Have you done the TIME TRACKING EXERCISE?  Are you still unconvinced that you need to change the things that you are doing in life?  Or, did you skip the activity because you still don’t think that it is important? This post is for those who don’t see the need to change but, even if you do see the need, feel free to stick around and see if this helps to provide any additional inspiration.

The question:  Why should I want to change the way I spend my time now if I am enjoying myself?  The answer:  You shouldn’t.  IF, you are getting everything in life that you want and you are fulfilling all of your responsibilities without issue.  But, if there are things that you are not getting, guess what?  You will continue to not get them if you keep doing what you have always done as the saying goes.  Other reasons to change:

1. Your activities aren’t congruent with your stage of life
2. Your activities aren’t aligned with your vision of how things should be
3. You’re unhappy with anything

Unhappiness seems an obvious reason to change.  It amazes me how easy it is for people to get stuck in a cycle of unhappiness and feel like they can’t do anything.  By simply changing your actions daily, you can improve how happy you are with your life and with yourself.  If unhappy is not the word that you would use, you could use dissatisfied, annoyed, bored, or any number of other non-productive emotions that you might be feeling.

As a quick review for those who have read the Tracking your Time post, and an intro for those who have not, the process for changing your activities is:

1. Track how you spend your time
2. Review the information that you gathered when you were tracking it
3. Identify where you are wasting time, being unproductive, or doing the wrong activities
4. Replace some of that time with more productive activities and
5. Repeat

*It is important to note that recreation or ‘vegging’ time should not be removed completely, as it can be both therapeutic and relaxing.  I certainly need my ‘do nothing’ time in order to recharge my batteries!  How do you know which activities and how much time to replace?  You must use simple trial and error unfortunately; there is no magic formula.

Why should you shift the time you spend?

1. If you meet any of the criteria that I already mentioned above, then you know that, right now, you are not getting what you want. You can be sure that, if you don’t make a change, you will continue to get what you don’t want.  Shifting your actions/activities provides one thing that is truly certain:  if you change something, something will change.  Cause and effect is a universal concept.
2. Changing how you spend your time adds a little spice to your life. Who isn’t sick of the normal day to day crap that they are doing?  How exciting is it to shift things sometimes?  The results can be fun and challenging!
3. If you are not getting the recognition that you deserve now, the only way to get it is to get things done! The things that need to get done in order to get the recognition are usually the ones that move you closer to your goals.  Those are the things that make you the best at what you do!  Tracking your time is a start down that path.
4. If you are doing the things that you want/should/could be doing, you will be happier and more comfortable in your skin, so to speak. When you feel better about things, you tend to be more confident, more charismatic, and more personable.  People will notice this immediately and you will notice a change in the quality of your relationships as early as day one.
5. How else will you get better, grow stronger, or improve your station in life unless you take on the tasks and activities that will move you closer to the life that you want to live? Getting better and becoming more than you are is a slow process and hard to see sometimes.  But, know that the way you get better is to move towards a worthwhile goal or, even better, a compelling and powerful vision of who you are and what you could become!
6. Lastly, as you get better and people see what you are able to accomplish, they will seek YOU out for advice and/or help. You will be better positioned not only to help them, but to make THEM better as a result.  That is very rewarding in and of itself.

What are you waiting for?  Start Tracking your Time!