How You Spend Your Time Matters!
Written by: Jodie Gallant, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Did you high five yourself yesterday at the end of a busy day doing all the things?
“Way to go, ME. You killed it today,” you say to yourself.
Or, maybe you’ve found yourself giving friends, co-workers, fellow business owners a big ole pat on the back for “keeping busy.”
It’s true…“Keeping busy?” is one of those questions that is asked at nearly every networking meeting, Zoom call, and from one business person to another.
We feel like the answer must always certainly be, “Yes!” followed by a long list of how we’re busy, or why our life is busier than ever.
While I’m all about celebrating our own successes and those of others, should we really be wearing “Busy” like a badge of honor?
Hear me out…
Busy implies that business is doing well and that things are going smoothly, right? Yet so often I hear exactly the opposite. People are busy doing the wrong thing.
Far more important than simply being busy, is to focus on how you are spending your time.
Ever finish out a busy day yet feel like you accomplished NOTHING?! That’s what I’m talking about.
How you spend your time matters.
There is a huge difference between simply doing and doing the RIGHT things. But how can you know whether your time is being spent well?
It begins with knowing your goals and what direction you want to go.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself if you are spending your time doing what you want. I know not every hour of every day can be filled with doing things that are completely thrilling and fun, but I would venture to say that a whole lot more of it can be enjoyable than we allow.
Are you spending your time doing what you want?
Are the things you’re doing going to get you where you want to go? Or the results you are eager to achieve?
Or…
Do you spend most of your day loathing the tasks at hand and allowing your thoughts to spiral out of control? Each day you do, do, do, yet you don't feel any closer to achieving your goals.
Here’s what you can do to make a change…
I highly recommend documenting your time for a week or two to see just how much time is spent doing what you love vs. what you don’t (there are time tracking tools available for this).
With a clear picture of how you are spending your time, you can take a hard look at:
What you actually need to be doing.
What you can delegate.
What you don’t need to be doing at all.
It’s like a much-needed Spring Cleaning and refresh for your calendar! And what better time then to really take a look than the start of a new year as you are wrapping your hands around your big goals. Marie Kondo would be proud.
Also, remember to CREATE SPACE and BOUNDARIES!
Are you rushing from thing to thing without any time for pause?
When you mindfully and intentionally look at your time, you can also recognize places where you can in fact block out space to simply BE and not DO. Maybe that sounds terrifying to you, like a ball is going to drop, or something important is not going to get done, but I assure you that when you do this, you will see it is far more of a gift than getting one more thing done on your never-ending to-do list.
Our time is the most precious gift we have. It holds weight and is valuable beyond what money can buy, and it is a resource we can never get back.
I want to encourage you to protect your time like your life depends on it. Because it does.
When you begin to look at your life through the lens of the question, “Do I NEED to be doing this?” your world will start to open up. You will see your time in a whole new way!
Start to ask yourself if your actions, thoughts, ideas, and decisions move you towards your goals. And if they don’t, remove them from your calendar, your schedule, your life, and replace them with a more intentional choice, or better yet, SPACE.
You will be surprised at how you choose to spend your time can really impact your results. This is where you can truly get honest with your commitment to your goals.
Jodie Gallant, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Business Strategist and Coach for JMG Business Strategy, Jodie Gallant, uses her experience in marketing and planning, paired with owning 5 NH local businesses while raising a vibrant family, to inspire, lead, and support entrepreneurs to achieve the life they desire through the design of their business. Having left a secure 15-year corporate marketing and leadership career in 2012 to build two family businesses alongside her husband and three small children, Jodie quickly realized the hustle and grind was not going to work. Today she guides her clients to achieve their goals with the support of the strategies and tools she lives by. Jodie is the host and curator of the Connect Mastermind for ambitious female leaders, offers 1:1 Coaching for high-performers, and is the host of the To The Point Podcast.
