Connected Hearts: 10 Ways to Add More Hours to Your Day

10 Ways to Add More Hours to Your Day
By Vicky White

Would you like more than 24 hours in your day? Me too, but alas all we get are those same 24 hours everyone else gets. They can be 24 hours that flow with effective actions and time for what’s most important to you, or they can be 24 hours of mad scramble where lots of things fall through the cracks and you feel burnt out and frazzled at the end of the day. Had any of those frazzled days lately?

When I’m not achieving as much as I’d like - or achieving way too many non-essential tasks on my to-do list and getting burnt out - this is the list I check in with to get back on track - doing more in less time and designing my life to work for ME.

1. Take time for YOU first thing in the morning: which usually means getting up earlier. When I have this quiet time to journal, meditate and set my intention for the day, I start my day feeling centered and calm.

2. De-clutter your to-do list: I love lists and mine can get pretty big. And what I know is that I can regularly delete things from that list and it makes no noticeable difference in my life. I feel way better when I see lots of things crossed off - whether I’ve done them or not.

3. Decide on the three most important tasks for the day and complete those first. When those are done you’ll have made progress towards your bigger goals and you’ll feel great. Then you can get to the smaller, less important things - or take some time off knowing you’ve been productive.

4. Take breaks: yes, you’ll get more done. Take breaks between tasks - even just 10 minutes. Take a lunch break, take a cafe break, take a whole day off! I know, it’s a challenge when you’re feeling stretched, but honestly - this is one of the best things you can do. It means you have a chance to renew your spirit, refresh your mind and when you take a cafe break you’ll often find inspiration away from your computer and your office. And everyone needs time for inspiration - in your life and your business. It needs to be part of your life plan and your business plan.

And while you’re at it - schedule one whole day off each week. Schedule your vacation time - even if you don’t know the details now. Schedule your breaks and everything else fits in around them. Try to fit breaks into your busy life when you’re already feeling under pressure - and there’s no time for them. It’s funny how it works like that. If you don’t believe me, just watch how productive you get the day before you go off on vacation!!

5. Focus on one thing at time: it’s really tempting to multi-task when you’re feeling under pressure. You might fool yourself that you’re getting two (or more) things done at the same time - but really you’re cheating yourself and everyone else. Talking on the phone while reading emails - have you ever done that? You can’t be present, you’re not giving the other person your full attention, you even sound like you’re not paying attention - it’s not pleasant and it’s not productive. When you do two things at once you’re continually having to shift gears between each one. Not only are you not being productive, you’re not even being present in your life.

6. Enroll your Higher Self to help you: Use the Order Book Process to order up what you want. This is where you write what you want as if it’s already happened. This is one of the most powerful tools I know for creating your days and your life just as you want them to be - if you remember to use it. Last night I put in my order for an article for this newsletter today. I woke this morning with the title in my head and I had to get out of bed and start writing because it was all just coming to me - and not surprisingly, it’s all about the reminder I got this week to pay attention to what I know works - these 10 tips!

7. Schedule chunks of time for specific tasks: whatever size chunks work for you. Two hour chunks work well for me. Yours may be longer or shorter. And then batch similar things together. Perhaps in one chunk you make your phone calls or answer emails. Perhaps another is for doing one of your most important tasks for the day. When you put similar things together it’s easier to get some momentum going and get into the flow. One thing I know for sure: when I schedule a chunk of time to do something specific, it usually gets done within that time. When I don’t ….. the same thing can take all day. Scheduling certainly gets the mind focused.

8. De-clutter your office: clutter is one of the biggest time wasters and creativity blockers. One of the participants in a recent program de-cluttered her desk and said her productivity at work went up 20%. You can bet her employer was pretty happy with that. And she was too - it made her feel much better about her work. And, if you work for yourself your bottom line is directly related to your productivity - make sure your office is supporting a flow of energy and prosperity.

9. Schedule email time: one thing designed to make me feel like a crazy person is to be checking emails whenever they come in. When I’m in my groove, I unplug the internet connection so I can still refer to emails in my Inbox if necessary, but they’re not catching my attention and curiosity every couple of minutes. And it actually feels good to see a whole lot of new ones all at once (like Christmas) and to then zip through answering and deleting. Way more satisfying - when I do it.

10. Enroll Helpful People: When I get into my busy stuff and start to feel burnt out and non-productive, if I don’t catch it fast enough my Coach or one of my MasterMind buddies will remind me of the obvious! Duh… sometimes we need a whack over the head to see what’s right under our noses.

Keep this list handy and check next time you’re feeling like there are not enough hours in the day and things are getting away from you. At times like that it’s not usually just one of these I’ve stopped doing - it’s a whole lot of them. And it’s pretty easy to get back on track when I see what I’m doing.

Introduce a few of these into your life and you’ll find yourself doing more in less time. And, having time for what’s most important to you.

How do you get more done in less time? I'd love to hear from you. Leave me a comment and let me know how.

Shout-Outs: A special Thank You to Tera Boring, Cathy Lambert and Lynn Christopher! These ladies did a wonderful job presenting and teaching at our Oregon Team Meeting. If you'd like copies of any of the handouts, just email me and I'd be happy to send them your way.

Last Week I announced that I celebrated 20 years with CTMH - We also have 2 others who are doing the same - Sr. Executive Director, Kathy Markloff from PA. and Karen Howard - my very first recruit.

I am so excited that we have an AMAZING 17 1st downline Connected Hearts that are celebrating 15 years with CTMH this year! CONGRATULATIONS to all of you!

Consultant Name	Current Title	Date Signed Up
Wanda Riley	Executive Manager	11/01/96
Tracy Rausch	Jr Consultant	08/14/96
Tammie Llewellyn	Supervisor	01/24/96
Sue Ashman	Supervisor	11/04/96
Nancy Reding	Consultant	08/14/96
Lori Symank	Consultant	01/15/96
Lisa Combs	Supervisor	01/03/96
Laurie Laney	Consultant	01/25/96
Kelly Robinson	Jr Consultant	08/30/96
Kari Palmer	Executive Manager	08/29/96
Jackie Bluhm	Manager	08/28/96
Gill Barnett	Jr Consultant	05/28/96
Denise Maurer	Consultant	05/13/96
Delilah Sharp	Jr Consultant	08/15/96
Darinda Fitzgerald	Consultant	02/20/96
Cynthia Laughinghouse	Executive Manager	04/04/96
Becky Lester	Jr Consultant	03/21/96