Do any of these statements sound familiar?
There just aren’t enough hours in the day – you’re always stressed because you never seem to have ample time to accomplish everything.- You zip through your day, going from task to task, but when the day is over, it doesn’t feel like you got anything done at all.
- Your burgeoning to-do list is nearly driving you insane.
If this sounds like you, you’re experiencing time poverty. What on earth is that?! When you’re in time poverty, you’re always rushing through life, but you’re definitely not running at your productive best.
Not surprisingly, entrepreneurs encounter time poverty all the time. Overcoming time poverty is an absolute must if you want to truly enjoy success in your business – and in life.
Here are three of my favorite tips to help you overcome time poverty and start getting things done productively:
Enter your genius zone.
When you’re working on the things that you’re passionate about, you’re operating in your genius zone. It’s your sweet spot – where you’re most likely to get stuff done – and do it well.
Time just flies by and you’re ultra-productive. Why? Because you’re doing what you were meant to do – what you’re good at. Now that you’re in your zone, stay there – and delegate everything else.
Don’t force yourself to work on tasks that you don’t like or aren’t very good at. These types of tasks will waste your time and siphon your energy. Don’t let that happen!
You may sit on to-do-lists for months, telling yourself you don’t have the time. Be honest – you don’t really want to do these tasks, do you? And that’s why you’ve avoided them.
Remember: Work in your genius zone and for everything else, delegate, delegate, delegate.
Recognize your distractions.
Everyone faces distractions – social media, email, phone calls and texts…even free offers from programs you’ve purchased.
Sure, it doesn’t seem like much to interrupt your work flow to spend five minutes answering a text or email – but those five minutes add up, and before you know it, you’re out of time and frustrated…again.
Start by identifying what it is that distracts you most often. Once you’ve done that, you can develop new habits that will help you overcome these distractions.
Listen to your inner voice.
What are you really telling yourself? Your outward condition is a result of what you’ve been thinking about in your mind. Meaning, if you keep telling yourself you don’t have any time, you’re going to create that experience in your life.
Does your inner voice sound something like this, “I don’t have time! There is no way I’m going to get all this done.” Or, does it sound more like, “I have enough time to accomplish everything I need.”? It’s pretty simple to identify which statement is the more positive one.
Try this easy technique the next time you find yourself saying, “I don’t have time to do this!” Replace that phrase with this one instead, “That’s not important to me right now.”
You’ll soon have a surplus of time you’re spending efficiently, because you’ll only be focusing on the things that are truly important to you.
If you put even one of these simple suggestions to work in your life, you’ll be well on your way to greater productivity and a thriving, profitable business.
For a more in-depth look at time poverty – and what you can do about it – visit the Huffington Post to read my latest article.
What are you doing to conquer time poverty? Which of these suggestions do you think is most useful?
Speak Your Mind