“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” – Bill Keane

If you really want to use your time wisely make it a focus everyday. We want so many things in life but how hard are we willing to work for them? When the going gets tough we give up. When we hit a bump in the road we stop, not knowing how close we are to victory. It may feel useless what you’re doing now but you have to take every day one step at a time. Focus on the bigger picture but make small achievable goals along the way to your ultimate goal. Reward yourself for accomplishing that first run, that first article or talking to that person in the coffee shop for the first time. Time is always decreasing no matter how we look at it. So we need to use our time wisely.

Track your time spent 

Tracking your time helps you realize how much time you spend on useless things but also how much time you spend on important activities. We all say, “Oh, well I don’t have time for that” or “I would love to do that if I had more time”. You do have more time, way more time then you think. The method I use is having a stopwatch and a journal, it’s that simple. Track everything you do and when I say everything I mean everything. Eating, crying, watching TV, sleeping, etc. You may realize you’re very efficient but need a couple areas to sharpen up. But, like most of us you’ll probably realize how much time you waste on unimportant activities. Track all your time for a week straight and add up how much time you spend on each activity. After that cut the time you spend on useless tasks that aren’t moving you forward toward your goals. I first cut each item by 10 – 20% (60 minutes of TV to 50 minutes). This helps you find that extra bit of time. Even if it is 10 minutes here and there it adds up. After that initial stage you’re free to keep tracking time or to keep cutting those unimportant tasks down in small percentages until they’re almost eliminated.

Give yourself a reward system

This is pretty self explanatory but a crucial step in the process. After working for 1 hour (or whatever time you choose) on a task reward yourself with 15 minutes of something you enjoy or are passionate about. Maybe you like to play video games (I’m a huge tetris geek), maybe you enjoy music, maybe you want to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Whatever you chose as your reward make it something you enjoy deeply. This helps you get your most important tasks done and helps you look forward to it’s completion. Make your reward worth working for and you’ll accomplish more than you’ve ever dreamed of.

Say No

As much as we all would like to please everyone it’s not possible. Say no every now and then. You can’t please everyone so why not at least please one person, yourself. Focus on what you really want out of life when making these types of choices. Ask yourself this before ever saying yes, “Will this benefit me now and does this align with my goals”. Now, of course there will always be some exceptions. Rock climbing will benefit you physically and helps you clear your mind when you’re stressed out. It doesn’t directly affect you as much as a social network outing with others in your industry or others with common interests. But maybe you don’t grab drinks with your friends this weekend and focus on yourself and your goals instead. We have to realize it’s ok to say no. Don’t beat around the bush and definitely don’t lie. Tell them exactly why you can’t come. They may be upset initially but will respect you for letting them know.

Time is our most overlooked asset. Please, use your time wisely and make a difference in not only your life but the others around you. Hard work does pay off. Track your time wisely but don’t be psychotic about it. If you watch TV a little longer one day or don’t fully track everything don’t beat yourself up. You have to make it up the next day though. Don’t get into the habit of taking a little time here and there; it will put you right back at square one. Have fun with this. Enjoy what you’re doing. Be smart about your time and you will be handsomely rewarded.