1. MAKE A BUDGET
A little extra time in your life bank feels just as good as a little extra cash in your wallet. So, imagine creating a daily or monthly budget where you designate amounts of time you need for certain activities. A visual look at what you currently spend your time on, and what you’d like to spend your time on will teach you how to save it.
Anything you can silence, once silenced, can’t encroach into your life. Try keeping your phone off from 7pm to 7 am every day—see how much time you get back. |
2. KILL DISTRACTION
The world is noisy and often inescapable. Regardless if we just glance, or perk an ear in its direction, we can be swept up in the Madness in an instant. One immediate fix: turn it off. The television, your phone, the ringer, the receiver, the Wi-Fi. Anything you can silence, once silenced, can’t encroach into your life. Try keeping your phone off from 7pm to 7 am every day—see how much time you get back.
3. WATCH THE CLOCK
No one likes to watch the clock (it only reminds us of how fast time slips away), yet, the clock was designed to bring punctuality into our lives. By making a healthy, non-obsessive habit of knowing our time coordinates (i.e. looking at the clock) we honor the minutes and hours, and ultimately the days of our lives.
4. USE THE CLOCK
While I often shun technology as a time sucker, utilizing the timer function equipped on our mobile phones does provide a useful way to alert us when it’s time to end something, or start something new. Consider it a modern day hourglass. Setting the timer can help pull you away from the time warp that is the Internet, or even a monotonous work task. I use it to give me kids end points to the playtime they just can’t quit before bedtime.
Whether it’s over your coffee or in the shower, your brain is open and receiving in the morning, so use that time to tell yourself the narrative of your day. That blueprint will, miraculously, keep your subconscious on schedule. |
5. VISUALIZE, VISUALIZE, VISUALIZE
At my sons’ bedtime, we lie in the dark, look up at the green stars cast on the ceiling from the turtle light, and talk about the day. We review each moment in detail: what we ate, where we went, the games we played, and so on. Now try doing this in reverse, when you wake up. Whether it’s over your coffee or in the shower, your brain is open and receiving in the morning, so use that time to tell yourself the narrative of your day. That blueprint will, miraculously, keep your subconscious on schedule.
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Photo credit: Robert Couse-Baker.
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