Do You Want More Time In Your Day? 5 Tips to Be More Effective

How effective are you with your time? This is where it truly begins. Effective means doing the right things. It’s not a measure of how much you get done or how busy you are during the day. Let’s take a closer look.

Donald wakes up every morning, immediately checks his phone, answers emails while on the toilet, opens the front door to grab the newspaper, skims the major headlines, then rushes to take a shower, throws a bagel in the toaster, and dashes out the door to work with a bagel in his mouth. Donald’s heart is racing, his mind is scattered, and all he can think about is what else will land in his email inbox when he arrives at work. Donald scampers through his email, then rushes off to a series of meetings. He comes home at the end of the day depleted and exhausted.

Donald took a quick pause. My chest is really tight. I hope something isn’t wrong. My kids, wife, and team depend on me. I can’t keep living like this. How do I change?

As he walks through his front door, he realized he didn’t even get the one email out to his best client that he really needed to send that day. He sat in frustration, ready for a beer and to tune out the day with tv. He fell asleep on the couch.

He didn’t acknowledge his wife in the morning or even wish his kids a good day at school. Donald barely noticed his team working diligently to please him.

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to be more effective.

How do you identify your priorities every morning?
How do you schedule your priorities into your calendar?
What habits make you more effective with your time and energy?
Do you know what you are honoring in each decision you make?
How do you celebrate your successes?

Donald went through the motions without ever giving thought to what he was actually doing. He went to meetings without ever scheduling time to get his own priorities done.

Robin Sharma says, “Don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many people are simply busy being busy.”

I want you to be effective with your time and your energy. Those around you want to be with a person who is energized, engaged, and enthused not depleted and exhausted.

Wishing you an abundant, joyful and prosperous day!