Leadership Tip #20: If you don’t have time for it, Plan it.
Over the past two months, we’ve been talking about some pretty important things. In September, we talked about stepping back to take a better look at our lives. To see what parts are good and need to stay, and what parts are bad, and need to go.
Then, this month, we’ve been talking about discovering and clarifying our life’s calling. Not an easy task. Not something you can do overnight. Both of these things, require time and thought. Only many of us struggle to find them in the busyness of our lives. That is why today, our Leadership Tip is:
If you don’t have time for it, plan it.
I know, I know—how can you plan something you don’t have time for? But here is the thing, many of us feel overwhelmed by our schedules because we’re reacting to them, instead of being proactive. We’re taking life as it comes at us, instead of realizing that our schedules, for the most part, are up to us.
If it feels like our lives are out of control, it is because we’ve allowed others to dictate our circumstances. Not because we don’t have the power to say or do otherwise.
You have more power over your life than you think.
Only, so many of us aren’t using it in the way we should. There are things we know we need to be doing in our lives—stepping back, clarifying our calling, exercising regularly, etc.—yet they feel impossible in our current schedule. Probably, because they are impossible right now, this week. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t have time, next week or even next month, if you begin to make some changes.
If there is something you’ve been meaning to do for a long time, but never felt you had a chance, it’s probably because you didn’t make the time for it. You didn’t look ahead at your schedule and make the necessary changes to make room for it. That thing or those things that you know would make your life better, help you reach a goal, or increase your influence, won’t happen if you don’t begin to take the steps toward it.
So, look at your current schedule and ask yourself where can you find space to begin doing the thing or things you know you need to. It may mean giving up your favorite TV show for a while, spending less time on your phone, or losing an hour of sleep in the morning to get up early. But, I promise you, you do have the time.
Will you begin making plans, so you can use your time in the best way possible?
Can you imagine how good it will feel to finally being doing that thing you’ve been meaning to do?
If you would like a coach in this area, my Real Routine’s module will help you find time you didn’t know you had. Sign up here if you’d like to talk with me about it, and—Let’s finish 2018 strong!
Are you in the midst of making a hard decision? Contemplating a big life change? If so, you may be interested in my FREE Making Changes Checklist that I give to all my email friends. Want your free copy? subscribe here.
