Learn my Secret 8 Step Process to Help You Find at Least an One Extra Hour Per Day

One of the questions I have been asked a lot of in the last few weeks during our business courses is how do I find the time to undertake such a wide range of physical courses, audio courses, read at least a book a week and do all of these success principle courses?

Well I guess, the simple answer is that I make the time but in reality that is no solution or a real answer for the person who is being swamped by over work. So let me share with you my secret 8 step process to effective time management!

Let me take a moment to discuss the psychology, of time management and where individuals can go wrong. Most people when they think about their day instantly go into a mode of panic.

Their mind starts by going, "Oh my goodness, I have to do this, this, this, this and then I have to do this and this and this," and so forth. In the end nothing happens because all you do is to spend your day panicking on what you have to do.

So, how do we overcome this?

Step 1. Release your panic about not having enough Time.

The worst thing you can do in trying to gain more time in your day, is to panic. The more panicking you do, the less time you have to spend on your tasks. One of the best techniques that I use to help me cope with the panic is to release it.

It seems so simple when you first say it, but then, the million dollar question is how do I do that?

Well, a gentleman by the name Hale Dwoskin runs a program called the Sedona Method. Essentially, it is a process that you follow to help you release what you are thinking about into the universe.

In essence the method requires you to ask yourself whether or not you will release the panic into the universe. I personally use this method every single day and what I have found is that it has allowed me to achieve focus in my day and to concentrate on the goals that I want to achieve rather than panic.

I would love for you to find out more about the Sedona method but if I were to try and explain it in a single paragraph I would not do it justice. What I would suggest you do is to visit Google and type in the key phrase "The Sedona Method" and in the first record of the Google results you will find a link to Hales website.

Hale has a free DVD that explains this method in a much better way than what I could ever do that he will send to you. 

So, once you have released your panic the next stage is to start managing your time.

Step 2. Write down all the things you have to do on a piece of Paper

The key in time management is to know what you have to do. Now most of you will say, "Well duh!" But, here's the kicker, knowing what you have to do in your mind is not the same as writing it down on paper. So, what you need to do now is simply grab some paper and just write every task you have to do, one after the other.

When you are writing down all the tasks do not try to categorise or try to break it them up. Simply write each and every task down one after the other. Just write what ever comes into your head.

I can tell you, there are some very interesting issues that come up. When I did this exercise with my wife, she added tasks like, "Give my husband a hug", "Love my husband" and then came "Give my husband a hit in the arm" and so forth, so write all of these tasks down because they all take time. They also cause panic as well.

Step 3. Categorise Your Tasks

Once you have written your tasks down, you can now see all of the things that make up your day. You will need to categorise them.

Identify the tasks into at the very least:

- Home
- Work
- The Kids
- The Partner
- House Work
- Fitness

One of the best ways I find to do this, is to open up a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and on each tab write your category.
Then in each Category Worksheet, write the tasks you need to do

Personally some of the categories I have are:

    Work - Office Duties
    Work - Training Duties
    Work - Administration Duties
    Work - Meeting Duties

    Home - House Cleaning
    Home - Cooking Duties

    Study - Read
    Study - Carry Out Exercises
    Study - Work on Goals
    Study - Meditation

    Fitness

    Wife

    Community Work

Step 4 - Rate the Priority Importance of Each Task

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to try do all of the tasks they need to do on their own. Sometimes, you need to let go (again I refer you to the Sedona Method) and really identify what you need to do and what someone else could do for you.

The way I achieve this is through giving each task a Priority Importance Rating.

Personally I use the following Five ratings for each task:

1. High Priority - Something You Need to do today
2. Medium Priority - Something You Need to do in
                             next 2 - 4 days
3. Low Priority - Something You Need to do in the next 5 days
4. Delegate Priority - Something I can delegate to someone else
5. Bin Priority - Something I can forget about this task
                       it is a waste of time

If you have followed my technique of using Microsoft Excel to Categorise your Tasks, then what I would recommend you do is to go to the next column in each category worksheet and simply write at the top of the column, Priority.

I have provided a link at the bottom to where you can download a Free Sample of my Spreadsheet. The next step for you to do is to step through each task and write a Priority.

Step 5 - Allocate How Much Time Each Task Will Take

Once you have identified, the priority, you now need to estimate how long each task will take. For example, one task might be going for a walk and you may allocate 20 minutes for that task.

Simply, go through and give each and every task a time allocation. Be as realistic as possible about the time it will take you to do the task.

Step 6 - Arrange Your Day

Now that you have identified the tasks you need to do, identified their importance and how long it will take. Simply transpose those tasks from your Excel spreadsheets into a diary or even create yourself a small diary in Microsoft Excel and simply place when and where you are going to do those tasks.

Once you have done this you will see that by organising the tasks you were panicking about, you now have more time than what you thought in the first place. If you find that you don't, it is time then to go back to step 4 and re-Prioritise the tasks you have identified and adjust your plan.

In my free Excel Spreadsheet that you can download from our website, there is a section already setup for a week by week timetable.

KEY POINT - If you are going from meeting to meeting, make sure that you schedule in travel time as a separate task to the meeting time.

Step 7 - Write in How Long It Actually Took

The secret to managing your time more effectively is to know how long each task physically took for the future. By doing this you will have a much more accurate picture of what time you will need to allocate in the future.

One of the keys to time management is to learn from the past how long tasks took to complete. So as you complete a task simply write down how long it took you.

Step 8 - Review Your Day and Do it Again

The Last step in this process is also the first. It is time to start again.

If you follow this 8 step process each day, it will amaze you how soon you will actually begin to gain time. I recommend that you do your daily task lists the day before you need to do the tasks. I also recommend that you do your tasks and your plan prior to going to bed. This will ensure that you won't have any concerns on your mind and get a good night's sleep.

Chris Le Roy is the Managing Director of the One-on-one Learning Centre and has a number of Time Management Training courses available. To secure a copy of our Free Time Management Tool simply click on the link. If you would like to know more about The Secret to Get Rich program visit our SGR website.