Time Management and Your Goals

Time management and goal setting are inexorably linked. There is no point in managing your time unless you are working towards a known outcome and likewise there is no point in setting a goal unless you are going to take clear organised action towards its achievement. So if that is the case, why do so many goal setting books miss out the planning and actions stage of the process?

Most writers on this subject realise that the major problems with achieving goals is more to do with your mental state than the actions you need to take to achieve them. Also why do so many books on time management fail to look at the goal setting process?

Most often the reason is simply that the two subjects have traditionally been examined from opposite directions, so goal setters think all you need it the right attitude and you will make the actions happen, whilst time management experts assume you already have your goals set before you start.

These two approaches, whilst quite valid in there own perspective, do leave the process of building a successful life or business a little bit incomplete for a lot of people. This could be why so many people that read self-help books on goal setting actually never achieve their goals and why so much time management training fails to make people more successful because it simply makes them better at doing more of the things that don’t create the desired outcome.

In the end creating success has to start with a clearly defined set of goals that encompass all aspects of the persons life, include a strategic planning phase with time management at the core and include strategies to overcome the road-blocks along the way.

That is what this site is dedicated to. I hope you enjoy the ride.

http://perfect-time-management.com 

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The Book Title Competition

 

Having finally completed my new book and Chris Ball I was completely stuck for a catchy Title. So the question of naming the book led me to create a competition. Now I am seeking your help to find a title for it. Currently it has the working title of 'Time to Prosper' with the subtitle of: 'Go From Wherever You Are To Wherever You Want Fast!'. This is your opportunity to not only win the prizes listed below, but also to have your name mentioned in the book as the person that won the competition to create the best title.

 

The aim of this competition is simply to generate as many ideas for the title of the book as possible from which we will select a short list of finalists. Then we will put the titles out to the public vote to see which one wins and is then used for the book.

 

The Prize

 

Everyone that enters the competition will be sent a copy of the book in electronic format. So, win or not, you will get a copy of the book.

 

The winner will also get the first printed copy of the book signed by me, with your name in it as the person that created the title for the book.

A hardback copy of my Ultimate Success System Diary 2011.

Four, half hour coaching sessions on time management and goal achievement.

 

How to enter

 

Read the synopsis of the book below and come up with as many ideas for the title and subtitle of the book as possible. You can enter as many times as you like.

Enter each title in the 'Title box on the website, one per line. And enter each subtitle in the 'Subtitle' box below, one per line. Enter your Name and Email address in the boxes provided so that I can let you know if you have won.

 

If you require more space than the 255 characters allowed in these boxes, put one entry in and then email the additional entries to us by replying to the acknowledgement email you will receive.

 

Privacy Promise

 

We will never sell, rent, distribute or in any way allow anyone else access to your details. Your email will only ever be used to keep you informed about the publication of this book and the competition. I will also let you know in the future when I have written my next book and have a similar competition. Every email will have an unsubscribe link at the bottom so that you can remove yourself from the list at any time.

 

Book Synopsis

 

The book is the culmination of over 20 years of research, study, trial and error into many different goal setting and time management systems. It encompasses the best in goal setting strategies and then includes a complete system for ensuring that you manage your time and activities to ensure that you complete the goals. Within the book is comprehensive chapter on how to overcome procrastination, which includes a several breakthrough techniques for clearing the road blocks to your goal achievement.

Chapters:

 

Introduction 7

A Rounded Life 13

Goals That Really Matter 17

Goal Setting to Inspire Your Future 17

Be Willing to Dream BIG Dreams 22

Set Goals That Will Stretch You 24

Get SMART 48

Goals 54

Building the Dream 56

The Ultimate Time Management System 65

Management is Measurement 66

The Power of Now 68

The 7 Killers of Time Management 71

The 7 Steps to Time Management 81

1. The Six Most Important Things 81

2. Decide on How Much Time 85

3. Schedule 86

4. First Thing First! 90

5. Touch it once 91

6. Dump It! 95

7. Organise It! 96

Planning 103

Linked Goals 103

Planning Your Month 104

Planning Your Week 109

Planning Your Day 112

Overcoming Procrastination 115

Types of Procrastination 115

Reasons for Procrastination 117

Techniques to Overcome Procrastination 125

Disengagement Reluctance 169

Over Extending Your Energy 172

The Magic Multiplier 175

Implementing the System in Your Business 181

Management is Measurement 183

Goal setting 184

Training 186

Supporting Implementation 187

Learning curve 189

Carrot and stick 192

A Final Note 195

 

 

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The Winter Blues

So did you like so many other people set goals for the New Year? If so how are they going?

This is the most common time of year for the goals to be forgotten or given up on – just 2 months in. That’s right, most people who set goals for the New Year have already forgotten them or given up on them.

I know that there have been times in my past when I have changed my goals after only a few weeks because doubt and fear set in. I start the year with all the good intentions and diligently write out my goals every day to programme them into my subconscious mind. But then I hit the first couple of set backs, time seems so short and there are so many other things that place demands on my time, or someone laughs at my dreams. Then the certainty that I had when I set the goal begins to wane, I start to question the desire and wonder if I can really achieve these things. Finally the same old habitual routing takes over and before I know it I am at the end of February and nothing has been achieved to take my dreams forward.
This is nothing unusual which is why so many people never get past the end of February with their goals.

The fact is that most people do not realise that setting a goal that is outside of the realms of what has been achieved before requires a different level of thinking and different habits – you need to think different and act different if you actually want different result. That requires will power, persistence and a willingness to think in new ways.

So I changed the way I think about my goals, instead of creating a plan of action and taking it step by step hoping I have thought of everything in advance, I create basic outlines of a plan and then create 3 or 4 other outline plans, then I sort out what is the best next step in all 4 plans. I then choose 1 or 2 and act on both of them.

As time goes by one plan will seem better than the other and I will focus more on that plan. The main benefit is that I can now be quite flexible in my approach and I do not need to worry if the plan I am working fails, I always have another few plans to work.

The reason why this works for me is that knowing I have multiple ways of achieving my goal improves my belief in my ability to reach it, which helps me to be far me determined, persistent and forthright.

Happiness is not the result of success – it is the fuel of success.

All too often people look for happiness in the future, waiting until they have achieved their goal, bought their house, finished college, found their ideal partner – the list goes on.
Looking of happiness in the future has two major problems:

1. It blocks feeling happy now
2. It reduces the likelihood of achieving the goal you are waiting for.

It has been shown scientifically that when you are unhappy your whole being functions in a significantly degraded way, that your health, both mentally and physically is reduced.
However, when you are happy tests have shown that you think better, perform better, feel better, you are healthier, your senses function better, your memory functions more efficiently, even your internal organs work more efficiently.

It is for this reason that happiness is one of the crucial ingredients for success and wealth creation, and one that should be the first area you focus on.
The key to happiness is the exact opposite to the method of feeling un-happiness. So if you are feeling unhappy then you can immediately and reliably alter you feelings at will, and this is a very simple process. However, simple does not mean easy, because we generally live our lives from our habitual ways of thinking. The paradigms that we have had, often for many years that prevent us from feeling the emotions we want, are tightly ingrained into our thought processes. In order to change these paradigms, we must create new habits of thought, and new habits are formed by repeatedly doing something differently.

Learn to respond instead of react.

When we react to the events and circumstances around us we are operating from the habitual programming of our past, but when we respond we consider the situation and decide on the best way forward.
So it is important to decide that you are no longer going to let your previous brainwashing push you around and make you feel emotions that are not empowering. Make a commitment to yourself that any “stinking thinking” is going to be replaced with positive, empowering thinking, which will propel you forward in life.

It has been shown that virtually any habit can be broken with a concerted effort of about 21 days. Maxwell Maltz, in his outstanding book Psycho Cybernetics, gives a programme of action to take for 21 days to massively change your thinking.

I have dubbed this programme the “Daily Happiness Habit.” If you follow these simple steps for the next 21 days, you are sure to change your life for the better.

Daily Happiness Habit

1. I will be as cheerful as possible
2. I will try to feel and act a little more friendly toward other people
3. I am going to be a little less critical and a little more tolerant of other people, their faults, failings and mistakes. I will place the best possible interpretation upon their actions.
4. Insofar as possible, I am going to act as though success were inevitable, and I am the sort of personality I want to be. I will practice “acting like” and “feeling like” this new personality.
5. I will not let my opinion colour facts in a pessimistic or negative way.
6. I will practice smiling at least three times during the day.
7. Regardless of what happens I will react as calmly and intelligently as possible.
8. I will ignore completely and close my mind to all those pessimistic and negative “facts” which I can do nothing to change.

If you follow these steps consistently for the next 21 days, and then continue them as part of you new self image, you will see miraculous changes in your life.
You will find that you are able to think better, being more focussed mentally as well as being calmer and clearer in your thought.
You will perform better, with less effort, you will notice that tasks that took longer or were very tiring, are now easier and just seam to “flow.”
You will feel better in yourself, more able to cope with the things that come to you and enjoying the challenges as they arise.
You will also notice that you are healthier, suffering less sickness and disease.
The result will be more confidence and more success. Doing the things you need to do to be all that you could ever wish to be will become second nature.

Practice these steps and really take your life forward rapidly.

To your success and happiness.
All the best,
Chris

P.S. Sign-up for your 7 free lessons NOW. http://www.buildfreedom.net/

Take the leap, make it happen.

The Law of Attraction needs a little help from one small factor that some people miss. Some people believe that positive thinking and visualisation will win you vast wealth and relaxed luxury for the rest of your life. Well there is one other factor that is essential in making the Law of Attraction work, and that is ----- Focussed Action.

You see without actually taking positive steps to create to turn your vision in to reality nothing will happen.
I am reminded of the old story of the preacher who travelled the country preaching the gospel and converting all those he could. One day this preacher is driving along a deserted country road past desolate scrub land, when he turned a bend in the road to see a fine-looking farm, with fields of crops growing in abundance and a handsome house standing in beautiful gardens. A fine, tree lined driveway leading from the road to colourful flower gardens in front of the house.
The preacher was in awe of the fine property and decided to speak with the owner of the farm, so he pulled up to the house and knocked on the door. The farmer opened the door and the preacher said, in his most commanding and passionate voice; “I just wanted to say to you that the Lord has provided you with a wonderfully magnificent farm, for which I trust you are truly grateful.”
The farmer looked at the preacher and then gazed out at his farm and after a few moments replied, “I am truly grateful for the beautiful farm I have, I am grateful for the fine soils, the plentiful rain and fine sunshine, without which none of this would have been possible. But I have got to tell you, you should have seen this place when God had it all to himself!”

This story gave me two important lessons. Firstly without action, your dreams will never come true, not matter what you dream, but secondly, without the dream, there is not purposeful action.

Therefore, the vision, the defined purpose and goals are vital to direct and maintain your movement in the right direct, but so is the action!
Never forget that if you are to make real progress you must start! Take action, make the next step, move and then keep moving!

Until next time, focus on your success, and go for it!

Regards
Chris Ball

P.S. The Secret behind The Secret is here, go to http://www.buildfreedom.net/