Give More TIME

FACT: We all have the same 24 hours each day. What we get largely comes down to how we allocate those moments. 

Let me be clear, “Give More Time” is NOT about giving all of your time away. It is about establishing ways to be selective about where you invest your time so that you can effectively get positive returns.

GIVE TIME TO YOURSELF:
Learn what helps you and your mental health. 

Exercise, sleep, relaxation, time friends, spa, massage, travel, food, a good book/movie/podcast, therapist, whatever. Discover the absolute minimums for your sanity as well as working levels. Cement them into your calendar and schedule everything else around that. You will thank yourself in no time!

GIVE TIME TO OTHERS:
Now that you have/are building a stable foundation, you can venture into giving to others. 

Pick projects and organizations that inspire creativity, resonate with your passions, or play to your strengths. Give to people who give back to you (think big picture, not just daily), who genuinely appreciate it, and who also give to others. Your foundational self-work will help identify people/projects that do not qualify – be sure to recognize and follow that intuition. 

EFFECTIVE TRICKS:
Set boundaries and timers.
Literally 5, 10, 60 minutes of intensity needs an unemotional and audible limit. I use my phone timer from project to project – and even with conversations. If you decide that something needs more time, either schedule it for another window, or continue the discussion with another timer. With just a little regular use, you will see that these help focus attention of you and other people. 

Sometimes just sticking with a problem for a little longer will result in great insights to solutions. Other times, we need a different approach

Put it on the back burner.
We all know this cooking idiom where we put something to the side in order for flavors to incorporate and intensify. Doing so requires zero active involvement until we pick it up later. Similar to chemical reactions in food, our subconscious brain uses that time to connect ideas and concepts that are not always available to us immediately. Amazing magic happens when we nap, sleep, meditate, or otherwise quiet our conscious brain!

Dormant ideas can sometimes take hours – days to get solved. I have had several that I pick up months or years later with more clarity and focus than before!

I have talked with and work with thousands of business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders throughout my career. Ideas shared here are merely the result of my interactions and discoveries. Feel free to reach out for a direct conversation.