How to Make the Most of Time

Franz Kafka wrote amp8220The meaning of life is that it stopsamp8221How we spend our days is of course how we spend our livesamp160wrote Anne DillardTell me what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life asked Mary OliverLife is a journey through time in search of meaningA definition of success is the ability to spend time in the way that gives one joyTo understand what is important before it is too lateSuccessful firms and people use time differently than othersThree behaviorsbeliefs that are common to most successful individuals and firmsThe Power of Compound InterestCompound Improvement The most powerful concept in gaining wealth or knowledge is continuous growth over a sustained time periodSee early what others see late Almost every successful person or company recognized a trend when it was a little stream rather than a gushing river and then committed to align with itPersistence They just keep on going through adversity and setback and they remember Queen Elizabeth the First who said amp8220Time dissolves more problems than man solvesamp8221Five ways to make the most of time1 Eliminate Many people recognizing the limitations of time tend to try to do as much as possible They multitask and run around in a frenzy Usually all they achieve is more multitasking and more frenzy Doing more stuff is not the same as achievementActivity is not productivityShowing how busy one is does not indicate how important one is Rather it might indicate that we have lost control of time and are a slave to our mailbox and have a amp8220Pavlovianamp8221 reaction to the chiming insistence of notifications2 Focus The key to doing less is to focus Here are two filters on how to focusComparative Advantage We should spend our time doing things that we can do better than most people Some focus areas are easy like being a spouse or a parent since by definition we should be able to do this better than other folks However for many of the errands we run and the assignments we take on at work it is important to ask if we can outsource or delegate or find a colleague who is better than us so we can focus on what we are best atPositive Outcome We should try to choose how we spend our time in ways in which we create a positive outcome Either we 1 earn a financial reward 2 learn something new 3 help someone else or the team get better or 4 the experience in itself feels good3 Scale We can scale ourself and our impact and therefore save time Two ways to do this is to use quotleveragequot and quotmomentumquotMuch of what we do as whitecollar workers are the 4Cs create cogitate communicate and convince Basically with a few exceptions our success is based in large part on how we are as sculptors of ideas and points of viewa Leverage Todayamp160technology and scheduling allow people to leverage One can use social media good writing and speaking skills to reach many people that you need to communicate and convince One are not limited to small meetings and groups Today you can move between continents with the flick of a buttonb Momentum The trend is our friend To not waste our time one needs to understand the underlying trend that is driving our firm or our business and in most cases align with it The world is becoming multipolar Marketing is blurring and collapsing with the end of the funnel and with everything becoming multimedia and omnichannel People talent and individuals are growing more powerful becoming their own media companies in some cases Most countries are becoming multiethnic and aging fast4 Do new things Tattoo the moment While the first three behaviors of elimination focus and scale are logic driven this one is more emotion basedIn the movie Into the Wild there is a line about how the core of existence are new experiences Often what we remember and which gives time certain elongation and depth are new experiences These do not just have to be travels or new relationships and new jobs but could be as simple as walking down a new street eating at a new place and going to a new cultural event If there is a way to tattoo the moment into our memory we should try5 Give ones time to others One of the best ways to use your time is to use it not on ourselves but on others Nothing is as rewarding as helping other people mentoring younger people paying attention to those who cannot help or give one much in material or career gain Try to forget about ourselves in our time equation It is in the giving and not the getting in the helping and nurturing that many people find the deepest joyIf we respect other people39s time If we give them our attention If we think not of the lack of time but the beauty of time we will find that the time we spend is magicalAnd in the end it is the time that we do not measure that is the most meaningful of allPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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How to Make the Most of Time

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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How to Make the Most of Time

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