3 Tips To Take Control of Your Time and Life

About a month ago, I was paired with an accountability partner in the coaching network I participate in. At the workshop, we were encouraged to identify a key skill or task that would help us move forward in our business. The presenter directed us to work out an accountability “buddy” system to help us stay on track towards our goal.

I had been in process of implementing the concepts of Brian Moran’s “12 Week Year”, which is a perfect left brain tool for this right-brained manifesting babe. I’m big on vision but I struggle at times with FTI (failure to implement).

Basically, each week my accountability partner and I update each other on our progress on the focus of our accountability together.

Because this is one of those “important, but not urgent” tasks, the pre-accountability-partner-me” would call it a day whether or not I had completed my next activity towards this project. But my pride in not wanting to be a deadbeat accountability partner helped me make some progress that I could report to him each week.

That’s when the zoom lens came into sharper focus on the connection between having “control over my time” and having “control in my life”. Although the journey has been rocky, I have been moving forward on creating a schedule on paper, like Brian Moran advocates, that works in real life and moves me closer to my vision. It hasn’t been that complicated.

This process began to take the mystique out of why I was achieving success in some areas of my life, but not as much in others. It all gets down to having clarity about what I want; taking specific, consistent action towards those ends; having a routine that works, and knowing how to handle the inevitable times when the best-laid plans with my schedule clash with real life.

So here are three practical tips you can use to get more control of your time and your life:

1. SPECIFIC GOAL PROCESS – The bottom line of Brian Moran’s “The 12 Week Year” is this:
   1. Have fewer goals
   2. Work towards them in a shorter time frame (12 weeks versus 52 weeks)
   3. Designate specific actions to take towards the goals that you schedule in specific times in your calendar, both in terms of your routine and special project-oriented steps.
   4. Create a schedule that works on paper, because that’s a schedule that will work in real life.
2. CLEAR WORK AND PERSONAL BOUNDARIES -I’ve added a great tip from my interview on Christian Biz Owners on Fire radio with organizing coach for business and life success and best-selling author  Marcia Ramsland to help particularly women be productive while maintaining our feminine energy.  She encourages women to work when they are away from their relationships, like when the kids are in school or napping or the husband is away, and put work aside and focus on attending to those important relationships when the family is around. I’ve found that when we don’t have that schedule that works on paper, our masculine energy works and activities start to bleed into our personal lives and relationships. In the long run, the work-spillover really doesn’t help you get more done and only creates dissatisfaction and other issues in your personal relationships.
3. HANDLING CONFLICTING PRIORITIES – Even with the best-laid plan, there will be times when conflicting priorities do arise; you have an hour to do two different tasks that will take two hours to complete. Another guest on my radio program Kevin A Dunlap, an entrepreneur strategist, and owner of Plentiful Perspectives recommends creating a list of 10 things you routinely do in a week in a priority order. I would add have a separate priority list during your “family / personal time” and your “work / productive time”.  Punt the multitasking. When the need arises for you to be in two places doing two different things, pull out your list and do the item with the higher priority. Often when faced with conflicts, you end up being paralyzed and get nothing done or push forward on one task while feeling guilty and emotionally torn about not working on the other task. Kevin’s suggestion helps you focus on completing the most important task at hand.

The beauty is that the more you follow tips #1 and tip #2, the less time you will have to use tip#3.  Now is the time to take steps to own your time and reap the benefits of manifesting your dreams in all areas of your life and biz.

Christian Entrepreneur’s Biz and Life Tip:  Change your mindset from thinking manifesting your dreams is magical; it really just gets down to how you spend your time on a daily basis.