Where has all the time gone?

You wake up in the morning and BAM! it's there. You have been granted another 24 hours of existence on this beautiful planet. No one can take it away from you and no one gets any more than you. We are, in this respect totally equal.

The really good news about all this is that it doesn't matter what you decide to do with your time it just resets again the next day, granting you another 24 glorious hours. And as far as wasting time, that only applies to the present moment. You can't waste the future, it's kept there waiting for you.

So, if we all have the same 24 hours to work with, why is it that some people seem to be able to accomplish so much more than others with their time? I address this issue in my Natural Achievement Coaching program, but for now I'll leave you with a list of things to consider about your use of "your" 24 hours.

1. PERSONAL INTEGRITY: We must learn to manage our time and the very basis of this is discipline, or as I like to call it, Personal Integrity. It's about having integrity with yourself, not just others. You are the most important person in your life. Do what you say you're going to do with yourself. No wiggle room. Prioritize the events of the day and then stick to it.

2. DON'T MISTAKE BEING BUSY FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT: Many of us pack our days full of things just so it appears to ourselves that we are working really hard, when really, we are hardly working! We should equate each individual act with being successful or unsuccessful. If each act you perform today is unsuccessful, your whole day has become unsuccessful. If, on the other hand, each act you have performed today has been a successful one, then your whole day has been successful, and it's the successful days that help us live the life of our dreams.

3. THE ART OF SAYING "NO": Many of us truly want to help others, and as such, have a hard time saying "no" or when we do, it's really only half-hearted and we end up giving in anyway. While it's tremendously giving and gracious of you to help everyone and every cause that you can, it will prove to get the best of you eventually. Remember, we have 24 hours each day and must make the best use of that time. Being too eager to please can be dangerous. We need to appreciate ourselves, our time and our limits. Instead, be eager to please yourself and your family. Don't be so quick to please everyone else first.

4. GETTING MORE OUT OF YOU: If we can get more out of ourselves, we can make an hour just as valuable as 10 hours used to be. We could conceivably get as much done in a day as we used to get done in a week! It's all a matter of increasing our efficiency. If we equate each successful act as being an efficient one and each unsuccessful act as being inefficient, we start to see how this can work in our favour. If you do not, or cannot, complete a certain task then that task has been unsuccessful and therefore inefficient. If, on the other hand, you have completed your assigned task then you are successful, as far as that task is concerned, and therefore efficient. The more you stick with your tasks until completed, the more successful, and then by extension, the more efficient you will become. The really good news about all this is that the law of averages says that you need only to be 51% efficient in order to swing things in your favour. Therefore, anyone can become efficient and anyone can truly become a success!