Do you sometimes feel as though there are just not enough hours in the day to get done everything you need or want to get done? Do you struggle trying to balance your work, your family and social life? This article will provide you with a simple three-step process on how to earn more while working less.
One critical key to earning more and working less is being organized. Most people who earn six or seven figures and only work part-time, are highly organized. In addition to being organized you need to prioritize. May of us spend 80% of our time doing things that only make 20% of the difference in our lives. Top income earners, know exactly what matters most and that’s what they spend there time doing. They skip or delegate everything else.
Step 1 — Get organized and prioritize. Make a list of everything there is to do and handle in your life, your home and your business or job. That may seem like a daunting task that could take days if not months. Just sit down and start listing things you either want or need to get done in no particular order, as they pop into your head. This list of “to do’s” is finite and in reality will probably only take you an hour or two to create.
Step 2 – Take a good look at the items on your list and decide what items will make the most impact on your income and quality of life. Sit in silence for 20 minutes and meditate over your list. The most impactful items on your list will start jumping off the page. Highlight those items.
Step 3 – Move all of the highlighted items from your list into your calendar. Schedule when you are going to do each task and be realistic when determining how much time to allow for each task. For example, you may schedule one project for Monday from 7am-9am, a task on Tuesday from 8pm-10pm, and six simple phone calls for Thursday from 2pm-3pm and so on.
If you are unable to get all of the highlighted items into your calendar within the next two weeks, then you need to refine your highlighted list again before entering it into your schedule.
This process helps you get organized, focus on the 20% that matters most and will help prevent you from taking on more tasks than you can handle effectively. If you are unable to complete a task during the scheduled time, re-schedule the task for another time.
Once you switch over from keeping a running “to do” list to scheduling every task, you will begin to feel more relaxed, be more efficient, feel like you have more time and you will get done the most important tasks that make the biggest difference in your life.
When you have a running “to do” list you are more likely to stress over what you need to get done because you don’t know when and how it’s going to get done. By simply scheduling what needs to get done, it will get done when it’s time to do it. No more stressing or agonizing over it. It’s in your schedule and you know you have time for it, specific time set aside. Even if it’s just a simple task like making a phone call, if it’s in your schedule you know you won’t forget about it and you know it will get done.
Be sure to leave open space in your calendar for interruptions and putting out fires. Also, schedule family time, exercise time, alone time, mealtime and organization time (go through your mail, file, etc). This will help keep you organized and in balance.
