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Why You are Time Poor: Your Negative 60 Percent Return Problem

April 29, 2011 in More Time, Productivity with 0 Comments

In his book The Millionaire Fastlane, MJ DeMarco talks about how the majority of folks slave through 5 days of work they hate to make it to the weekend which is only 2 days long.  This equates to a NEGATIVE 60 percent return on your investment.  As DeMarco recently wrote in a post, here’s how the math works:

“The worst soul-sucking exchange of them all … your job.  Yes, the good old selling of Monday through Friday for the paycheck of Saturday and Sunday. If you are working a job just to pay the bills (and NOT investing in a business system capable of spawning both free time and money) your return on investment (ROI) is a negative 60%.  That’s right.  A big minus 60%!

In other words, you give 5 days of bondage (doing things you wouldn’t normally do) in exchange for 2 days of freedom (however you spend your weekend.)

Give this exchange some perspective.  Suppose a friend approached you with this great new investment. You give your friend $5 on Monday and on Friday evening, he will give you $2 back. Again, that’s a negative 60% return on investment. Great deal? Of course not!

Then why-o-why in the world do people have no problem trading their time at the same exact dismal rate of return when in fact, it’s our time that is the scarce resource and not money? Time is like a primordial fuel — when it runs dry, no amount of cash can save you from the end. And sorry, there are no fill-up stations.”

So your job is probably the worst time suck according to DeMarco, but let’s put aside the whole ‘My Work Sucks’ discussion for another day and focus on what you can control – how you view each and every day in the present.

When you focus on getting more out of your days (both weekdays and weekends), by doing things you love and by grabbing the wheel of the ride called your life, you will instantly feel better and get more out of life.

No one gets anywhere by being a passenger in their life, ceding their roadmap to someone else.  Take the wheel and actively steer and direct your life by deciding to spend time on value-added things, not time wasters.

Cut out the time wasters in your life that are taking you away from doing the things you love.  Cut out some TV shows, avoid the gossip and negative mongers, stop surfing the web and anything else that doesn’t give you a great return on your time.

Do More of What You Love
Focus on what you love, by making time for it.  Block out time on your schedule to do your favorite activity.  Book that dinner with an old friend.  Sign up for a class you’ve been meaning to take.  Lock yourself in a room with a favorite book.  In short, make the time to do more of what you love during the week do that you’re not getting a negative 60 percent return on your time.

Please, please, please put this tip into practice.  Cut out the time wasters and simplify your life, by getting rid of the clutter, learning to manage your email better or even running meetings better which leads to less wasted time at work.

Make the change.  It’s simple enough and now you know about it, do something about your negative time balance each week.

Again, what a tragedy that would be if you knew that you were getting a NEGATIVE 60 percent return on your time and you did nothing about it.

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How Supermodels Can Help You Get Your Job Done

April 22, 2011 in More Time, Productivity with 0 Comments

 

Want a Super Model?

Image courtesy of Nick Gregan

A supermodel is of course those highly-paid fashion models that have large multi-million dollar contracts, endorsement deals and ad campaigns.  They usually end up with superstar athletes, business moguls, actors and actresses and while they do work at looking so good, their work is usually something others envy.  In short, not a bad gig if you can get it.  But back to your career and getting your hands on your own super model.

Oh, one thing before we move on.  Here’s where the bubble bursts.  I’m not going to teach you how to get a human supermodel, but a more important kind of super model – the kind that will be a life changer if you remember to ask for them more often.

Stop scratching your head.  Let me explain…

A Super Model is the best in class presentation, business case, strategy deck, resume, operations plan or existing example of something that your boss or peers think of for any particular task.  You’ll save yourself tons of reinvention time if you just ask them “do you have a best in class example of what you’re looking for?”

This one phrase can save you countless time, effort and heartache.

C’mon Fabio, heartache?  Yes, heartache, stress and lost sleep.  Often what your boss or higher-ups want is some nirvana of a presentation or business case that they remember fondly.  Every time you try to reinvent the wheel, they’re thinking of their personal favorite Super Model.

The point is that if you have a model to work from, one that works and is known to be well thought out and liked by your boss, why not ask for it upfront as a guide to work from?

This isn’t a copout for not doing the hard work of thinking and coming up with your own ideas.  It’s about not wasting your time on the structure and trying to figure out the type of information that should go into whatever it is you’re being asked to do.

Make sense?  Cool.  So next time you’re asked to tackle something new or a daunting task, ask for a Super Model and you’ll save yourself a ton of time to focus on other things – like getting the task done and leaving work on time for a change.

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Organization Tips: Donate Something (Anything Really)

April 18, 2011 in Happiness, More Time, Organization with 0 Comments

Here’s a simple tip I just thought of while thinking about the amount of clutter and stuff people tend to accumulate through the years.  I was inspired to write this after watching some poor soul unloading a bunch of stuff into a storage facility.  He might have been moving somewhere, but I instantly thought about how many people have too much stuff in life, myself included.

I am in the process of moving into my new home and it’s been great walking through the empty house trying to figure out where everything will go.  We’ve got new couches to buy, TVs and a host of new things, but more than anything, we have to find a home for all the things we already have.

I’m living in a rental right now and things are a bit tight as we’ve been packing up things.  Sometimes I’m amazed at the amount of stuff my wife and I have acquired through the years.  When I come to the rental at night and see the boxes of stuff we’re preparing to move, I just want to throw everything away.

Well, not literally throw my stuff away, but donate the clothes and items I no longer use.  These things are just taking up space and just thinking about it now gets my heart racing.  Clutter kills, I know it does.  How? By adding to the stressfulness of your days (not to mention your credit card bill and debt if you’re not paying cash up front for all that stuff).

What’s the flip side of getting rid of clutter?  Peace of mind.  When things – clothes, books, magazines, paper, cups – are put away from sight, I feel more at ease.  I bet you know what I’m talking about and have experienced this yourself.

I say why not take half a day, perhaps a lazy weekend and go through one room in your house and fill up a box or a bag with stuff to donate.  Be ruthless in your approach – if you haven’t worn something in years, donate it.  If you have old furniture, books and other stuff in your basement, attic or garage that you haven’t touched in years, get rid of it.

Your next step is to move the boxes and bags or items to your garage or the front of your house and take a trip to your local Salvation Army.  In fact, you don’t even have to bring the stuff as the Salvation Army and other non-profits who accept donations will come to your house and pickup your unwanted stuff.

You can move from room to room over the course of a few weekends and your house will instantly be de-cluttered.  Make sure to get your receipt and now you not only have de-cluttered your house, but you’ve got a nice little tax deduction as well.

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How to underwhelm yourself and get more done

February 21, 2011 in More Time with 0 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of just getting started on a project or task in order to get the ball rolling toward accomplishing your goal.  I wrote the post on my iPhone via an app.  I knew I likely wouldn’t have the time to write a post later in the day as I was heading out to a birthday party.  Instead of worrying about the post (and a bunch of other work), I thought about what I wanted to say, whipped out my iPhone and wrote the post.  Done deal.

When you start thinking of your laundry list of To Do items, you’ll get overwhelmed.  When you focus on one tiny task you can accomplish in the next 15 minutes, you begin to relax and get right into the flow of the project.

“If you think of everything you have to do, you feel overwhelmed. If you do the one thing you have to do, you make progress.” – Simon Sinek

Focus on just starting and doing something for 15 minutes and you’ll find out how much you can get done in just a little bit of time.  In short, try and under-whelm yourself with how much you have to do right now in this moment and get cracking on that project you want to tackle.

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Wasted Time in Your Morning Routine

October 19, 2010 in More Time with 0 Comments

The best thing about a boring routine is that it works.  Doing the same thing every morning might be boring, repetitive, uninspiring, but it can also be damn productive.

When you streamline your morning routine – the things you do and how you get from waking to butt in chair – you’re able to squeeze some extra time that can be used to do some real work.

What’s your current morning routine?  Do a time audit to mark down and figure out where you might be losing some time.  Wasted time is there, just look hard enough.  Squirrel enough minutes here and there and you’ll find the time you think you don’t have to do the fun and inspiring stuff.

One last suggestion – question everything.  Do you need to stop for coffee or can you make it at home?  Do you need to watch TV in the morning to find out the weather or can you just check an app?  Simple things like this are everywhere if you look hard enough.  Start looking.

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