Wise Up About Time.

The top 5 classic cons, misinformation, red herrings, and self-sabotaging beliefs about time:

1. You will one day ‘find time’ for those things that you know that you need to be doing now.You will never find time. It’s not hidden under the bed, or in the biscuit tin or manifested as a result of buying three wristwatches.   You need to make time. You make it by putting it in your diary. Time is made available from commitment. Whatever you are committed to – you will find time for in your schedule, believe me.
2. Stop kidding yourself that you are committed to something if you are not making time for it. Tell the truth – at least to yourself. Either stop the self-delusion that you are committed to ‘getting fit,  strategic planning, seeing more of customers or listening to the team’ when your deeds don’t match your words. Either stop and focus on something you are committed too or, shake yourself up and get committed in big, real time.  (For the avoidance of doubt on this one , give yourself a break; people are easy to fool and the easiest person to fool is looking at you out of the mirror – believe me again!)
3. “If I had more time….” Never going to happen. A 24 hour days is your slice of time. Putting off action until the time is right is the classic self-delusion, but more than that,  holding that belief destroys your ability to think creatively about time.
4. “I don’t have time because….”   of them, it, circumstances, my boss, my customers, my team, in fact anyone and anything not me is at the source of my rammed schedule.
   Does someone stand by your desk in the morning holding a sawn off to your head insisting you fill the diary to the brim? No, thought not. Blaming stuff ‘out there’ is just another strategy for avoiding tackling the real accountable person (see mirror above).
5. “I am going to live forever.” Of course no one says that out loud, we just act like that is the case. Attending meetings we know are crap, procrastinating about the few but precious actions and habits we know we need to put in place, letting opportunities drift and time wasters dominate.

If you are committed to something – diary it.

I write this whilst looking in the mirror. Reflection kills inertia and enables progress. Thank you!