Getting Control Of Your Time and Your Life

As the world around us seems to move faster, become more complex and filled with more and more information and stimulation it can seem ever more difficult to control your time and your life.

I do not personally believe you or anybody can have 'everything', whatever that means. But I do believe that you can have what is truly important to you.

To do this it is necessary to become very clear about where you have been, what you want in you life now, in the near future (five years or so) and by the end of your life. I have noticed, when teaching a time/life management classes, that when I tell the class that they have only six months to live their priorities change radically.

I suggest that you start by making a list of the really important parts of your life. Under each category, list what you want to have experienced, seen, done, achieved etc. in each area. We never know when the end will come so, it is a good idea to be taking action on something in each category of life on a daily basis. By deciding what is really important to you, it is much easier to set appropriate boundaries and priorities.

Here are some categories to get you started. Eliminate those that are not important to you and add any that are not on the list or use other words which are more meaningful for you. When you have finished your lists, star the ten things that if you could do nothing else you would focus on for sure. Then start planning ways to take action on them today and everyday until they are accomplished or no longer important to you.

• Parents and other relatives
• Spouse/significant other
• Children/grandchildren
• Friends/family of choice
• Work/career
• Accomplishments
• Money/investments
• Things/possessions
• Knowledge
• Adventure/pleasure/fun
• Creativity
• Health/well-being
• Spiritual path
• Wisdom
• Community/connection
• Contribution
• Legacy

Now that you have some ideas about what is truly important to you create an action plan that allows you to spend some time each week or month moving toward the fulfillment of those desires.

Look at your top 10 list daily and remove from your to-do list those activities that will not contribute to reaching one of the goals on your list. It is your time and your life, don't spend precious time on other peoples priorities unless they are in alignment with your own.

Recommended Reading

The 26 Hour Day, Vince Panella

A book that will actually teach you how to gain at least two to four more profitable, productive and enjoyable hours a day at work and at home. By focusing on behaviors over organizational skills, it shatters the fallacy of traditional time management and gives you the specific skills necessary to massively leverage your time.

Every business and career professional trying to find more profitable and productive time at work and a more balanced and enjoyable time at home can benefit from these proven time-management techniques. This book will, as the author declares, "help you gain control of yourself. Do that, and you can fully control your time. Control your time, and you control your destiny."

Click for more about this book