Stop what you are doing right now (unless it is reading my newsletter).
Ask yourself this: Is this something I really need to do? Or need to do now?
What is on your plate for today? Is it worth your time-and your life?
How much is your time worth? Per hour? Wasting one hour per day is 365 hours per year. That’s fifteen 24 hour days wasted per year. What a waste. And I am being conservative here, because I know I can easily waste more than one hour a day.
I calculate my time to be worth $200 per hour. When I am debating on doing something or not, or just delegating it out I use $200 as my benchmark. For example, I dislike cutting the lawn, so I would much rather pay a service to cut it then for me to dredge out there and do it. Plus, the service is much less than my hourly rate.
Most of us are taught to be busy. Always on the go. Sometimes I feel like a hampster on one of those wheels going round and round. How much easier would life be if you cut out 1D2 of what you do? Or even 1D4. You might actually feel rested and ready for work on Monday morning. The 80/20 rule states that you will get 80% of your results from 20% of your work and effort.
To carry this to the next level, what are we teaching our children? We lead by example and children often run their adult lives as we do. Sometimes not, but usually true. I’m am saddened when I see children who have busier schedules than me. I’m an adult with a fairly busy schedule. There is no reason in the world a 10 year old should be busier than me. They should be in school, maybe one or two extracurricular activities, then out playing and having fun. Period.
Busyness is not to be confused with productivity and results. I know many busy people who don’t get squat done day after day. And they complain about their lives. Part of an easier life is protecting your time-not wasting it.
Delegate tasks you don’t want to do. Clump tasks together in a block of time. Run errands all to the same part of town. Just delete tasks off your to do list without doing them. You’ve heard all these before, but most people don’t do what they know would be best for them. An easier life, ironically, means doing the things most people won’t do. Doing the hard things, if you will.
See my daily formula if you want to spend your time wisely during the day. Focus on these and you will feel better, be more productive, and have an easier life.
Jeffrey A. Betman, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, and life coach helping people toward the easy life. For a FREE newsletter ($197 value) on making your life easier and FREE report titled 5 Steps To An Easy Life That You Probably Know, But Don't Do Yet, go to www.LifeIsEasyCoaching.com/sq
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