Self Improvement - Are You Wasting Your Time?
Author: Andrew Grant
Self Improvement - Are You Wasting Your Time?
How much time do you waste? Do you spend a lot of time
lazing around, `just thinking' or are you constantly on the
go, fit, active and getting things done?
If you are in the first category, there are a lot of very
obvious things you can do to improve, but in this article I
want to concentrate on those of us who are already using
our time constructively and examine how you can squeeze
even more from your day.
You may think that your life is so full that this is
impossible, but I recently ran an inventory of how I used
my time and realised that there was still some room for
improvement. Here's what I discovered.
Timespace #1 – For years I avoided doing any kind of
exercise. I was lucky, I was always pretty skinny so being
unfit didn't make me overweight. As I got older, though I
realised that I had to take my body a bit more seriously.
Since then I have become a moderate, regular exerciser; I
run for twenty minutes every other day and I go the gym
three or four times a week. No problem there; I'm using my
time wisely and I enjoy the process, not to mention the
results.
However, I calculated that I am spending about five hours
per week doing great things for my body, but nothing for my
mind. So now when I'm pounding the streets or straining at
the weights, I use the opportunity to listen to self
development programs on my I-Pod, to concentrate on goal
visualization, to practice affirmations or just focus on
being grateful for all the good things in my life. And
there's a bonus too; because the blood is racing through my
veins, my brain is more alert and better prepared to learn
and grow.
Timespace #2 – I drive a lot. My business requires a good
deal of travel and most of it is done in the car. I used
to listen to music on the radio or go into an almost
trance-like `auto pilot' mode, usually to escape the tedium
of long distance driving.
Now, though, I put a self development CD in the player, or
a language course, or again, I use the time to practice
visualizations and affirmations. The great thing about the
car is that you can shout, sing, mumble or rant to yourself
and no one cares. It's your space.
Timespace #3 – Finally, this one is not so much about
finding extra time as making better use of the time I
thought I was using wisely. My personal time audit showed
me that I was wasting a whole hour, sometimes more, at the
beginning of the day catching up on the overnight e-mail
load and then planning what I was going to do for the rest
of the day.
I prided myself on being an efficient time warrior, but I
now realise, that I was missing one of the biggest mistakes
of all.
So how did I fix that? Simple. I changed two things.
Firstly, I now do my planning, the night before, by taking
ten minutes, near to the end of the evening and writing
down everything I want to achieve the next day. The bonus
here is that overnight, my mind works on the issues even
while I sleep, so by the time I get started next day, I am
far better prepared.
Secondly, I don't look at my e-mail till midday. I spend
the morning getting through the goals I assigned the night
before and then just before I take a break for lunch, I
race through my inbox. That way, I find I already feel
good about what I've done so far in the day, my mind is
much more focused and I don't get distracted.
So no matter how efficient you think you are, take a look
again at your day and I'll bet you can find some extra
layers of time, you never knew you had. Good hunting.
About the Author:
Hi my name is Andrew Grant, I'd like to invite you to visit
my website and subscribe to my newsletter for more
information and inspiration on Goal Setting, Positive
Thinking and Internet Marketing.
http://www.money- and-mind. com
