Regardless of how you look at your stay here on this Earth, you must admit that life is short.

You and I have the potential to make out of our lives whatsoever we choose.

We all get the same amount of time every day…

We get all there is.

Listen closely

To waste any of the precious commodity we refer to as time is a disgusting thought to my mind.

Unless I am extremely tired, I even resent the time I spend unconscious each night… or I should say most nights.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you stay up all night or do anything to jeopardize your health.

However, listen closely because if you haven’t yet figured this out, what I am about to say will hopefully shock you into a more exciting way of life.

Will you do better than average?

The average person spends four hours each day in front of their television screen. That adds up to ten and a half years between the ages of two and sixty-five.

Add that to the twenty-one years that same average person spends sleeping, which is what eight hours a night works out to, and guess what?

You will realize that exactly one-half of the sixty-three years I referred to above is spent either totally unconscious or in front of a vacuum tube creating a head to match.

Think about it: thirty-one and a half years either in front of a TV or sleeping. This is not an indictment against TV or rest, but this is ridiculous!

If you simply cut back two hours a day of watching TV, you could add thirty twenty-four-hour days to each year.

That’s a lot of time.

And, I assure you watching too much television isn’t the only way you may be wasting your time.

If you truly want to accomplish something in this life, let’s talk about what you can do to get a lot done in the short amount of time you have.

But first, let’s get clear on what we’re really talking about here.

Managing Your Time

The term time management is a bit misleading because it implies that time can actually be managed.

Psychology Today defines time management as the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to effectively accomplish their goals.

I like that definition because it shows us that it’s not time that we’re managing; it’s our activities.

It’s the Same for You and Me

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “There are not enough hours in a day.”

Usually, this phrase is used by someone that doesn’t know how to manage their day correctly.

A lack of time is not the issue. It is all about how we prioritize the 24 hours we all get each day.

Some people can get more accomplished in one day than others accomplish in a month. Goals and dreams drive these success-oriented people. They want to go places in life, and they know they must manage their activities to get there.

Fortunately, it’s a life-changing skill anyone can learn.

One Day at a Time

Managing activities starts with a clear goal and proper planning.

Every night before you go to bed write a to-do list for the next day.

But this won’t be a list of chores where you include doing laundry or emptying the trash.

Remember, this is about prioritizing your time each day. You want to make sure you get all your important tasks written down and completed, especially tasks that will move you closer to your goal.

So, every night, ask yourself, “What is one thing I could do tomorrow to move toward the achievement of my goal?” Write down your answer and make it a top priority the next day.

If time allows, think of additional goal activities you can take on the next day and put them on your to-do list, with the most important task first.

Start working on your list as soon as you wake up, tackling the highest priority task first and then working down the list.

Each time you complete a task, cross it off your list, forget about it and immediately focus on the next task.

While you’re getting started with this, use a pen and paper for your to-do list instead of a phone or electronic device and feel the instant gratification of physically striking through a task.

Also, keeping your to-do list on paper will help to keep you motivated. You’ll be able to see all the tasks you’ve completed over time, and you can look at your list getting longer as you become more skilled in activity management.

Practice this simple technique every day, and you’ll soon notice that you can get more done in less time. You will be running the day, instead of the day running you.

Stay Motivated

To stay motivated and keep yourself on track, turn your goals into specific quarterly objectives—with the objective(s) for each quarter bigger than the previous one.

For instance, if you want to earn an extra $1,000,000 next year, your first quarter objective might be to earn an extra $100,000. Then, you might aim to earn an extra $200,000 in the second quarter, $300,000 in the third and $400,000 in the fourth quarter.

Enjoy a Richer, More Fulfilling Life

We have only a limited time on this magnificent Earth.

As you go through your days, don’t get caught up in all the things that everyone else wants you to do. Commit to doing things that are important to you.

Spend some time each day doing things to take care of your physical, mental, spiritual and financial well-being.

If you do those things in 2019, I guarantee you won’t look back and ask, “Where did the time go?”

You’ll know it went to doing things you enjoy, building your legacy and making your mark.

To your success,

Bob Proctor

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