I guess we only have a certain amount of it, how do I manage my time more
effectively? Let's start out with a game. What if I were to give you $86,400?
86,400. Yeah you like this game so far? But
there's a catch. You have to spend it all today. Would you be in? Yeah you take that
on? Okay, cool. Now, if you don't spend it, you lose it.
But don't worry I'll give you another $86,400
tomorrow. But the catch is you have to spend it all tomorrow. Weird game right?
And it's use it or lose it, why did I pick that number 86,400
is the number of seconds in a day, in a 24-hour day. $86,400
and you have to spend all of them today.
You can't save any for tomorrow. But don't worry, we'll give you a new 86,400
seconds tomorrow and the catch is you have to spend them all tomorrow. This
isn't even a game, it's reality and it's not money, it's time. A good friend of
mine once asked me, Paul if you could choose between having more money and
having more time, which one would you take? Hands down, time. Why? because you can
make money if you have more time. But time is this weird thing that shows up
in an abundance every day and it's just like the game scenario that I set up you
have to spend it all today. You can't save it, you can't manage it,
in fact, the title of this video is about time management, right? I think
that's a myth. You can't actually manage it. I think the only thing we can do with
time is spend it and we have to spend it on something even if you're doing
nothing. Well, that's what you're spending your time on. So really, as we talk about
time management, I think it's more accurate and maybe more helpful to think
about activity or task management. How am I going to spend my time? What am I going
to spend it on? What activities our behaviors will I engage in during the
time that is given to me on a daily basis? Now let's dispel another myth
because sometimes we say, "oh, I don't have time". That's always a lie. Always. To say
you don't have time is denying this game that I just set up for you. Yes you do.
You've got 86,400 seconds every day. You've got exactly the same amount of
time as Bill Gates for example. One of the wealthiest men in the world doesn't
have any more time than you do. Does he? Now we've all got the same allotment. So
it's never true to say I don't have time. It's probably more accurate to say, "well,
I'm choosing to spend my time on things other than what you're proposing to me."
Let's say that a friend calls you and says, "hey, would you go to the movies with
me? Oh I'm sorry I don't have time". Yes, you do.
You can spend part of your 86,400 on that if you choose. It would be more
accurate to say to that friend, "oh, I don't value going to the movies
with you as much as whatever else I'm spending my time on." But that sounds rude
so nobody says that and we like to take the shortcut of saying, "I
don't have time." Well, yes you do. Now, getting into the time management, we're
not going to manage it, we're not going to save it. You know where would you keep
it if you were able to save time? We are going to spend it. So let's get
intentional about what we'll spend it on. I had a mentor once who said, when we
bring our activities, what we're spending our time on, into alignment with our core
values, we have a right to inner peace. What's really important to you that's
what you'll want to spend your time on. Now, how do we manage those tasks that
take up or spend the 86,400 seconds we've been allotted for every day? The
only time you can do anything, is now. I don't mean right now because you and I
are having a conversation right now. But when you're doing that thing that you
promised yourself you would do, what time will it be then? Check your watch. It's
always now when you're doing it. That's why I said the only time you can do
anything is now. Not right now, so what now? Well, that's a good question. Let's
define now. Now has a start time and it has an end time. Both are important. That
creates the now. In between the start time and the end time, we have a very
specific task or activity and it's going to cost you part of your daily allotment
of 86,400 seconds. So you decide when is the start time, when is the end time.
That's your budget. It's the amount of that time you're going to spend on this
activity. The one that is allotted for between those two times. That's how we're
going to define now. Instead of telling ourselves well I'll do it later and
how's that working out for you? Honestly? That kind of a
procrastination attitude, has you constantly putting things off and you
never actually get it done because the only time you can do it is now. So,
instead of lying to yourself about I'll do it later, I'll do it now. Which now?
This now. The one that has a start time and end time and a very specific task in
between that's how I'm going to spend that portion of my seconds. Now, doesn't
have to be today. You can budget for tomorrow or next week or next year. You
still create the now. David Allen, author of a book called "Getting Things Done".
Pointed out something that I think is really valuable here. He said you will
carry things on your mind until you take them out of your mind and put them into
a system that you trust. Part of the whole time management concept as we set
up these nows, how are we going to keep track of all of the now? I choose to do
that through a Google Calendar. This is a system that I trust. I take it out of my
mind, I put it into my Google Calendar, which allows me very conveniently to set
up a start time and an end time with a very specific description of what I will
be spending my time doing in between. I trust that system. Once I put it into
that system, I don't have to carry it on my mind. Think about how you get
overwhelmed sometimes and probably you're watching this video because
you've had some issues with time management, right? How you get overwhelmed
with all the stuff and how am I going to get it all done, yada, yada, right? That's
because you're carrying it in your mind and that will gum up really fast. So take
it off of your mind, put it into a system that you trust. Tell yourself that you're
going to do it now. Not right now but this now. Start time, end time, specific
tasks in between and then it's off of your mind and suddenly not only are you
budgeting your 86,400 better, you've also got more peace right
now because you don't have to carry all of that stuff that you've already put
into the system that you trust. So it's a gift folks 86,400 seconds. Let's use them
wisely. Use a few of them to share this video with someone that you love.