Everyone hopefully has some aspirations or goals they want to achieve. But a lot of people don’t achieve their aspirations because they either keep postponing their goals or simply let them wither away. The obvious costs are poor relationships, frustration, resentment, loss of income and the opportunity to live their dream life.
This is because they think they have time. And this complacency erodes the time that they have.
So how do you create purposeful time?
1. Purge laziness – Laziness is a symptom and not the cause of inactivity. Find out why you are feeling lazy. Is it a habit or a momentary feeling? If it is momentary the causes might include fatigue, lifestyle changes, lack of sleep, or something psychological address them and then get back to work. If your laziness has become chronic, disengage with habitual thought patterns by creating a diversion, a shift. For example, you can position your alarm clock at least six feet away from the bed. This way you have to get up to switch off the alarm.
2. Develop your willpower muscles – Exercising your willpower is like exercising a physical muscle. You build it through consistent practice. Start by making small commitments and ensure you consistently practice them for at least 21 days.
3. Set exciting goals – Do your goals create a burning desire? If not, you are probably chasing dull goals. Having an exciting goal creates the adrenaline rush to push past obstacles and achieve the impossible.
4. Face your fear of failure – Perfectionists become procrastinators because they are scared to create something imperfect. Or, some people fear success, as it might bring more responsibility. And anything negative, like fear when faced up to, diminishes in strength.
5. Dismiss distractions – Eliminate all distractions that are aimless and energy sapping. Make each moment count and reward yourself after completing a task well.
6. Delegate – Sometimes we procrastinate because we are not good at a task. Remember we all are good at something, but not everything. If you are not good at something and do not see the value in learning it, delegate it to someone who is. This way, you free up your energy for more important tasks.
7. Create a ‘not to do list’– Eliminate things that you can avoid or are able to delegate. Then prioritize your remaining ‘to do’ list in order of importance and create short time-bound deadlines.