We each get the same amount of time in a day, so what are successful people doing with their 24 hours that others aren’t? Do they have a secret time-management trick they aren’t sharing with everyone else? Well, not exactly. The real difference is in their mindset.
Rather than spending hours playing Call of Duty® or binge-watching the trendy new Netflix™ series, successful people prioritize the things that truly matter. They make sure there’s purpose behind every single one of their 24 hours. Here are some ways you can be more intentional with your time.
Eat the frog.
Don’t worry, you won’t literally be eating frogs (unless you’re into that sort of thing). In reality, the term “frog” refers to that small, annoying thing that’s been on your to-do list for the last week that you can’t seem to find the motivation to get done no matter how hard you try. Our advice? Eat that frog, or in other words, just do it! Take 5-10 minutes in the morning when you’re nice and refreshed and cross that frog off your calendar.
Being more intentional with your time does not mean putting off the things you don’t like to do. We all have things we don’t like to do … successful people are the ones who bite the bullet and get them done so they can move onto the next thing!
Interested in learning more about eating the frogs in your daily life? Check out this book for more information!
Dedicate time to your goals.
We live in a world where people expect to have things handed to them, but the truth is … there is no shortcut to the top. In his bestselling novel, Outliers, Malcom Gladwell introduced the “10,000-hour rule.” The idea is that it takes 10,000 hours of work to become a master at your craft.
For example, if you want to be a great basketball player or an accomplished author, you will need to put in 10,000 hours of work to rise above the rest. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you were born with your talent; it means that you worked hard to get to where you are.
There’s no secret formula for this one. Decide what it is you want to succeed at and set aside intentional time each day to help you get there. As John C. Maxwell once said, “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”
Schedule leisure time.
We all deserve time to relax, even if it’s just sitting down to watch an episode of your favorite show after a long day at work. However, this gets out of control when one episode of Friends™ turns into five, then a whole season. Suddenly it’s 1:00 a.m. and you have absolutely no idea where the time went.
The most important part of scheduling leisure into your day is that you literally schedule it, as in writing it down in your planner with a time attached to it. That way, you still get to reap the benefits of relaxation without losing track of time altogether.
Use your time wisely to get you closer to where you want to be in the future. You have the same number of hours in a day as the most successful people in the world, so make the most of them!
Being mentally tough is another key aspect of your success. Read our post to learn how to develop mental toughness.
