3 Strategies to Stop Sabotaging Your Schedule

Are you sabotaging your schedule?

Believe me you aren’t alone.

Here are a few clues that reveal the truth:

• Do you find yourself lamenting to friends that there isn’t enough time for what is really important to you (i.e. exercise, marketing your business, family, writing your book)?

• Do you work your tail off day in and day out only to find that you never really feel ‘caught up’?

• Does a night of 8 hours of quality, refreshing sleep seem like a far away dream?

If you find yourself nodding to any of these questions than it is time we get to the bottom of what is REALLY going on in your schedule and give you proven strategies that will free up more of your time and energy immediately.

Let’s dive in.

Schedule Sabotage #1 – You don’t believe there is enough time

Here is a very sneaky time drain. If you believe you don't have enough time in your day, this will continue to be your experience.

This belief can show up in your language: “If only I had the time to get to the gym… ” or “I wish I had another hour in the day – THEN I would be able to relax more."

When you believe these statements are true you will never feel that you have enough time. You will always “need” more.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Believing you don’t have enough time gets you off the hook from stepping up and taking responsibility for how you choose to spend your time. 

To truly own your time you must own your choices for how you are spending it.

Or put more bluntly:

“Those who make the worst of their time most complain about its shortness.” – La Bruyere

In order to shift this way of thinking pay attention to the words you use.

Catch this sneaky belief in action.

Experiment with exchanging “I don’t have the time.” to “It’s not a priority for me right now”.

This is how you stay in your power. This is how you run your life.

Schedule Sabotage #2 – You aren’t protecting YOUR time

You’ve got places to go and people to meet. You’ve got a life to live.

So why are you letting other people run your life?

It’s time to step up and own your time.

Here are some examples of what protecting your time looks like in the real world:

• When you used to instantly respond to chat/email/text/phone you now wait until the timing is right for you to respond.

• When you used to get sucked into volunteering out of guilt and obligation you now say “No” and rest easy that you’ve given someone else the opportunity to contribute.

• When you used to drop what you were doing to hear the latest drama from your lovesick friend, you now see that constantly being available isn’t always the best for everyone involved.

• When you used to agree to any meeting time that was suggested you now offer meeting times first – the ones that fit best in your schedule

Remember: The more you respect your time the more others will respect it too.

You are constantly training others how to interact with you. What message do you want to be sending?

Schedule Sabotage #3 – You think your energy is limitless

Sleep deprivation, caffeine and sugar for stimulants, minimal exercise, and the constant stress to accomplish as much as possible every day.

It is very hard to feel productive, focused and centered when this is the foundation you are operating from.

If this is where you are at, you don’t need more time management tools to be productive you need more clean (i.e. natural) energy. That’s why quality sleep is my favorite place to start.

If there ever was one true magic bullet for boosting your productivity, focus, and creativity as fast as possible it is to get more sleep.

No question.

Tony Schwartz, one of my favorite authors on the subject recently outlined this cold, hard truth about sleep in The New York Times:

“Even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a powerful toll on our cognitive capacity. A vast trove of research suggests that 95 percent of us need at least seven to eight hours of sleep to feel fully rested, while 2.5 percent need more than eight hours. The final 2.5 percent — or about one out of 40 people — require less than seven hours.

In other words, you are not likely one of them, even though you may well think you are.”

If you take nothing else from this article, take this:

Getting more sleep has the power to transform your life. 

Decide right now if you can go to bed any earlier or get up any sooner. Pick a very small, very doable shift. And experiment.

All the research in the world can’t convince you of the power of sleep more than your experiencing it for yourself.

I dare you to try it out and see.

Do you relate to any of these “schedule saboteurs”? Are there others I am missing? Be sure to share your tips below.