- I'd love to explore my passion, but I don't have enough time for another hobby
- I want to start my own business, but I need a steady and secure paycheck
- I should start on my business plan, but there's show coming on TV that I just can't miss
- I scheduled a highly productive day but got interrupted by too many phone calls
- I was going to be on time, but got stuck in a traffic jam
"But," according to motivational speaker guru guy Les Brown, "is an argument for your limitations; and when you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them."
IF you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, you absolutely have to <em>reduce the size of your but</em>.
True, I LOVE how that sentence sounds. (In fact, I loved it so much I bought the URL ReduceTheSizeOfYourBut.com!) But beyond my little love affair with that skinny little ditty, it sure rings true, doesn't it?
Do you find yourself falling into your big "but"? Time is a valuable commodity, and if you fixate on your limitations, then that will be what you produce. What you focus on expands! And when you waste your precious time, you're actually preventing yourself from achieving the things you desire.
Below is a list of the top ten ways to reduce your BUT. If you find yourself spending too much time on these activities, try changing some of your habits so your time can be more productive and rewarding.
1. Wasting Your Worry. Many people will worry until doomsday about every little thing in their lives. This is simply unproductive and bad for your health, mind, and spirit.
2. Television. We're a couch potato society! We schedule our lives around our favorite television shows and we spend less time doing more important activities like attending social events that could strengthen our relationships.
- Record your favorite TV shows and watch them during your leisure time, or limit your TV intake to just a couple hours a week. Or better yet, cancel your cable subscription! I freed up YEARS of my time by doing just that.
3. Video and Computer Games. This is becoming such a time waster that gamers are actually developing what is called "gamers thumb," a repetitive stress injury. You can spend hours a day conquering giants and going to levels <em>that don't even exist</em> or you can set about changing the world and following your passions. One will serve your spirit, and the other will get you divorced.
4. Internet time. Are you constantly browsing the Internet, Facebook or Twitter? Are your kids hearing you say, "In a minute," much too often when they ask you to spend time with them?
- Keep your time on the Internet short and get involved in life. Instead of chatting with your online friends, spend more time with your real-life friends and family! Schedule online networking (eg, 20 minutes a day, from 9:pm to 9:20pm), and then STICK TO IT.
5. Telephone Chatter. Sure, we like to call old friends and chat, but do you chat on the phone all day long? If you do, you may find that you get hardly anything done all day.
- Keep phone calls to a minimum or set a timer to go off after 15 minutes. This way you won't feel deprived of a good conversation, but it won't take over your whole day.
6. Traffic and Commuting. Some of us spend an enormous amount of time traveling to and from work. You can turn your commuting time into productive time!
- Try carpooling or taking the bus, subway or train to work. You can use this time to read, plan your day, complete paperwork, or even relax your mind before a productive day.? If you drive, turn your car into a <em>mobile university</em> by listening to inspiring and informative CDs. Where do you think I've done most of my learning?
7. Hobbies. Yes, there are people who are so obsessed with a hobby (see above, if your hobby is surfing the web or gaming) that they don't make time to do anything else. They rush home from work to their hobby, even skipping dinner.
- If this is you, schedule your hobby time so you're not skipping meals, missing time with your family, or cutting into other productive time.
8. Daydreaming. It's fun and healthy to dream about career ambitions or future aspirations, but when those dreams prevent you from taking action in your life, then you're wasting time. Avoid getting bogged down with too much dreaming.
- Make a list of your goals or dreams, then take action to make those dreams come true.
9. Meetings. Although necessary, meetings can be one of the biggest time wasters of our workday. If everyone is wiped out from sitting in long meetings all day, productive time will be low.
- If you're in charge of meetings, set and agenda with timelines, stick to your stated time.
- Limit the length of your meetings: be a pro-active facilitator, and keep needless chatter and agendas out of the meeting.
10. Planning. If you don't take the time to plan your day, the important things you need to accomplish may not get done.
- Write down your daily goals and tasks.
- Schedule your day in the order of your top priorities.
Listen to your self-talk and when ever you hear yourself saying I ought to ____, BUT, remember that you too can reduce the size of your but!
To your success, and to your skinny but,
Britt Santowski