Blog with Joel Brookman

Maximize Your Time

Many people believe that money is their most precious resource. It is possible to create more money. It is not possible to create more time. Those who have created great wealth intuitively understand this concept. The obvious question: How can you truly maximize your time? The answer: Get a greater return on the time you have available.

    1. Determine what you have to handle personally, then prioritize your list. If your daughter has a play at school and you have an internal office meeting, maybe you can have a colleague deliver your message or take notes at the meeting, while you attend the play.
    2. Identify and capitalize on your most productive hours in the day. For me it’s early in the morning. I am much more creative and focused in the morning. I take advantage of that time by performing any creative or demanding tasks between 6am and 12pm.
    3. End procrastination–Most people put off their most difficult tasks. The problem with this is they stay on your mind and cause stress until you take care of them. Brian Tracy has a saying, “swallow the frog,” meaning tackle your most difficult task first, then everything behind it is easier. Through this process you eliminate procrastination.
    4. Get up early. An extra uninterrupted hour or two in the morning before everyone else wakes up or gets to the office, can make a huge difference in what you get accomplished.
    5. Get organized—Clear your desk, scan or file your papers, and triage your email. Not only will you feel better, but you’ll be more productive once you de-clutter.
    6.  Create a daily task list. I just developed a four quadrant system that is proving to be very effective. Quadrant one is my general to do list. I prioritize my daily tasks here. Quadrant two is reminders, which are things I must do that are not urgent. This is a place to store less urgent tasks that I don’t want to overlook. Quadrant three is goals and quadrant four is the to do list for those goals. Quadrant three keeps me focused on my goals because I look at them every day. Quadrant four ensures that I take the daily steps to move towards my goals.
      Customized through the Priority Matrix app

      Customized through the Priority Matrix app

      Next week’s blog will discuss how other people in your life can help you to maximize your time. In the meantime, see if you can implement at least one of the five ideas above. If you have thoughts on something that works for you, I’d love to hear them. Send them to me at [email protected] or via twitter @JoelBrookman.

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      Posted by Joel Brookman in Direct Your Life, discipline, Increase your productivity, personal growth, Plan your life, productivity, Self improvement, success, The To Do List and tagged .


       

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