How are your days going? Too much nightly news, too much social media, and too much stress? When did you start feeling the pressure to keep up with every jot and tittle that happens during the day? Did it begin with the historic shut down as a result of Covid-19 or maybe a little later as the presidential election ramped up?
Suddenly, you were watching far too many news videos on your phone, over thinking life, afraid to go outside, but aware that staying inside too much is far from healthy! Where’s the balance?
You look at your 401k and it has shrunk, and you feel panicked. Here’s a quick insight: if you are an Alphavest client, you know the game plan and you also know that your money is on track to stay strong, safe, and even to gain. Want to learn more? Here’s the link to my latest edition of Liberated Investor. It’s free, and it was written to bring sense to this senseless time. So, download it today and be sure to set up a free consultation with me and let’s get you to a point where you will drop the worry, especially when the storms of life strike.
Ramp Up Your Productivity!
But today, I want to give you a little tip to help you master your productivity, especially in these difficult days when you feel out of control. Actually, you can increase your productivity instead of falling back and hoping that positive change will take place.
When clients come to me overwhelmed by distractions and unable to focus on their Revenue Days, I give them this simple advice: “Take a scalpel to your time!”
They usually look at me with a big “what?” look on their faces.
Think about this: when a surgeon uses a scalpel, he or she is specific, skilled, and exacting. They do not make mistakes—or if they do, there’s hell to pay. A scalpel is used to cut away what no longer serves you. In this case, slicing into your life with cool, unemotional precision. That may sound brutal, but brutal is exactly what you must be if you want to be productive.
Before I took this radical approach to time management, I often felt out of control, and my guess is that many of you feel the same way today. Even if you have a plan for the future—financial or otherwise, you can easily feel overwhelmed during this time of ups and downs.
Begin Right Where You Are
So, let’s start with a basic thought. Be honest, despite the fact that you work hard and are a generally organized person, you can feel as if there are not enough hours in the day.
Covid-19 has changed the landscape of our lives. You once worked in an office and held power meetings. Now, you are working from home still and you are walking around in casual clothes! Even if everything does settle again, it will be hard to forget this season of uncertainty. This is normal.
Recently, a client mentioned to me how she felt unintentional and purposeless. She had been cut back at her job where she held an executive position. The feelings of helplessness and lack of control is like a disease and she was battling depression.
Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, the good news is that you can implement a system of time management that will help you regain your sense of control. Let’s start with a basic idea.
If you are ready to move toward the life you want, then I dare you—no, I double-dog dare you—to take this weekend and map out the rest of 2020 and then later the first three months of 2021.
Simple Positive Actions Add Up Quickly
In his book Getting Things Done, David Allen writes about his “two-minute rule.”
It’s a simple action, but it works! Many people get in the habit of putting things off that they could have done in two minutes or less. Example: You stack your plate in the sink instead of washing them following a meal. You tell yourself, “I’ll take the trash out later” and you never do. Wet clothes stay in the dryer—you get the idea.
You put things off and mentally the pile grows to a point where you feel mentally frozen. Wouldn’t it be better to do these things in less than two minutes and get them checked off your list? The plus factor is that you are up and moving. You are thinking and working through a list.
This easy example can be applied to work at your office. Entrepreneurs usually are creative types that bounce through their days from one idea to another. Like plates, papers pile up. Your office is cluttered, and people notice it. Stop the stress drain. In two minutes, get what you can do—done. Then move on.
Obviously, not every task can be accomplished in two minutes, but many can.
Seriously, what have you put on the sidelines of your life that you could do in two minutes, in twenty minutes or in an hour? Just do it. Create a list with three sections: short range, mid-range, and long range goals. Go for a short range goal first! Then bask in the success of seeing it done.
Turn off the chatter in life. This means turn your phone off, leave it in a safe place away from you and go for a mid-range goal! Work your plan and then tackle a long range goal but always keep a short range goal in your cue. Why? Simple, you want to teach yourself to be successful again after this very trying time in life.
Perfect Days are not Always Perfect
Every goal can be started in two minutes or less. That’s the purpose behind this rule. When you start a new habit, it should take under two minutes to do. That will help you stick to it until it becomes a new normal part of your thinking process and day.
I teach people how to have Perfect Days. Realize that Perfect Days are not always perfect. Life is what you make of it. Perfect is beginning and seeing your dreams move to reality.
I’m also a financial advisor and most, if not all, of my Perfect Day advice will work when it comes to taking control of your financial future.
Don’t allow a lack of time or knowledge prevent you from becoming a smart and savvy investor. Take the first step to freedom by downloading The Liberated Investor then schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me.
About The Author: Cokie Berenyi
Cokie Berenyi has been in financial services and serving the needs of individual and institutional clients and entrepreneurs since 1996. Mother, author, business owner, financial “samurai” and Perfect Day engineer, Cokie loves food, wine, travel, stray dogs, goat cheese, tennis, and alpine mountaineering.
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