Time is Non-refundable. Use it with Intention.

Time perception is an accurate understanding of how our hours are spent. As the holiday season approaches, we are already seeing decorations in neighborhoods and the bustle in stores, and the response to a polite “How are you?” is a common refrain of “Too busy!” Life is undoubtedly full of personal commitments, work, family and home, so the question becomes, how can we be more intentional with our time?

Below are a few time hacks to experiment with.

How

• Journal for at least a two-week period around how you are actually investing your energy and time. Look at both planned time as well as what you actually did.
• Begin to notice patterns of behavior that are driven by habits of thought.
• Where are you spending most of your time?
• What percentage of your time is invested in tactical versus strategic activities and why?
• What shifts would you like to make to move you closer to some of your intended outcomes and goals?
• What will have to change in your thinking so that you begin to value strategic activities and relationship management the same way you value tactical activities?

The Mechanics

1. Track your time – keep a detailed journal of all your activities, including time on Facebook or social media as well as watching television. This provides a clear picture of your habits. You can take a notebook and divide it into half-hour chunks.
2. Make a schedule – Ask yourself, What’s the ideal use of my time daily, considering my role and aspirations? From the book “The One Thing” by Gary Keller, what is one thing you can do today that would make everything easier or more effective and would give you more energy and help you feel engaged to share your purpose? It could be planning and preparing your meals by getting up a half-hour earlier.
3. Time-block – Make and keep commitments to yourself.
4. Notice changes – Notice changes you make to your schedule and why.

Try something new; it does not mean you have to keep it as a ritual. Experiment with the practices above and notice what you learn about yourself!

Share with me and the Emergent team what you learned or a new time hack that you discovered. We will post your hack on our Emergent social media pages and give you the credit!

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