Ironically, most of us have no idea how we allocated our time, attention, effort, and energy over the last month. Even though you were there for every minute of it, you would probably be amazed to learn the actual, exact allocation of your time. The only way to truly know how you’re investing your time is to keep a time log. The results over time will be eye-opening and enlightening. Just the act of keeping a time log radically increases your awareness, from moment to moment, of what you're focusing on - and what you're not focusing on. It’s like having a mini coach sitting on your shoulder, with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other, watching everything you do. Wasted time becomes more intolerable and painful, and long stretches of uninterrupted time on important projects and pursuits become the Holy Grail of productivity.
Peter Drucker wrote: “Effective executives start by finding out out where their time actually goes. The analysis of time, moreover, is the one easily accessible and yet systematic way to analyze one’s own work and to think through what really matters in it.”
Document and investigate how your time is invested. Then, be strategic, thoughtful, and deliberate about allocating your time to the things that “really matter.”
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This is one of the best exercises in determining your progress toward your growth. With your log book, on the left side, write down the hours of the day (in increment of hours, i.e. 5-6 am, 6-7 am, etc.) from the time you get up to the time you get ready to fall asleep. Now record the major things you did during that time period (we did something like this earlier and it's important that we put a little twist into it). Are the things you're doing contributing or denying your growth? Maybe from 6-7 pm you watched t.v. Did that time contribute to your growth? What if you had read a book on what you are passionate about from 6-7pm? Did that time contribute to your growth? Establishing a written log helps you to see more clearly in regards to "Am I moving forward, in neutral or running in reverse. Try this for one week and see where you are going and make modifications to how you are spending your precious time.
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ANONYMOUS - Make it happen today, right now. Read, Study and Learn everything important in your life.
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