What To Do When You Don’t Have Enough Time

I was talking to a friend yesterday about my projects.He caught me saying: “I’m spending this much time here, that much time there, and now I have no time left to do any of this other stuff that I want to do.”

Yep. I said I didn’t have enough time.

Ouch.That’s one of those “excuses” that’s not a good reason you can’t do something.You’ve heard me talk about this a lot.And it came out of MY mouth!!It was time to face the truth.“It’s not that I don’t have time, it’s that I haven’t been prioritizing the right stuff.”

Now here’s where it gets good:

Instead of just saying that I’d prioritize one project or that I’d just make the time, I got specific.I said I will commit to 15 minutes per day of working only on my priority project. It will be right after I write my blog post, so I know I’ll have the time. You, friend, are my accountabilibuddy and you have permission to annoy the hell out of me if I don’t follow through.

What’s so special about being specific about all this?

1. I committed to a friend who will hold me accountable for the output. He’s watching.2. Being specific about how much time and when I’ll work on this project sets expectations and makes it feasible with an aggressive schedule. (People who are specific about when and where have a 91% of following through.*)3. I attached this task to an existing habit. This means it’s less likely I’ll forget or that I drop the ball by trying to create a habit from scratch.

2 Minute Action:

Whats something you’ve been meaning to get done recently?Jot down the 1, 2, and 3 for this.1. Who will hold you accountable?2. What small amount of time can you commit to progress?3. When will this happen and can you attach this to an existing habit?

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*In 2015, Fast Company published the results of a study on the effects of specificity on action.1 Researchers asked a control group to exercise once during the next week—29% of participants did. Researchers asked a second group to do the same, except this time they provided the group with detailed information about why exercising is necessary (e.g., “You’ll die if you don’t”)—39% exercised. Researchers asked a third group to commit to exercising at a specific time, on a specific date, at a specific location—91% exercised.

The 2 Minute Life Changing Assessment

What are your goals?Close your eyes for a minute and picture what it would be like to be there. 

Be specific. 

Where are you?How do your days go?Who are you with?The more specific you can be, the better. The point is to realize that it’s these experiences that are what you desire, not the number of dollars you think it’ll take or the title on your business card. Once you’re specific about these questions, you’ll have to take action on the life changing assessment I use many times per year. 

2 Minute Action:

Are your current daily behaviors on track to getting you there?That’s it. That question is the whole assessment. You don’t need a specialist to know the answer. You’ll feel it in your gut. Today is the day to either start something or refine your methods. You only have the rest of your life. 

If You Want Respect, Do This

We can all agree that we should respect others.Respect their opinions, respect their time, respect their space, blah blah blah.Yet, I've found that few people can name discrete actions that are respectful.Let's take a typical office meeting as a quick scenario.

Try this:

• Before every meeting, ask if anyone has an obligation immediately afterward. Let them speak first so they don't risk missing anything if the meeting runs late.
• When answering a question, use an appropriate amount of detail to stay relevant to the people in the room. It'll also help prevent people from falling asleep.
• Instead of waiting for the speaker to stop talking so you can make your point, try responding to what they've said and roll it into your point. It'll make conflicts easier and it'll help others actually begin to listen to what you've said, too.

This is respecting others' points of view and respecting others' time.

2 Minute Action

Who is someone in your life you respect?Can you text/call/tell them right now?Chances are, the more you treat others with respect, the more you'll also be respected.It's hard work to do this consistently, but it's worth the effort.