There’s a famous story about a philosophy professor who fills a jar with golf balls and asks his class if the jar is full. They say yes. Then he adds pebbles to the jar and lets them fill in the space between the golf balls and asks “Now, is the jar full?” The class answers yes. He next adds sand to the jar and asks the class again, they answer yes. Finally, he adds water to the jar filling all the space between the sand, pebbles and golf balls. The class agrees, now the jar is truly full.
The professor explains the jar represents our life. The golf balls are the most important things like family, children, friends and health. The pebbles are other important things like your job, house and education. And the sand and water is everything else. The little stuff. He says if you fill your jar first with sand, then there’s no room for the golf balls.
It’s the same with life. If you fill your days with the little stuff, you won’t have time for your priorities. Sure, you’ll be busy but you’ll find your life very unsatisfying.
Each new year brings the opportunity to move closer to living our best life. Knowing we all have the same 24 hours in each day, ever wonder how some people get so much done while others seem stuck?
Effective people manage their time with intention. They have a clear sense of purpose and know how they should be spending each hour of the day.
Life moves fast. It’s easy to get sucked up in the everyday mundane. Here are five steps to take back your time in 2017.
1. Know your priorities. The truth is: we make time for what is important to us. Whether it’s spending time with loved ones, getting a different job, or tackling a big project. You decide what’s most important to you. Without a clear direction, you’re drifting.
2. Set manageable goals. Once you know your priorities it’s time to break those big ideas into baby steps. Take those baby steps and build a time frame. Write the steps on your calendar and get to work.
3. Stop procrastinating. It’s easier than it sounds. Schedule the most important stuff first and get it done. This way if you do nothing else in the day, you’ll have accomplished a lot.
4. Use habits to your advantage. Our brains are wired to form habits so develop morning and evening routines to maximize your productivity. Having routines in place allows us to do everyday tasks on autopilot which frees up our thinking for more important things.
5. Cull your to-do list. Before you add an item to your to-do list, ask yourself if you even need to do it at all. So often we find ourselves stressing over things we shouldn’t even be doing. It’s okay to say “no”. When we eliminate the unessential, we’re free to spend that time on more important things.
You deserve to create your happiness on your own terms. Set yourself up for success by taking control of how you spend your precious time.
Contributed by Patti Diamond from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom