and when you do it. This could possibly take weeks, maybe even months to discover, but it’s worth the effort. When you’re self aware, you end up doing more constructive and intentional work.

Once you figure out what works best for you, your plan can move forward. You’ve mastered the time of day, now, you have to do the work.

Dedication

What does dedication have to do with time management you ask?

At this point, you’ve figured out the best time of day (or night) to do your best work. Now, you have to align your dedication with that time of day.

Doing your work at the same time, everyday (or whatever your schedule calls for) is dedication. You are bringing the same energy and motivation to the table to give your highest effort.

Progress ensues and you’re making improvement that you can see. You keep going nonstop for days and months because you’re dedicated.

That should be easy – normally, whatever time of day that works well for you is the same time you have the energy and willingness to do your best work. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

An excerpt from Book 3 of the “Help! I’m Stuck” series.

#BeGoalden

Focus On The Process, Not The Result

When we set our goals, our mind automatically starts to focus on the end result, but the biggest part is figuring out how to hit the target and win.

Twenty years ago, it was a challenge to find an abundance of successful people. They were there, but our access was limited to television, radio and the newspaper.

Today, we can see success everywhere, at anytime. The internet has opened up many avenues for more people to achieve their dreams. Even people who aren’t successful can pretend like they are on social media.

Instant Gratification

This leads to ‘short-cut’ thinking. We’re so flooded with images of people who’ve reached their goals (or at least they look like they did), we begin to think that it’s an easy process.

Although it looks like it, the path to your goal isn’t easy and that’s not to discourage you. Anything worth doing will take hard work and consistency, but you must concentrate on the process.

Does anybody remember when Beyonce started out with Girls Tyme? No, we only recognized her when she came on the scene with Destiny’s Child. Prior to that, she was practicing and working her little heart out to be who she is today.

Technology has made everything so easy, we expect the goal to happen without going through the process. Fast food, texting, all kinds of apps – it’s designed to make life more convenient, but there’s one thing that won’t give you that instant gratification.

Why Is This Taking So Long?

When you have a goal to reach, it will take months or even years before you will see the end result.

Envisioning the end result is good to do. It gives you something to see in your mind as you work on your plan.

The trick is, you must focus on the plan, not the result. You can focus on the result all day long, but nothing will happen. You must focus on the plan that will get you there.

The plan is what needs to be figured out and adjusted on a regular basis. Things change and you have to be flexible enough to create solutions to those challenges.

No One Path Is Alike

There are no two paths alike, that will achieve the same goal. There may be an overall map that will carry you in the right direction, but as far as an exact path that we all can take and experience the same success, that simply doesn’t exist.

Everyone has to figure it out for themselves. This is why you focus on the path, because is will change. Life happens and you may have to rearrange what you are doing to accommodate your circumstances.

It’s important to stay open-minded because you never know who will be able to assist you. Do different things and take risks and see where it leads.

Envision your result, but focus on the process.

Hoping that you will succeed won’t work. Wishing someone will let you tag along won’t work. Those are distractions and the best way to avoid them is to buckle down and focus on your process.

While your goal won’t change, the path to get there will change many times. It will take mental and physical energy to take on this effort and to do your best. You must be ready and willing on all fronts to encounter your journey.

Don’t let time become a factor. Time is always there, it just depends on how you plan to use it to your advantage. As they say, it takes years to become an overnight success.

Be flexible, make adjustments and be persistent. Know that it will take time, discipline and consistency. People won’t see how hard you are working now, but they will definitely realize, once you’ve reached your goal and become successful.

#BeGoalden

Time Is Always Of The Essence

Often, we live our lives as if we know there will be tomorrow. We’ll procrastinate and put things off or we’ll live in complacency, not being moved to do anything. All because we think, ‘there’s always tomorrow.’

As this may be true, one day, that won’t be the case. Time is always of the essence. Therefore, we should be mindful of how we spend it and who we give it to. People always use the excuse that they don’t have time for their goals, but in reality, all they need to do is remix what’s already on their plate.

Wake up earlier or stay up later. No, you don’t necessarily need to rise early before the sun to be successful, but if you need to find more time, this is one way to get it. Not everyone is an early bird, but there’s time on the other side of the day, too – you can stay up later. Either way, it may cost you a couple of hours of sleep, but it won’t destroy you. If it’s important enough to you, that’s one way you can find more time.
Identify those in-between times. You know those times where you pick up your phone and start to scroll through social media. Before you know it, 45 minutes have gone by, all because you had ‘nothing’ to do. In-between times also include ‘down time’ at work, watching reruns on TV and sitting in traffic on the way to your destination. During those times, you can do something productive or think through your plans.
Weekends aren’t just for relaxing. The weekend is probably the most time you’ll have to work on your goal. Our minds have been conditioned to relax and ‘take a load off’ during the weekend because of the 40 hour work week. While that’s your choice, just know that the weekend consists of 2 unscheduled days to do what you want to do. If that goal is important to you, the weekend is the perfect time to work on it.
Watch TV series, not episodes. Every week, we tune in to different channels to watch our favorite TV shows. With technology today, you can record the entire series or watch it on an app. Instead of literally sitting down every night at 8pm to watch one episode week by week, record the entire series or watch the series once it ends on the app. This way, you can work on your plan every night and binge watch the series. It also eliminates cliffhangers because you’ll see the entire series all at once, without having to wait another week 🙂

These are just a few ways to enhance your time management.

Time is constant and it’s always there – the rhythm never changes.

Rather than saying you don’t have time, be forward thinking and adjust the time that you already have.

You don’t have to wake up every morning at 4am to be successful, but that is a way to find some extra time. If you don’t like the idea of waking up early or staying up late, look for other ways to fine-tune your daily schedule and create a new agenda to follow.

Time is always of the essence because it’s one of the few things that we can never get back. One day, there won’t be a chance to procrastinate, so use your time with intent and focus. With the right strategy, time will always be on your side.

#BeGoalden

Live Your Life In ‘Real Time’

The concept of ‘real time’ is doing something as it happens or at the moment it occurs.

It seems like we live in ‘real time,’ but most of us really don’t. How can you not live in ‘real time’ while you are actually living?

Some people put things off, therefore, real time is delayed time. Procrastination at it’s best.

For people who never have enough time to exercise or eat right or spend time with their kids, etc., that’s absolutely not true.

You can find time – it’s always there. What you want to do, you’ll find time for- you can make time for anything.

Understandably, when you’re at work, you can’t just stop and do the things you want to do – but what about those moments when you can?

When you’re at home and you’re eating a bag of chips, your mind says, “Maybe I should eat an apple…”. In ‘real time’ you would put down the chips and eat the apple, but instead, you choose to ignore that thought.

That’s how living in ‘real time’ works.

When you’re binge-watching your favorite show and you think, “I need to write an outline for my paper…” stop watching it and create the outline for your paper. That’s ‘real time’ living.

We all know what we should do in out minds, but we seem to make the choice to ignore those hints. When we see others who are successful, we complain, “I could be successful like that, but I didn’t have time.”

The difference between you and them is that they listened to those mindful hints and applied it in ‘real time’. They acted upon those thoughts in ‘real time’.

They didn’t say, “Let me finish eating this ice cream first, then I’ll eat healthy,” or “I’m gonna sleep in – it’ll be there when I wake up, it’s not going anywhere.”

As you can see, living in ‘real time’ takes discipline and effort. Sometimes, we’d rather do what we want to do, rather than what we need to do.

Living in ‘real time’ accomplishes goals. You can’t be lazy and expect to achieve what you want – it takes ‘real time’ habits.

When you think it, do it – that’s all there is to it. Before you binge-watch your favorite show, get all of the ‘real time’ tasks and responsibilities out of the way, first. Then you can enjoy your shows with a sense of completion and fulfillment.

Besides…it’s not going anywhere.

#BeGoalden