Principle Number Ten: You grow as a person in direct proportion to the demands that you place on yourself. The self-discipline of time management builds character, confidence and an unshakable belief in yourself and your abilities.
Principle Number Eleven: Lasting motivation only comes from a feeling of achievement and accomplishment. The more you get done, the better you feel about yourself, and the more eager you become to do even more.
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Principle Number Twelve: Now, this minute, is all the time you have. If you manage yourself minute by minute, the hours and days will take care of themselves. The more tightly you manage your time, the more guaranteed you are that it will translate into a great life, hallmarked by purpose, power, control and worthwhile accomplishments.
The Seven Practices of Time Power
There are seven methods that you can use to help you to develop the habits of time management. The more you think about and practice these methods, the more rapidly you will program yourself to be efficient, effective and highly productive.
First, remember that your self-image determines your performance. You always perform on the outside in a manner consistent with the picture you have of yourself on the inside. Practice visualizing and imagining yourself as you want to be, not as you may have been in the past.
You can actually change your self-image permanently by repeatedly visualizing yourself as highly efficient and effective. See yourself as absolutely excellent in time and personal management skills. Play this picture over and over again on the screen of your mind until it is accepted as a new set of commands by your subconscious mind. At that point, effective time management will become easy and automatic for you.
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Second, remember that new habit pattern formation takes about 21 days of practice and repetition. It has taken you your entire lifetime to become the person you are today, with the time management habits you have at this moment. It takes time and commitment to change, and for your subconscious mind to accept the new commands, pictures and affirmations as your new operating instructions for your personal behavior. Be patient with yourself.
Don’t expect to change everything at once.
Third, promise yourself that you are going to become excellent at time management. Promise yourself that you are going to be punctual, and that you are going to concentrate on your most important tasks. Then, promise others that you are going to be more effective and efficient in the future.
When you tell others, and promise others, that you are going to become better at the way you use your time, it makes it easier for you to make a firm commitment to yourself to follow through on these behaviors. When you know that other people are watching you to see if you will do what you said you would, you tend to be far more disciplined and firm with yourself.
Fourth, in developing the habits of time management, start in just one area where poor time management is holding you back. Don’t try to change everything at once. Change just one habit or activity where you know that improvement could be very helpful to you. As you discipline yourself to improve in a single area, you will find yourself becoming more productive in other areas at the same time.
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Fifth , launch your new time management habit strongly. Never allow an exception once you have decided that you are going to become excellent in a particular behavior. If you decide to be punctual for every appointment, discipline yourself to be early every single time until the new habit of punctuality becomes a permanent part of your behavior. If you decide to start early and concentrate on your most valuable tasks, discipline yourself to do this every single day for at least three weeks until it becomes easy and natural for you to start early on your highest priority. Never let yourself off the hook. Never make excuses or rationalizations for slacking off. Resolve to repeat the new behavior every time until the new habit is firmly entrenched.
Sixth, use the “trial and success” method rather than the “trial and error”
method. The trial and success method requires that you learn how to succeed by failing, and then by learning from your mistakes.
Analyze your reasons for poor time management. Stand back and look at the areas in your life where your time is the most poorly managed, and ask yourself, “Why do I behave this way in this area?”
Ask yourself, “What are the obstacles to my operating more efficiently in this area?” Take some time to reflect on your current behaviors and think about what you are doing. This will give you the awareness to make the changes that you need to make to be the efficient and effective person that you are capable of becoming.
Seventh, and perhaps the most important of all, is for you to absolutely believe that you can and will become outstanding at time management.
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The Law of Belief says that, “Your beliefs become your realities.” The more intensely you believe that you can and will become excellent at time management, the more rapidly this becomes your reality. If you hold to your belief long enough and hard enough, it will eventually materialize as your new behaviors with regard to time.
The good news is that time management is a skill, like typing or riding a bike. Like any other skill, it is learnable with practice and repetition. You have the ability, right now, to develop the habits of excellent time management in every area of your life. It is simply a matter of getting started, and then persisting until your new time management habits are permanent.
Time management is your key to personal effectiveness, self-esteem, self-respect and greater personal productivity and happiness. With time management, you can overcome any obstacle, and achieve any goal. With excellent time management skills, you can take complete control over your life and your future. Time management is your key to unlimited success.
“You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your own hands, and you may make use of it the moment you learn to control your thoughts.” (Napoleon Hill) Action Exercises:
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1. Select one area where better time management skills can help you to be more effective and get more done. Resolve to go to work on yourself in that area immediately.
2. Think back on a time when you were performing at your best. Recall and replay the picture of this experience on the screen of your mind whenever you approach a new task.
3. Talk to yourself positively all the time. Repeat affirmations like, “I use my time efficiently and well!”
4. Imagine that everyone around you is looking up to you as the role model of personal efficiency, and that they were going to organize their days the way you organize yours. Act accordingly.
5. Think about teaching a course in time management to your friends and colleagues. What would be the most important things you would want to teach them?
6. Determine the areas of your work that give you the most satisfaction and make plans to become even more productive in those areas.
7. Resolve today that you are going to work and practice until you become one of the most efficient, effective and productive people in your field. Take action immediately on your resolution.
Chapter Two
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Setting Goals and Objectives
“You too can determine what you want. You can decide on your major objectives, targets, aims and destination.” (W. Clement Stone) The most important word in personal effectiveness is the word “Clarity.”
The starting point of Time Power is for you to develop absolute clarity about your goals and objectives. The most common time waster and biggest obstacle to success in life is losing sight of what you are trying to accomplish, or forgetting what you set out to do. In The Devil’s Dictionary, author Ambrose Bierce wrote, “Fanaticism is redoubling your efforts after your aim has been forgotten.” Many people are working hard every day but they have no clear idea of their real goals and objectives.
Time management, more than anything else, requires the planning and organizing of your time in such a way that you accomplish your most important goals as quickly as possible. Organizing your goals and objectives clearly, and by priority, and then working with single-minded focus on the most important things you can possibly do to achieve them, is the key to using your time effectively and well.
Join the Top 3%
As it happens, fewer than 3% of people have clear, written goals, and they are usually the most successful in every field. Less than 1% of people rewrite and review their goals on a regular basis. In an article I once wrote 35