It is Sunday night and you finally get a chance to rest and look at your diary for the week ahead, your diary is filled with your TO DO LISTS and as you look through your notes you tell yourself, “I’m going to complete everything on my list.” Your intentions are good but do you complete your list? Most people answer, “NO!” You start the cycle of feeling upset and negative that there is no time to do what you love in your life. You talk to your partner, your family, and anyone else who will listen, you spend hours on the phone during the week complaining that you have no time to complete your tasks. Guess what, you are not alone in feeling this way! The weeks turn into months and the months into years and you feel like you have been on a roller coaster ride to nowhere. You feel bruised and tired and you find that your days are constantly spinning out of control. The first step is to STOP judging yourself, no one is perfect.
We’re all navigating through this human experience called life as best we can and I have yet to meet a person that has it all figured out. I’m going to share what I’ve learned and in my experience most people want to have everything NOW and when things don’t work out their way then they feel like a complete failure. They give up before they even start; the problem is that people run out of patience when they cannot accomplish all their goals in one year. Life is an ongoing process, it happens when you take small steps towards achieving your goals. It might seem like you are not winning in the beginning, but continue to move forward even when things are not perfect. It’s about taking consistent action towards your dreams, you need to start taking action and stop overthinking about how you will do things. Things will never be just the way we want them, there is no perfect time or thing.
Do you know where you’re going and how can you gain more control over your life?
Don’t worry what other people think, keep going when the critics tell you that you are crazy, it cannot be done, and even if you don’t see how everything will work yet. If you decide on taking that first step, the next step will be revealed to you and before you know it, you will have achieved your goals.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effect without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
– Theodore roosevelt
TAKE ACTION TO STOP PROCRASTINATION
Most people think that everything needs to be perfect before being able to move forward with their plan. The problem with this, is that things might never be perfect and you are just wasting time thinking about things instead of actually doing something about them. There will never be the perfect time if you are waiting for the kids to grow up before taking action to start a career of your dreams, or when you have enough money to start a business and the list goes on. Things will NEVER be perfect, move on to the next step NOW, there is only so much time and energy, don’t waste it. Taking imperfect action even if you don’t know HOW to achieve your goals will help you grow and new ideas and possibilities will start to open up to you. Write your goals, get clear on what you want, then start taking action with what you have and where you are. If you don’t know where to start, just move forward anyway and continue to move forward. Make a decision as this will lead to action, producing something is better than nothing at all. If you fail, you will know how to do things differently next time. You can always change your plan as you move forward, but if you don’t make a decision and start you will never reach your goals, you will never know what you are capable of achieving in your life.
Learn to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable, this will allow you to face your fears and move forward with the uncertainty. This is the magical place where growth happens, it’s where everything impossible becomes possible. If I waited to be the ‘perfect’ writer before writing this blog, I would be waiting at least a few more years to complete all the courses. I’m learning so much on my journey and I want to share my opinions and experience with my audience NOW and help as many people as possible. I am learning to be a better writer through my writing, I am doing what I love. If I didn’t start until everything was just perfect I would be wasting so much time. I have a growth mindset, I love learning and working on different projects to share my journey with YOU!
I believe in planning every area of my life, I am constantly reviewing my schedule and plan as my situation changes. You don’t have to feel stuck if something isn’t working, you can always change it! REMEMBER IT IS YOUR LIFE AND YOU ARE ALWAYS IN CONTROL OF YOUR FUTURE. I will share some tips that I have learned on my journey to plan the important areas of your life to save time and I hope it will help you to stay focused on those important goals and TO DO LISTS:
THE BENEFITS OF WAKING UP EARLY
If you are finding that you don’t have enough hours in the day to complete your tasks, you might consider waking up a few hours earlier every day. There are 24 hours in a day for EVERYONE and you might wonder how some people achieve so much more than others. It can be that they manage their time better, most successful people are early risers. I used to think that waking up at the crack of dawn was only necessary for farmers! If you want to achieve many things in life then waking up early will do wonders for your productivity. Waking up early can be difficult the first few weeks as your mind and body adjust to the new sleep-wake patterns. I used to be a night owl as I could work through the night but I had to switch to a new schedule as my commitments changed during the day. I go to bed earlier now and I wake up a few hours earlier and I have found it is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. I feel more energetic and I can complete more tasks during the early hours of the morning. It is all about learning to adjust and accept that sometimes we need to change our routine in order to reach our goals. There are many benefits of waking up early as early risers can be more proactive and identify potential problems quickly. One of my favourite books to read is called ‘THE 5AM CLUB’ written by Robin Sharma.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
If you want to succeed in life, you will need to maintain a healthy mind and body as if one area suffers then the other will suffer too. For example, if you are thinking thoughts that are causing stress and fear this will cause stress in your body. Pay attention to your thoughts, spend time focusing on positive thoughts and feeling grateful for what you have accomplished in your life. Starting a meditation routine in the morning is a great way to clear your mind and set a positive tone for the rest of your day. Find an exercise routine that you enjoy for 30 minutes every day to maintain a healthy body. Learn about self-care as your body is your temple that you will live in for the rest of your life so you need to treat it well and it will serve you well. Avoid eating junk foods and start to include lots of fruit and vegetables in your diet and drink as much water as you need. Listen to your body and don’t ignore your body’s need for rest. Do what makes you feel happy and balanced for your mind, body and soul, there are no rules for YOUR happiness.
EASY WAYS TO ORGANISE YOUR HOME LIFE
Are you living in chaos; is your house untidy and are you constantly looking for your paperwork and clothes? This is my least favourite area of my daily life as I’m so busy that the house chores are always last on my list. However, I schedule time twice a week to organise this area in my life as our external environment can increase or decrease our energy. Cleaning the house is not on everyone’s priority list, but if you are surrounded by clutter it can make you feel uncomfortable and builds stagnant energy in your environment and it can feel like your life is out of control. Set the alarm for 40 minutes twice a week, get as much cleaning and organising as possible during this time. You will be surprised how much cleaning and organising you can do in a short space of time and you can maintain this schedule once it becomes a habit. You can save time in the future as you won’t have to spend hours organising everything. Start creating a supportive and comfortable environment and make cleaning and decluttering a priority on your weekly schedule.
RELATIONSHIPS
Learn to say “NO” to distractions and structure your day to focus on your tasks and projects that move you closer to completing your goals. It can be difficult to say NO to friends that want to catch up with you on the latest news from the weekend, your time is precious, there are 24 hours in a day for everyone and you can never make more time. We need to nurture our relationships with family and friends as humans need social interaction, schedule time in your calendar for meeting and speaking to family and friends on the weekend. Make time for the people you care about but also let them know that you are working on building your dreams and you are not available to speak during the week unless there is an emergency. Real friends will understand and appreciate your honesty and they will give you time and space and continue supporting you through the difficult times.
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you can’t get more time.”
jim rohn
FINANCES
Don’t let your finances spiral out of control, start a budget to track where you are spending your money so that you don’t run out of money each month. Creating a budget can help you control your spending and track your expenses. Everything counts and if you are able to see where you are spending your money, this can save time as you won’t be shopping for items that are not essential to help you save money. For example, you will be amazed how much you can spend on buying coffee every day or eating out every month. Instead every time you decide NOT to spend money on your habit of buying a coffee every day, transfer the amount you would have spent to a savings account!
PRAISE YOURSELF ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
There is nothing permanent in life and EVERYTHING can be changed. Do yourself a favour and stop complaining about your life as negative thoughts will only bring more negativity and problems into your life. Rather than complaining you can take action and change the areas of your life that are not working. You can save time by organising your life. If you are organised then it is easier to plan and have more time to spend on yourself. Self-care is important to recharge, treat yourself and calm your mind. Praise yourself on your accomplishments and remember it’s a journey, if you take consistent action things will start falling into place. It might seem like more work and effort in the beginning but ultimately you CAN WIN.
“The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
LAO TZU