There are many aspects to success of course:
- Mindset
- Perseverance
- Willingness to take risks
- Your network
- Available capital
And so much more… but you can get by if you have one and not the other. However, there’s ONE THING that if you don’t have and use well, it’s almost a guarantee that you won’t succeed, or you will reach your goals but it will be stressful and far from ideal.
Can you guess what it is?
Yes, our good old friend TIME.
When you don’t Set Yourself Up to Win and you double book, rush, plan back-to-back meetings, or waste your time on things that not only don’t move you in the directions of your goals you not only don’t achieve your goals, but you feel empty and frustrated inside.
Why Time Planning is So Important
The neat part? When you DO set yourself up to win with Time Planning (In Joumor we don’t “manage,” we aim for our ideal and plan it), AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN.
I could talk for days about the power of planning your time well (and sticking to it!) but instead I’ll share a few things from my clients from this week:
Situation: My client needed to resolve something with the IRS. Before calling, he took the time to get clear on exactly what he needed, figure out his availability, and then call with plenty of time to be on hold.
RESULT: Only 7 mins on hold and: “Looks like we have the entire day available for appointments. When would you like to come in? Whatever works best for you.”
Seriously, when has the IRS ever said that?!
Situation: My client is running low on cash and needed a reimbursement she was waiting for over a year. We took the time to confirm the patient and amount, call the company to confirm, and put the estimated date of receipt on her Grand To-Do so she could follow-up, along with the agent’s name that she spoke to. It took a little over an hour to do this.
RESULT: Three days later she had the check in her hands.
These stories might not wow you, but they are much rarer than what we’re used to:
Running late, not having what we need when we show up to an appointment, not responding in time and losing the deal or having to pay late fees… when we feel like we are constantly behind it’s nearly impossible to feel powerful enough to succeed… not to mention how grumpy, stressed and downright angry we can get when we feel like we don’t have enough time to deal with something.
Setting yourself up with enough time to calmly handle something- in Joumor we estimate 6 hours for ANYTHING to do with the IRS– is setting yourself up for success.
The Game of Time
Years ago I taught a course called The Game of Time. One of the first assignments was for people to aim to get places a half hour early. Some people were so angered by this they dropped out of the course and said I was crazy because “Who has time for that?” Ha, I get it! It’s hard. For the 14 students who stayed in the class, most of them got places right on time or a few minutes early, not 30 mins before.
Getting good at Time Planning and sticking to it can be hard for a few reasons:
- You’re not used to it- not being stressed can feel weird
- It can be uncomfortable to be the first one there- it feels better to be fashionably late
- There’s just “so much to do” it’s “not possible” to be early- you barely have enough time to brush your teeth.
Here’s what happens when you become GOOD at Time Planning”
- You become more relaxed, kind, and confident
- You get more done in less time than you imagined possible
- Moreover, you write that book, launch that program, and work less
- Your reputation soars as someone who means business and who can be counted on
- Your cortisol and adrenaline levels lower, and you might even lose weight.
Overall, you become a better, more powerful person with better boundaries who sleeps better at night, satisfied with all you’ve accomplished throughout each day.
Staying up all night to turn in a project the next day relies on stress and drama. Why not turn in the project a week before, let your body feel the “stress” of a good workout, and experience drama at the theatre or on a fun adventure with your partner?
Our lives are what we make them. And if we don’t have time to enjoy them, what, then, is success?