Let's talk about time. There's never enough time in a day, is there? Are 24 hours enough to get ahead and do what you want in life? I want to get to the bottom of this black magic we call time today.

I hear it repeatedly from friends, colleagues, and clients. They say, "I don't have time!".

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We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Whether you are rich or poor, famous or a CEO., 24 hours sounds like a lot of time, yet why do we always seem to fall short of this valuable asset?

Time is an asset. Burn this into your mind and believe it. If you waste time, you're wasting an excellent asset in your life. No, you don't have to be productive 24/7. But time continues to tick whether you take action or not.

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The Truth About Time

Want to know the truth about time finally? There is enough. Enough time for you and me to get everything we want to get done and more. How, you may ask?

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Prioritize.

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To prioritize something means to designate something as more important than another thing.

Please stop trying to do everything, because there is not enough time to do it all! Although, a clear understanding of WHAT your priorities are will help you to eliminate the noise and focus on what matters.

If you prioritize your health, you will have time to go the gym.

If you prioritize your money, you will have time to create a budget.

If you prioritize family, you will have time to call and visit them.

If you prioritize your career, you will show up on time for your shift every day.

Your priorities are the things that need to be PRIORITISED—the top of the list. Eliminate the rest of your to-do's and items and stick with your top 3 priorities each day.

Not Enough Time

Suppose there's not enough time to get what you need and want to do. Start cutting out things from your schedule. Limit TV, sleep 1 hour less per night, go to the gym earlier, create a daily and weekly schedule.

The truth is how you spend your time each day is up to you and your priorities. If you don't seem to have enough time, then you need to either:

1. Prioritize your tasks and to-do's better

OR

2. Eliminate tasks from your day altogether

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Start Planning Your Time & Days

Stop using the excuse - I don't have time. Eliminate it from your mind and vocabulary right now. That is unacceptable, and you should never repeat it. Take ownership of your actions and your time. You control the outcome of each day so stop blaming something else.

If you don't have a plan for each day, you are setting yourself up for failure before you begin. What gets planned gets done. Without a plan, you may be potentially wasting hours each day.

If you don't have a planner - buy one. Get organized with your time and what you want to do each day. Remember, you don't have to do everything in one day. Chip away at three critical items each day - preferably earlier in the morning to get some momentum behind you.

While you don't have to plan every second of every day - like some CEOs or movie stars, you do want to have a general idea of how your day will play out. I recommend planning your day into 30-minute blocks to start.

This could be a 30-minute block to read, a 1-hour block to go to the gym, a 9-hour block to work etc.

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As your schedule gets busier and you have more to do, you will have to schedule your time even closer. This could be in 10-minute blocks or even 5 minutes! Imagine having every 5 minutes of your day planned out… Although many successful people operate with this schedule every day.

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Start Saying NO

There are two sides to this coin. The other is to say yes to everything. If you do this, you will have less time to focus on YOUR top priorities each day.

Start saying no more often. You have the power to say yes or no. If someone asks you to do something that isn't aligned with your top priorities, say no. There are no hard feelings, but someone else will if you don't control your time.

If an opportunity doesn't get you closer to your top priorities or goals, let it go. By focusing on the "important tasks and opportunities," you will have more time to do what matters.

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How you manage your time is up to you. Yes, you may have obligations each day like work, kids, family, and so on. But that doesn't give you the excuse to say you don't have time.

Focus on your top priorities in life. Trust me; you will fit it in if something matters to you. If you say something's a priority but don't have time for it - it's not.

Make the best of your 24 hours. Make the most use of your most valuable asset - time.

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Chris M Wilson