Category: Priorities

How many time commitments do you have that you don’t even realize you have?

• The lines you’re forced to wait in
• The long commutes
• The time it takes to get ready

How might you creatively reclaim some of that time?

• Do you have to wait in those lines? Or is there a way you can skip them altogether? i.e. Rather than buying coffee each morning, can you start making it from home?

• Assuming you can’t opt out of the long commutes, is there a way you can improve how you spend that time? i.e. Long commutes are a perfect time to soak in audiobooks—which are great because they don’t always have to be nonfiction/ productive. They can be leisurely and entertainment oriented, too. Much better than yelling at stupid drivers.

• Is there any way you can shorten the time it takes for you to get ready? i.e. Can you set clothes out the night before or get one step ahead of breakfast some how? Smooth starts are usually a byproduct of end-of-the-day preemptive thinking.

It might take you 10-15 minutes to thoroughly think through these ideas.

The benefit, of course, is that even if you can only manage to find a way to save 10-15 minutes throughout your entire day… you just LIFETIME Xed your investment.

In other words, if you hold true to this idea for 100 days—you just 100xed your invested time. If you hold true for 365 days—you just 365xed your invested time. And if you can keep it going for the rest of your life…?

That’s right—a lifetime xed investment.

Unbelievably worth it.

Time management trick: define whether each task of your day should have a “hard stop” or “soft stop.”

• Hard stop: Non-negotiable end to a task. e.g. 11pm is a hard-stop because sleep is a top priority. I don’t allow myself to work at even 11:01pm.

• Soft stop: Flexible end to a task. e.g. Usually, I write between 2pm – 3pm. But, if the writing is flowing smooth and I’m in the zone, I allow myself to ride that momentum until it ends.

The problem with getting these confused is that it mostly hurts your top priorities.

Top priority tasks should be treated as “soft stops,” but are often treated as “hard stops.” Things like sleep, family time, exercise, writing, reading, connecting with friends, etc.—you should be able to spend whatever amount of time feels right. But, either you force yourself to cut it short or you don’t have enough time to allot.

Which leads to the second confusion: treating tasks that should be “hard stops” as “soft stops.” Things like TV, video games, social media time, etc—you can easily end up spending entire days doing these types of things if you don’t take control. And when you don’t, that excessive time gets taken from—that’s right—your top priorities.

And it turns into a vicious cycle.

Not enough time to do what’s most important because you spent too much time doing what’s not. And because you have less time, you’re constantly playing catch up.

So, what’s the solution? Give what’s less important tighter “hard stops” and then you’ll finally get to enjoy “soft stops” while doing what’s more.