Unlocking More Time in Your Day: Shifting Focus From Doing to Being
What’s one thing most leaders wish they had more of?
TIME.
How many times in a day or a week have you found yourself thinking or even saying out loud, “If only I had more time to…”
So many of my clients come to our coaching sessions feeling like they’re on a hamster wheel. They’re spread thin, unsure where to focus, overwhelmed, or feeling guilty about how much is still on their list. They ask “How can I get more done with the time I have?”
I often ask clients what having more time would give them.
Each person wants to get more done to feel a certain way:
Free
Clear
Calm
Focused
Joy
Peace
Successful
What are all of these? States of BEING!
My top 10 tips for building more intentional time in your day:
Start first with the end in mind- How do I want to be?
1) Set your intention for how you want to be. Before getting out the planner or Trello board to plot your “to-dos”, ask yourself “How do I want to feel today?” Take a moment to notice what that feeling is like in your body. Maybe calm feels like your shoulders dropping, or focus feels like you have more space in your chest to breathe more deeply. Write down your intention to help you come back to this desired state of being throughout the day.
Create your plan from your desired state of being combined with some or all of these tips to experience more flow while already getting to feel the way you want to.
2) Have a resilience routine - This is what I call the primary self-care items you consistently do to have more vitality in your daily life. Prioritize this time because without your health, the rest of this list will not matter.
3) Set clear, measurable goals and know why these goals are important. It is the why that will help you stay on course.
4) Know your zones of genius and excellence. These are the skills you want to be using the majority of the day to make progress faster and with more ease.
5) Delegate or eliminate as many of the other “to-dos” that are not in your zones of genius or excellence.
6) Before you start, decide what “done” looks like. The 80/20 rule is probably enough for most tasks. Not everything needs to be tied with a bow.
7) Schedule your most important work for the time of day when you have the most energy.
8) Follow through on what you planned. When a new task comes up, pause and ask whether it needs your attention now or can it wait until you’ve finished the work you already planned.
9) Create a continuous improvement cycle to celebrate your successes and revise/reset when you get off course.
10) Accept that there will always be more to do and embrace that you get to choose your state of being every day.
I too have many days where the “time scarcity monster” needs to be put in the back seat. I’m in the driver’s seat today and I’m choosing to be happy, peaceful, calm, and grateful.
How do you want to feel today? I’d love to hear what you’re choosing in the comments.
Resources:
Want more support with putting this into practice? Schedule a discovery call and we will discuss how you can build more intention and productivity into your day. Schedule a call here
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