Humans are wired to follow this exact process. Think about it. Either consciously or sub-consciously, we say to ourselves all day long, “What will I do next?” We then choose a desired outcome followed by the execution of activities that will make it occur. Much has been written about this simple process. It’s called goal setting.

What’s the best way to stop wheel spinning and get in gear? First, take time to create clarity of purpose or a clear understanding of your desired results. Define very specifically the results you want. Clarity is the mother of decisiveness, and is the reason for the activities you choose and execute.

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A key part of choosing activities is refusing activities. Good choosers are also good refusers. They know how to say no. One of the first steps to overwhelm is the inability to say no to activities that distract from value-added activities. Put another way, overcoming overwhelm is all about saying no.

Most people think saying no involves only saying no to others. The real gist of saying no is being able to say no to your self. There is always the temptation to say yes to activities that are fast, activities that are fun, activities that are familiar, activities that are easy and instantly rewarding. It’s so much easier to clean the kitchen sink than to balance the checkbook. We sometimes even welcome interruptions as an excuse for procrastinating on activities we really don’t want to do.

Learn to deal with interruptions.

100 years ago if a home in the neighborhood caught fire, the neighborhood would rally with buckets of water to put it out. Yesterday the only thing people were reaching for were their cell phones.  It was amazing to me how people were so fascinated by the unfortunate situation of a neighbor that they wanted to get it on camera and video.

Watching this happen made me realize that while technology has connected us to one another, it’s disconnecting us on an emotional level. I believe that technology, although a wonderful tool is changing how we act as human beings.  It’s numbing our senses and creating gaps in our relationships. Would you agree?

The process to use to avoid spinning your wheels is quite simple. First, you need to pre-determine outcomes; next, anticipate the activities required to produce the outcomes. The most important step is to then decide which activities need to be done today and do them!

Humans are wired to follow this exact process. Think about it. Either consciously or sub-consciously, we say to ourselves all day long, “What will I do next?” We then choose a desired outcome followed by the execution of activities that will make it occur. Much has been written about this simple process. It’s called goal setting.

Goal setting actually intimidates some people, but it shouldn’t. We are, by nature, designed to:

• Create a mental picture of what we want.
• Make a plan of the activities required to get those results. (This is what we refer to as building an activity path.)
• Do the activities we’ve planned.

What we are saying is that it is impossible to be a good activity chooser without first glancing into the future and visualizing the results you want.

Once you put this process in motion, you will not be like people who spin their wheels at work. People who do spin their wheels at work are on the slippery slope of indecisiveness, and indecisiveness is the enemy of getting started. Similar to a car in neutral, one which can’t go anywhere until it’s in gear, indecisiveness puts you in neutral time.

What’s the best way to stop wheel spinning and get in gear? First, take time to create clarity of purpose or a clear understanding of your desired results. Define very specifically the results you want. Clarity is the mother of decisiveness, and is the reason for the activities you choose and execute. The skill of making effectual choices starts with this process.

The problem today is that we have more events and activities to manage in the same amount of time. This is due, in part, to technology, the Internet and expectations of doing more with less. We are wired 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, 24/7/365, with multiple demands, and hardly a chance to catch our breath. In a way, we’ve become compressors of life, trying to jam an unrealistic number of events into our daily allotment of minutes.

All of this has caused a paradigm shift. A paradigm is a patterned way of thinking. The old way of thinking had us dividing our work and personal life with an imaginary line. For most people, that simply doesn’t work anymore. For some people it never worked, simply because life was too complicated. When we separate work and personal life with an imaginary line, we set the two up in opposition to each other. That drives stress upward. We feel guilty regardless of which side of the line is getting our attention.

The new paradigm is for us to see our work and personal life as one life, with work and personal activities integrated throughout the 24-hour day.

Maybe you’re thinking that an integrated work and personal life sounds undesirable. Maybe, for you, it even sounds as final as placing the last nail in the coffin of work-life balance. After all, doesn’t work-life balance mean equally dividing time between work and personal life? No, that’s the old way of thinking.

The new way of thinking about balance is to realize it means maintaining equilibrium in a sea of change. It requires the ability to “flexicute.” Okay, so we invented a word—but, you have to agree, it is a very descriptive word and it makes sense. Flexicute means the ability to adapt to changes during the day without letting it throw you. As author James Ballard said, “We need to learn to dance while the carpet is being pulled from underneath us.”

The first step in creating easy time management is to learn the new “time management dance steps.” In other words, recognize and embrace the simple but significant differences in the new time paradigm.

Here are some old ways of operating as compared to the new ways.  Making these adjustments will help you be more comfortable with chaos.

Old way: Balance meant equal amounts of time spent on work and personal life.
New way: Balance is maintaining equilibrium in a sea of change.

Old way: Emphasis on multi-tasking.
New way: Emphasis on alternate-tasking, alternating work and personal life activities around the clock in a way in which both can be fully experienced.

Old way: Work is a marathon with long, hard hours and inadequate recovery time.
New way: Work is a series of sprints with adequate recovery time. (Source: The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.)

Old way: Work could be caught up and finished.
New way: Work is continuously processed but seldom finished.

Old way: One time management tool provided a complete system.
New way: Multiple tools are combined to provide a complete system.

Old way: Activities were arranged primarily based upon the clock.
New way: Activities arranged primarily based upon necessity, practicality, efficiency, and spontaneity. In other words, doing activities when they make sense, rather than based on what time it is.

Old way: Performance is judged by the number of hours one puts in at the office.
New way: Performance is judged on the basis of productivity.

 Let’s emphasize again that time hasn’t changed. We still measure time by the same calendar and clock. And, time is still defined as the occurrence of events one after another. An event is anything that happens, including activities: these are the basic building blocks for designing the quality of life we desire.

Activities Rule!

In the new paradigm, the clock does not rule: activities rule! If you are looking for an easier way to manage time, it is simply to become an effective activity manager.

Let’s take a closer look at the nature of activities, as outlined in the book Tick Tock Who Broke the Clock? – Solving the Work-Life Balance Equation, coauthored by Dr. William A. Guillory and Trapper Woods.

An activity is something we do. Even sleeping is an activity. From the day we draw our first breath of life until the time we expire our last breath of life, we are executing activities on a nonstop basis. Examining activities further, we realize that activities can be:

• Physical
• Mental
• Subliminal
• Long in duration
• Short in duration

Activities Are Never Neutral!

Some activities of long duration can have very little consequence. Some activities of short duration can have huge consequences. The most important thing to recognize about activities is that they are never neutral. They either enhance or detract from our lives by changing the quality for better or for worse.

To Be a High Performer!

Hopefully you feel empowered with a better understanding of activities. The exciting thing here is that to be good at what you want to be good at—to be a high producer in today’s environment—simply be a good activity chooser. It’s easy! Poor choosers become losers when competing for promotions or getting what they want in life.

 The bottom line is this—self-management excellence is really activity management excellence.

Learn more about activity management in our book “Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You“.

There is nothing more crucial in activity management than taking 30 minutes each day for arranging the order for accomplishing activities. It pays huge dividends.

Sadly, for many, it never happens because of the big lie some people tell themselves. The one that goes like this: “I don’t have time to plan/arrange today!” Isn’t that the very reason they need to plan? Everybody has time to plan. If they don’t plan/arrange, then “lack of planning” or “lack of arranging” becomes their plan. This is a negative, hazardous habit. It is hazardous to your health because, without a plan, stress is increased. It is hazardous to your work-life balance because, without careful planning and purposeful arranging, personal life and family life suffer. It is hazardous to your career because without planning/arranging you operate less efficiently than you could. All of these hazards make time management tough instead of ridiculously easy.

Don’t cheat yourself. This is the fastest way to get attacked.  Set aside sufficient time daily for you and attack your day. Yes, YOU. It is time for you to slow the pace; time for you to be isolated from chaos; time for you to activate a friend and partner called your subconscious and to engage your heart.

We are remembered by the impressions we make in the lives of others, created with the use of our time.  We cannot escape decisions.  To not decide is a decision.  Each decision leaves an impression. Our decisions are marked with each tick of the clock!

What is the point?  Decisions create our legacy.  Positive decisions move us and others forward.  Negative decisions hold us back and can hurt others.

We complete our legacy with the impressions made with our time.  Think!

People who are in control of their lives maximize this advantage. People who are out of control don’t. They always find themselves in a time crunch. They let time overtake them by starting the above process too late. It’s called procrastination.

Instead of focusing on green activities, the ones that have high value and deliver a big payoff, like planning, exercising, prospecting, or reading, we focus on what’s fun, what’s quick, what’s easy at that moment.  It’s more fun to scan Facebook then prospect.  It’s easier to send a text or email than making a phone call.

I love what Brian Tracy said, “The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.”