At the end of everyday we usually have one of two feelings; either a feeling of satisfaction because we had a productive day or a feeling of dissatisfaction because we had a very unproductive day. I believe every human being wants to feel productive; the secret to obtaining this feeling rests within what we do with our time.
TIME AWARENESS E X E R C I S E At the end of everyday we usually have one of two feelings; either a feeling of satisfaction because we had a productive day or a feeling of dissatisfaction because we had a very unproductive day. I believe every human being wants to feel productive; the secret to obtaining this feeling rests within what we do with our time. Fundamental concepts of time Everyday consists of 24 hours; the phrase “there is not enough time in the day” is a way for us to justify our lack of productivity. What matters is not the amount of time we have, it is what we do with the time we are given. Time is perishable; we cannot stop it, slow it down or speed it up (although at times it may feel like). As human beings we must embrace the fact that time is a valuable and limited resource. To be more productive in a particular area of our personal or professional life, we must be selective, almost protective, of our time. To become more productive in our business (earn more money) we must spend more time in dollar productive activities. To become a better parent or grandparent we must spend more time with our children and grandchildren. The key is not to focus on time management but rather behavior management. Time cannot be manipulated or managed but we can manage our behaviors and our actions. “What we measure, gets improved.” - Peter Drucker In order to dramatically increase our productivity, we need to track, review, adjust and monitor what we do with our time. The following exercise is one of the most powerful exercises available to assist you in becoming a highly productive person in every area of your life. © RICHARD ROBBINS INTERNATIONAL INC. | TOLL FREE 1.800.298.9587 | WWW.RICHARDROBBINS.COM TIME AWARENESS EXERCISE T R A C K a) Using a stopwatch, your calendar alerts on email, or a sport watch with an alarm, set an alarm for every 30 minutes. b) When the alarm goes off, stop what you are doing and write down in point form what you did in the previous 30 minutes. (If you have an appointment that lasts longer than 30 minutes, wait until after the appointment and then track how long your appointment lasted - XXX minutes.) c) Complete this for a full day from the time you wake up until the time you retire for the evening. R E V I E W Review the activities you recorded and ask yourself the following powerful questions: • What did I do today that was not productive; that did not move me in the direction of my goals and did not make me feel good? • What did I do today that was my most productive activity? • What is the one thing I did today that if I had not done it would have made the greatest positive difference in my day? (Do this for both your personal and professional life) • What could I have delegated today that would have increased my productivity? • What did I do that did not need to be done and should be eliminated from my life? • What activities did I participate in that were not in line with my values and goals? • What did I do that caused me to feel guilty? • What did I do today that gave me my greatest satisfaction and joy? A D J U S T Readjust your next day’s schedule based on your findings. M O N I T OR Do this Time Awareness Exercise for 7 days in a row and repeat it a minimum of 4 times per year. © RICHARD ROBBINS INTERNATIONAL INC. | TOLL FREE 1.800.298.9587 | WWW.RICHARDROBBINS.COM STEP 4 STEP 3 STEP1 STEP 2 TIME AWARENESS TRACKER WORKSHEET Name: Date: Start Time Stop Time Description of Activity – detailed and specific Adjustment needed © RICHARD ROBBINS INTERNATIONAL INC. | TOLL FREE 1.800.298.9587 | WWW.RICHARDROBBINS.COM