The Power Schedule to Advance and Conquer

the economy you desire. Consider this simple formula: Time × Actions = Measure of Advance

The degree to which you advance is only limited by the amount of time and action you invest. While much?if not most?of the world vehemently refuses to spend time

on activities that won?t immediately pay off, I would per- sonally rather be productive and not be paid than not be productive and not be paid. In other words, I would rather do sometfting for free than nothing at all. While many might disagree with this perspective, I can assure you that sooner or later, the productive person will be paid in some way, and inefficient people won?t. To put it a different way: Tfte person wfto willingly swings tfte bat ftas a better cftance at success tftan tfte person wfto refuses to swing. Any efforts?even poorly executed ones?will aid your progress toward advanc- ing and conquering, especially if you make them regularly and follow them up with subsequent action. It?s especially important during a period of contraction to develop a dis- ciplined commitment to using your time and energy. Most people don?t have enough of the ?advance? component in their daily schedules. If you want to move yourself forward, you have to do a lot, and you have to do a lot consistently.

Get your head around the idea that any action is bet- ter than none and that the more action you take, the more solvent your economy will become. Then pack your calen- dar with efforts at production. You should increase activ- ity at least to the degree that the economy has contracted (bear in mind, this formula does not apply in reverse). Time is indeed money here, and the way in which you utilize your time today will determine how much money you have tomorrow. You have to consider the long term at all times; there are no quick fixes.

There seem to be a lot of people who aren?t willing to expend energy without complete assurance of (usually

immediate or short-term) payoff. An attitude like this only guarantees the demise of your economy. I then see others setting conditions on what they are willing to do and hear others say, ?There is no way I am going to work any harder than I have been? or ?There is no way I will work for that little bit of money.? Abandon this kind of outlook at once. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes, regardless of how much effort it takes or how insignificant the pay- off seems to be. If I had to take a second job flipping ham- burgers to take care of my family, I would flip burgers. If I have to wash cars to take care of my family, I will wash cars. Drop the arrogance, your old beliefs, and any limitations on what you are willing to do, and get going on producing your economy.

One of the most difficult things to do during tough economic periods is to keep your mental state and out- look positive and focus on spending your time wisely. Pes- simistic thinking, a negative attitude, and the tendency to cling to old ideas can function as a cancer that destroys any chance of an improved future. When things become espe- cially grueling, it?s that much more vital to make the most of every moment you have and be mindful of the positive. Consider the phrase I used before: ?Time is money.? Dur- ing economic contractions, business slows down so you should have more time. If business is off 20 percent, you should have 20 percent more time! Time actually expands during contractions, now the question is what will you do with more time. The way you choose to schedule this ?extra? time determines how well you?ll weather the storm

compared with others. Everyone has basically the same amount of time available, but the most industrious people do a better job of making the most of it.

Beginning each day on a disciplined schedule that keeps you busy and is filled with worthy actions is critical to keeping you focused on solutions. While the items on your calendar do not all have to be business related, they should all beget production of some sort. This could and should include spiritual, personal, and physical develop- ment; improving relationships with family, friends, and colleagues; volunteering; training; education; and the like. Starting each day with a workout and finding time to study are vital ways to make ?downtime? more effective. I often say the following in my seminars: ?Tfte more you produce, tfte more you can produce!? Increasing your efforts in virtually any facet of your life will lead to enhanced performance in other seemingly disconnected areas. But without a plan or commitment to using time productively, you won?t be able to generate enough with the time you have.

When things at your company were moving along well, you probably claimed that you didn?t have time to exercise, study, or get involved with community affairs. Well, now you have the time. Even as a write this, I am reminded of other times in my life when things were not going well for me, and I implemented the use of this disciplined schedule strategy to get my head out of my backside. I increased my level of production in any area in order to get some momen- tum and get myself out of the hole I had dug for myself. Anytime I get into a period of low levels of production?a

?funk,? as some call it?I tighten my schedule and get a bit more rigid about how I use my time.

The first thing I decide when committing to my sched- ule is what time I will go to sleep and what time I will wake. If you don?t control what time you go down, you will never be able to manage what time you wake up. Though we all have alarm clocks to get us out of bed in the morning, we usually lack a commitment to a strict bedtime. But estab- lishing one helps us wake up feeling rested, focused, and prepared to produce. Sleep becomes the pivotal part of my work schedule; it provides the rejuvenation and energy I need to maximize the hours I am awake. Once you confirm your sleeping and waking times, you can then pack the rest of your day with production-oriented endeavors that add to your economy?s expansion, make you feel good about your- self, increase your understanding, enhance your attitude, and create opportunities for new income.

These activities might include making direct contact with clients and potential clients; sending out mailers and promotional material; marketing, planning, and surveying for clients; repackaging products; scheduling personal vis- its; making calls; cleaning files; conducting quality checks on services; redesigning slide presentations; working out; investing in study time; writing a book; eating healthy; rebuilding your Web site; and anything else you can imag- ine. Commit yourself to a schedule and include those activi- ties that bring you personal pleasure, keep you busy moving forward, and are heavily focused on accessing opportuni- ties. This last element is important; otherwise, you may

find yourself engaging only in pastimes with which you are comfortable but that probably won?t produce revenue. For instance, most people take lunch every day of the week. That one hour is not the time to organize files or plan a marketing campaign, but it?s the perfect opportunity to take a client to lunch.

Next, figure out what percentage of your schedule puts you in front of people who can either purchase your prod- ucts and services or activate others who may be able to do so. I would personally want to be in front of prospective clients more than 50 percent of the time. You may have to rework your schedule to hit your desired proportion. Don?t just plan busy time to have ?something? to do; stay occu- pied with things that help you advance and conquer.

Once your power schedule is balanced, follow it and stay true to it! This is going to be a fun exercise in control- ling your own time. For instance, if you?ve set lunch from noon to 1:00, then let everyone know that you have a packed day and must leave promptly at 1:00. Then move directly to the next activity on your schedule. If you have a marketing meeting with colleagues scheduled for 2:15, tell them exactly how much time you have for that meeting?and stick to it. You will give yourself and others the impression that you are busy, and because you put time limits on each meeting, you will find yourself getting more done in less time.

Now is the time to do more while others are doing less. Expand while others contract. Conquer while others retreat and surrender. There are hundreds of things that you have neglected over the years that you now have the

time to do. You don?t do things like sleep, watch TV, com- plain, take long lunches and dinners, gossip, read news- papers, worry, or waste time because you are lazy. These behaviors are simply the result of a lack of commitment to a power schedule. When you have other places you have to be and don?t have time for these things, then you just don?t do them.

Make it clear to the world every day that you have ?things to do and people to see.? Adopt this as your mantra so you can stay above the fray, free from the barrage of neg- ativity, thereby ensuring the expansion of your bright and prosperous economy. Move fast?heck, even run?from one activity to the next. Increase your frequency, speed, vibration, and activities. Travel as though you have some- place important to go and something important to do, and both will come to fruition. Take this opportunity to gain control and make the most of your time. Use it to catch up on all the things that will make you more valuable to your- self and others.

There are so many possibilities of items to put on your power schedule that will advance your new economy. Take on another job, learn a new skill, improve those you have in some way, start a home business, get involved with a direct- marketing opportunity, help solve the problems in the marketplace, or join a group of people with common inter- ests. You can learn a new language, learn more about the Internet, read a book each week, listen to audio programs, help out with the community, run for office, help out your church?the possibilities are endless.

Most people use time as an excuse for not doing things that they know will be good for them and claim that they just don?t have time. But the reality is that most of these people simply refuse to put worthwhile items on their schedule. Again, we all have the same amount of time. Treat yours like it is valuable. Make sure you max out every moment of every day, and I promise, you will feel better about yourself, and better things will happen to you.

If you operate this way during a downturn, you will already have momentum when things turn around because you will have honed the discipline, skills, education, con- nections, and muscle that others didn?t. When people ask, ?Why is he always moving so fast?? my answer is, ?That?s how I roll.? When they ask, ?What?s the hurry? Chill out,? inspire them by saying, ?The more I do, the more I can do, and the more I can do, the more I get done!? When they tell you, ?Slow down and enjoy your life,? tell them, ?I can?t slow down. I have an economy to create so that I can ensure the future of my family.? Be careful of people who chal- lenge your desire to get more done, as they are dangerous to themselves and others.

In addition to creating your new power schedule, make a list of all wasteful actions in which you are currently involved. This action is so very important that I actually could have made it a chapter on its own. Write down all the things you do that in no way can possibly contribute to future production or enhance the way you feel about yourself.

Once you have your list of wasteful activities, decide where on your new schedule these belong. I am not suggest- ing you get rid of all of them, but at least limit the amount

of time you spend on them. I confess that I myself play Xbox occasionally. While I?m aware that it doesn?t contrib- ute to my production in any way, I enjoy playing it. I don?t cut it out completely, but I do restrict it so that it doesn?t cross over into my production time. In this way, I am not deprived of my playtime.

Now, start creating your new schedule. Write down what time you go to sleep tonight and what time you will wake up tomorrow. Here are a couple of tricks for those of you who love to sleep: Disable the snooze button on your alarm clock and keep the shades open on your win- dows where you sleep so that when the sun rises, it makes it difficult for you to stay in bed. Once bedtime and wake time are penciled in, then start filling in the rest of the day. The next items to add are breakfast, lunch, and din- ner, so include those times. Now, continue to fill in the rest of the day with those things that you want to accom- plish. Remember, most people get less done than they want?not because they are lazy but because they don?t have a schedule. For instance, the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is write down my life goals. I do this again before I go to sleep at night, so I have both of these actions on my schedule. After writing my goals, I have a 20- to 30-minute workout, followed by a healthy breakfast.

Construct the rest of your schedule, packing in every bit of the day with a planned event or action. When asked, ?Do you operate your life exactly by the schedule?? my answer is, ?Of course not.? But each day, I am able to look at what I am committed to accomplishing. I would rather

have a full schedule and wonder how I?m going to get all this done than have no schedule and become apathetic because there is nothing to do. Regardless of the economy, I com- mit each day to something that moves me into the market. The more I have on my schedule, the better chance I have of doing something productive. The more I get done, the better I feel?and the better I feel, the more I get done. When you feel better and actually start getting more done each day, you will find yourself rewarded in the marketplace for activities that had nothing to do with your job.

Here?s an example of a recent day?s schedule:

6:00 Wake up, drink water with lemon, write down my goals

6:15?7:00 Work out, listen to training material, swim and shower

7:00 Eat breakfast with family

7:20?8:00 Driveto office, pay a personal visit to client.

Use all driving time to listen to training material.

8:00?8:15 Meet with group

8:16?9:00 Write weekly article for Huffington Post and

Business News

9:00?10:00 Attend meeting to plan Web site strategy, promotion, and marketing

10:00?11:50 Direct client calls, followed up with mail and e-mail

2:00?3:00 More writing on book/product development meetings

3:00?4:30 Create new PowerPoint for latest seminar 4:30?5:00 Personal client?drop in on my way home 5:15?6:30 Downtime?play and family

6:30?8:00 Continue writing a new book/do research for an upcoming radio show regarding the economy

8:00?10:00 Watch recorded movie with family (avoiding news)

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Date: 2016-06-12; view: 131