How to Schedule Time for FUN
How many times have you said, “I don’t have the time…..” or “I wish there were more hours in the day.”
The truth is, we are each in the position of being in control of setting our schedules, our priorities, our budgets, our relationships, and our thoughts, and yet many people relinquish that authority to chance. An old adage says that, “people plan to fail by failing to plan.”
Today I am going to talk about your time and how to be proactive with your planning. It can literally change not only your day, but the rest of your life!
In my speaking engagements, I often ask people what is their favorite thing to do. I am consistently surprised by the number of people who, immediately after telling me their favorite thing to do, follow up by stating, “But I never have time to do it.”
Why? If something is your favorite thing in the world, why do you never have the time to do it!?! I would venture to say it is a result of a lack of planning. Now, I am NOT saying that if golf is your favorite subject, by planning your time, you will be golfing all day. What I am saying is that if golf is truly your favorite thing to do, but you “haven’t had the time” to golf in the last month, you are short changing yourself!
Brian Andreas said, “everything changed the day he figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in his life.” “But where is it?” you ask. The most common answer is in planning- you prioritize the things that are on your calendar instead of prioritizing the people and activities that are the most important to you.
There are four steps to being proactive with your time.
#1. Plan Ahead
Pick a half an hour sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday night that is going to be your weekly planning time. A week is short enough that you know the majority of commitments you have scheduled and is long enough to allow for flexibility.
#2. Decide Your Priorities
Is it the gym? Taking your kids to the zoo? Golfing? These are the things that are usually overlooked-they things you “never have time to do.”
#3. Write it Down
Yes, actually write down your schedule for the week. If you only think about it, you will not stick to it. So…write down the things that you have committed to and can not change-from your office hours to evening activities. And then, this is the great part, schedule in your fun stuff! Decide when you will play tennis with your kids and which night is a good date night. Don’t try to squeeze the most important things into your busy schedule, instead schedule them!
#4. Follow it!
Commit to your personal meetings as much as you commit to the meeting with your boss. After all, they are your priorities-your favorite subjects-don’t leave them out!
So, now you have the steps to being proactive with your time-go be proactive! You’ll be amazed how time you magically find.
Be Free!
Leah Simpson
Instructor
Wow…This is right on a so timely. I have been working at this recently in a couple of areas. First and foremost it is something I am doing with my wife. We had been neglecting our time together for too long. But over the last couple of months we have consciously focusing on spending time doing things together. It hasn’t gone perfectly, but we have certainly enjoyed way more “us” time recently than before and it is so very good. It has added real joy to our lives.
Second, I have found a new favorite thing to do. Cutting, splitting and stacking firewood. Man, this better than golf! It’s such a blast when the maul hits just right and the wood falls into two perfect pieces. And, unlike a golf game, burning the wood will keep me warm this winter. I know it sounds strange, but there it is. Even so, it is a new thing, and I have to get it done soon as winter is coming on…so I have to schedule it in.
Good stuff. Thanks for the reminder.
Comment by dave d — August 20, 2008 @ 11:54 am
Thank you Leah; I am 54 years old and I am so sorry to say that this commentary applies
to me. I have always taken care of my job and allowed my family and personal aspiration
to go by the way side.
Also; I enjoyed the memory class in Orlando or as you called it recall class.
Comment by Francisco Lugo-Pagan — September 20, 2008 @ 8:00 pm