The Time of Your Life!
by Ken Kesslin, ACSW

Ever hear yourself saying…
"If I could only find the time to do it."
"I'll try to make time for that next week."
"I wish there were more hours in the day."

When was the last time you really noticed how you talk or think about time?

FINDING time, MAKING time, and WISHING for more hours in a day-none of that's reality and it doesn't ever work. You can't find, make or create more time no matter how much you try. What you can do is learn some realities about time and use that knowledge to achieve your life goals within your lifetime (pun intended!).

A great place to start is realizing that you've got exactly the same amount of time as everyone else--twenty-four hours a day-no more, no less. Time is one of those resources given out equally to every one of us. Once you're clear about that, the only way to gain a personal or professional advantage is to intentionally take charge of how you use the time you've got. This is where things get interesting.

Most of us try our best to cram more and more into our ever-constant 24-hour days. We try to work harder, better, faster and what do we get? We get exhausted, we burn out and we keep looking at our never-ending list of things to do.

If you really want to have "the time of your life," you've got to yank back control of your days. It's essential to remember that you're not at the mercy of outside demands, pressures and requests except to the degree that you agree to operate that way. Here's a real-life example.

Jim is the co-owner of a regional telecommunications company and a new client. During our first coaching session, he described his frustration at having so much to do at work that he hadn't been able to play golf for a couple of months. Golf is one of Jim's life passions and he was starting to worry that he'd never have enough time to practice and play golf at the level he enjoyed. Even his regular practice of lunchtimes at the driving range had succumbed to the apparent demands at work. This was noticeably affecting his attitude at work and at home.

I told Jim that if he really wanted to play golf, he needed to make it a priority and choose to take the time to do it. I asked him to commit to two lunchtime visits to the driving range and a round of golf that weekend, despite his workload. He agreed.

Did one round of golf solve Jim's time challenges at work? Of course not. But it changed his attitude about work and helped him realize that he controlled his use of time. Since he felt better and more positive at work, he also accomplished much more that he had in previous weeks and felt more energetic at the end of each day. Not bad for using some time to indulge in a life passion.

Once Jim realized the control he had over his use of time, we started implementing the powerful productivity strategies described in Chapter Four of Work Less, Make More®-Handling The Time Machine. Jim began using Laser Days to focus on his most important activities. Now he schedules entire days into his calendar to focus and build momentum on a single important project. If you're really ready to take charge of your "lifetime," then this is one powerful way to begin. Handling The Time Machine helps you use your time for maximum productivity and enjoyment as well. It's a radical plan, but I'm sure you're up for the challenge of creating the time of your life!

Copyright © 2001, Ken Kesslin, ACSW. All rights reserved.