Make Time
Everyone wishes they had more time! We are all busy. Well, we think we are, or we try to be. Being busy means we are successful right? Wrong! Being busy means we occupy our time with tasks, meetings, and other semi-important activities, kicking the can further down the road so we can, one day put our feet up and enjoy that well-earned weekend, holiday, or retirement.
This doesn’t have to be the answer. Nor am I advocating for early retirement. I think it comes down to prioritising what’s important to you personally and professionally. Yes, we all need to make a living, but living doesn’t mean answering emails at the dinner table.
Respect your time, it is the only commodity you don’t get back. One way to ensure we make the most of our time is scheduling. Planning your days so you have set parameters for work, family time, personal development and leisure will increase productivity and prevent work spilling over into the things in life that matter most.
To do this, first we need to identify what is important to us. Some people call these things of importance “buckets” (thank you Jesse Itzler). If it helps, imagine the priorities in your life as a few buckets, and that directing your time and energy into filling these buckets will bring a sense of fulfilment, happiness and purpose. Not everything in life that is necessary is enjoyable but, a disciplined approach can ensure that our obligations and priorities are appropriately weighed and measured.
What are my Buckets?
One of my ‘buckets’ is family time. Filling this bucket requires my physical and emotional presence which I’m fortunate my work schedule provides. Switching my phone on do not disturb until 7.30am gives me an hour and a half in the morning with my daughter to solve the structural integrity of lego houses and improve our 200ml milk bottle boat race times. Scheduling training and matches in our family calendar also gives my wife and I the ability to plan day trips and holidays.
Another bucket is my work, Rugby. I enjoy the challenge of professional sport, the pressure that comes with it, and the preparation that is required to win. I am fortunate to be doing something I love for a living. No doubt it is easier to pour energy into a bucket that you are passionate about. What is important is the how. How do I direct my energy to ensure I am getting the most out of my efforts. Somewhere along the way a good friend and old team mate introduced me to the concept of a Performance plan. Such a plan breaks down the desired goal into a number of smaller tasks over a set timeframe. Next, details are added, reps are counted and time is allocated to create a roadmap for success. Put simply, a performance plan is a checklist for success, outlining the steps needed and time required to achieve a set goal.
My third bucket is Personal Development. For me this comes in many forms, like learning a second language, reading, managing a side business and writing a blog about mental well-being. Once again scheduling is the enabler here. What is left over from the above buckets is allocated to PD. For example, on my day off I have a Japanese lesson for an hour. Once a month, for a couple of hours I will check in on the side business as it relatively small and has multiple operators. When it comes to reading, this is usually done over a coffee at a cafe during a lunch break or at night before bed. Lastly, writing blog posts hasn’t received the attention it deserves. I have set aside times in my week to sit down and write but have been slack as of late.
Parting note
Looking forward to the next big thing in our calendar or wish list, seeing it as the next source of happiness is known as conditional happiness. This mindset robs us of the present. Be sure to enjoy the little things along the way. Don’t waste your time doing things you don’t want to, make time by prioritising your buckets as time waits for no one.
If you are time poor, struggle with prioritising and productivity or looking for more balance in your life I recommend the following books and writings
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, By Cal Newport
Peter and the Magic Thread, By Anonymous
