In this blog, I want to share with you what has helped me gain more clarity, focus, and productivity in my life to achieve my goals. If you are struggling to manage your time and have a very busy, but not too productive, life at the moment, I am sure this blog will help you. Not that everyone reading this is not productive, but we can all get caught up in the game of life and struggle to find the time to achieve what is meaningful to ourselves to be fulfilled.
Priority problems, not time problems
I used to tell myself lies about not having enough time. It used to be my excuse for not going to the gym, not finishing more music, not visiting friends or family because I was too busy working or claiming to be. We all can use the excuse, but I just don’t have the time; the problem is we will never have the time we want, when we want it, and if we aren’t careful, it will destroy our progression in life, saying yes to new opportunities, and living more of a successful and fulfilled life.
The problems I encountered were coming up against my own limitations and excuses. I knew what I loved to do most, music production and DJing on the weekends, plus I started an online business, so I could get out of the rat race and have a music career full time. The problem is that it was very difficult and overwhelming to manage, not because I didn’t know what I wanted, but because I didn’t plan to prioritise what I needed to do to execute and achieve my goals.
Anyone can have a goal, but very few people take actions daily to achieve it. This is the hardest thing to do, take action consistently, but also take the right action to maximise the results. I read an article by T. Harv Eker that helped me tremendously; click here to check it out > The Big Kuhuna.
He talks about focusing on that one task or goal that will get you 80 percent of your result. I have had a lot of trouble in the past, focusing on just one thing. I still do, but I make sure I prioritise my day to the best of my ability.
Distracted by everything and everyone
We live in a distracted world. Most people are distracted by everything and everyone else’s agendas. When was the last time you woke up and did not pick up your phone to check on your Facebook notifications? Or turned on your laptop to check on your emails? These are the worst things anyone can do to destroy all productivity and creativity for the day. I know firsthand just how big of a negative impact this has had on my music production progress, when it comes to finishing more music and writing a blog.
Each time you check a notification, you are firing a shot of dopamine from your brain. Dopamine is like the reward centre of the brain. The more that fires, the better we can feel. The only problem is that we can only have so much in a day before the prefrontal cortex gets drained, and we lose our focus and concentration. This blog explains 10 ways you can increase dopamine in your brain. How can we take control of our day or life and create successful habits to get work done? And how do we find the motivation or inspiration to achieve goals that make us grow?
Set no target and you will hit nothing
When I ask people, like my friends, what do you want to accomplish in life or what do you want to do with yourself in terms of career, few if any, can give me a clear response. Some say more money. Others say travel the world or start a new hobby. The trouble with these responses is they are vague and lack a purpose, or what I would call a why. Why do you want what you say you want?
This is called wishful thinking, because there is no meaning behind the goal or want. My question to you is, how often do you take time out of your day to sit down uninterrupted with a pen and paper and put down what you want to do in detail, why you want it, and put an estimated date to it? Clearly defined questions can often lead to clearly defined answers. When setting a goal, it has to be your goal, not what your parents or friends want you to do because it’s socially acceptable, but what you want to do.
A metaphor I like to use is, you wouldn't go for a hike in the unfamiliar woods without a map, so why would you do the same with your life? I know everything doesn’t go to plan, but when it comes to time management and getting what you want out of life, taking the time to plan what is most important will make you reflect and think about what is important and how you can get there.
“Clarity equals power - Tony Robbins”
Setting goals
It can be a very confusing thing to do, not just because of a lack of clarity, but because there are many ways to set them. I suggest what has worked for me in the past, but my way is not necessarily the way, but a way. At the beginning of each year, I sit down and set out 5 major goals in Business, Music career, Health, Finances, and Relationships. I will write them down with clarity, why I want them and how I can execute them by breaking them down into steps.
I start with the end in mind and break them into quarterly goals leading to yearly goals. Then, I do monthly goals leading to quarterly, then weekly goals leading to monthly and daily goals leading to weekly. Are you overwhelmed yet? lol. This can be a little frustrating initially, because you are training the brain to think in different ways that are uncomfortable and unfamiliar. This is 50 percent of the battle right here, getting pen on paper, and it can take a few hours, but it’s only once a year.
Once you know what you want and you break it down, you can be amazed just how simple it can be if you just take it one day at a time. I advise you not to look at the yearly goals anymore; just focus on monthly goals. The trouble I used to face is that I would always see how far away I was with my goals because I focused on how much more I need to do, instead of how much I achieved. So, in the past, I never rewarded myself with my small wins, because I was too focused on the end result.
Often, I felt like a failure because I went off track and lost momentum. I made the mistake of focusing on lack, rather than growth. Your focus is everything. Reward yourself more; no one will do it for you, but you.
How to take back control of your day
One day, you can be on top of the world; others you can be flat as hell. Consistent daily action, once again, is the key, but how do you plan your day to win?
Here are a few ways that helped me:
1. Plan your day the night before bed.
2. Write out 5 tasks that must be completed to get closer to your goal and win the day. It’s not always about completing all 5; it’s about completing what’s most important.
3. Start with the hardest task first. Use the 80/20 rule. What is the 1 task out of 5 that will bring me 80 percent of the result?
4. Don’t respond to other people’s demands before your own (this is big). If there is just one thing you take from this blog, it is to complete what is most important to you before you do things like check an email, check your phone for messages, or any form of notification, like Facebook or Twitter etc. As soon as you get into reaction mode, you lose the day.
5. Give yourself a reward when you do this hard task, the task or activity you fear the most. This helps overcome procrastination and promotes growth and momentum or successful habits.
6. Continue this habit, but also realise that you need to take time off.
Even on your days off, do something first thing in the morning, no matter how big or small, that will kickstart your day and bring more fulfilment. It could be doing a quick Facebook or YouTube video, maybe even something like cleaning your office or work bench to have more space and promote a more refreshing and motivating work environment.
I could go on and on with many other areas to manage time and achieve more productivity, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. What helps me, as well, is a 30-minute morning meditation to kickstart my day and get all the negative mental inner chatter out of my brain. Most of the time, your mind will be your own worst enemy. You will need to help silence it as best you can.
I want to leave you now with some awesome books that have helped me in this area below, so you can also do your own research ;)