You’ve heard the term “time is money.” There is this common belief that in order to be successful, you have to sacrifice your lifestyle for hours and hours of grueling work. Too many people put in the time and effort to be successful in their work or home business, just to wind up feeling stressed, frustrated and powerless.
Take me, for example! Hans and I, both, used to work around-the-clock to reach our lofty financial goals and attain “success.” Part of this comes from what I witnessed growing up. My parents NEVER worked – they lived off the government and blew what they did get on stupid things. They bought drugs and alcohol, providing for me and my sisters last. I knew I didn’t want THAT lifestyle. I wanted to work for it all and wasn’t taking any handouts.
Years ago, I was working 16-18 hours a day running two businesses. Meanwhile, someone else was raising my kids. Meanwhile, I was on the verge of a second divorce. Meanwhile, I was running my body into the ground. I ended up literally giving myself a heart attack at 24 and a nervous breakdown at 25. Was that lifestyle worth living… and even worse, actually pursuing? Heck no! So, let me share with you how I adjusted my career, to fit my ideal lifestyle.
First of all, you have to decide what you want. What are your financial goals? What kind of life do you want? If you want to achieve those things, you’ve got to leave your old mindset behind. Don’t fall for the stereotype requiring entrepreneurs or high-paid business workers to sacrifice their relationships, health and fun just to gain success. I’m here to tell you, it’s a lie! Success is measured by results, NOT by the hours you work.
Did you catch that? All the hours you work in a week mean NOTHING, if you don’t have results to show for them! The only hours worth your time, were the ones that actually produced positive outcomes! More hours don’t necessarily mean more money.
“Okay, Dani, I’ll bite! So how DO I get the lifestyle I want and still have an outrageously-successful career?” The most important thing to realize is every single person on this earth, from the highest-paid person on earth to the bum on the street, all have the same 24 hours in a day. How you USE those 24 hours is vitally important. We’ve only got one life and you make choices of what to do with it.
That being said, look at your typical day and write down how you usually spend it. Where does each hour go? How many hours a day are you doing something that helps you achieve the life of your dreams? How many hours do you spend watching TV? How many hours do you spend looking at emails or social media? What you focus on, you will get good at!
If you focus on tasks that produce results and eliminate the ones that don’t contribute to your success, you’ll get MORE results. And I don’t just mean in your career. Not all results are equated with money. Your result might be time for quality relationships. The Law of Focus applies to EVERY area of your life; it helps you to become more efficient.
My advice? Start keeping track of your time. For the next week, track everything you do. Write down each task and how long you spent on it – to the minute! Were you fully focused on that one task or were there interruptions? Write it down!
After first doing this, I realized I wasted 80 hours a week! So, I eliminated those 80 hours, which cut my work hours back to 20 per week. And guess what happened?! My income tripled.
The easiest ways to decrease your stress and work hours are, one, be more efficient and, two, focus only on the tasks that actually get you somewhere.
I’m excited to see the results you get from this! You’re going to become more efficient, AND you will have more time for whatever is truly important to you… whether family, friends, traveling or whatever it may be!
What is your biggest obstacle when it comes to managing time and balancing your work and life? How do you plan to become more efficient moving forward? I’d love to know! Leave me your comments below!
And don’t forget to join me today for The Dani Johnson Show, where I will share more valuable insights and inspiration. You can find the show on your TV and radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right here on our website.
In great faith,
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