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What you will learn:
• What "time-cleaning" is
• How this process can increase your productivity
• How to start time-cleaning to reach your goals
Spring cleaning helps us eliminate all we have collected and hoarded through the winter months. With summer quickly approaching, we can use this fresh start to make room for a new strategy called "time-cleaning."
Time-cleaning is the way to produce results. It involves thinking creatively and being honest about what you want to accomplish by being time-focused. No more linear thinking or drawing lines through your daily task list. Instead, choose the right combination of tasks to reach your goals. So, instead of spending your time on emotionally fulfilling tasks, select tasks that are necessary to move you a step closer toward fulfilling your goals.
When to start time-cleaning
When you notice that the journey to accomplishing your goals seems to be getting further away, it's time to start time-cleaning. You're ready to start time cleaning if you regularly say to yourself:
"Wow, I sure thought I was doing better with my time...” "I meant to get it done, but I ran out of time...” "I need more hours in a day..." or "I am so busy." We have all probably said them at one time or another. So let us start asking questions that will help us get "unstuck" and remove ourselves from the spinning hamster wheel.
Limited time offer: ATI's Time Cleaning Worksheet Tired of feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? If so, it’s time to get organized by doing some time cleaning. Time cleaning is a more productive way to organize your tasks and more than striking tasks off a list. It involves thinking strategically about your goals and then choosing the best tasks to reach them. Get ATI’s Time Cleaning Worksheet to rid your day of time-consuming tasks of little value. To receive your copy, go to www.ationlinetraining.com/2022-05 for a limited time.
How to start time-cleaning
Artist Hans Hofmann said, "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." This wonderful phrase can be the mantra for time-cleaning and getting focused on tasks that achieve results. Here are some key exercises to get you started:
- List up to 100 areas of your life, work, and tasks that drain your energy or don't produce results. Use the "Time Cleaning Worksheet" document for this exercise and add extra lines if you need them.
- Answer the following questions about the items on the Top 100 list:
- What are you tolerating? What is or is not serving you to meet your goals?
- What will you stop doing right now? What is non-negotiable?
- What are you saying "yes" to that you prefer to say "no"?
- What does excellence look like?
Now that you've funneled items that serve you, decide which items help you accomplish, delegate, and which to get rid of. Add anything that stays more than three days to a separate "get around to it" list or remove it forever because it was not that important. It was "busy work."
3. Set your schedule to effectively execute the tasks that move you toward your goals for the day, week, month, year, and so on. Having action plans in place that focus your time, energy, and attention on result-driven tasks will accomplish the goals you set forth.
Outcomes of time-cleaning
Here are some take-aways when time-cleaning once per month, quarter, or any time you feel an adjustment is due.
- Learn to recognize what you are doing is not working and stop doing it.
- Understand more about the role emotions play in accomplishing work.
- Build self-control and willpower by increasing awareness of how you make and avoid choices.
- Let go of resisting change and appreciate the opportunity of what's possible.
- Realize how to stop your thoughts from being negative and blameful. Instead, move to more positive thoughts such as, "It is what it is. Now, what's next?"
- Gain a sense of personal power from learning to adapt where you spend your time.
- Realize that focusing on trifles will get you stuck — just like quicksand. Enough of it, and you will ruin others around you with your insane focus on the unnecessary mundane tasks.
Perspective for time-cleaning
Be personally accountable for performing time-cleaning when necessary. Great mantras to encourage and motivate you are:
- "If it's to be, it's up to me."
- "If not me, who? If not now, when?"
- "Just do it."
- "I will; I must."
Commit to making a change for the better in managing your time with the right tasks to produce results. This exercise will be challenging and will take serious brainpower. Find a quiet spot and a time of day when you are in your prime working zone. It may take several sittings to complete the exercise. Take your time — accuracy is better than speed.
Be effective and watch for efficacy. During this time, examine what you spend your time on. Remove items that do not serve you or produce the results you want. Remember, your "why" must be strong enough to maintain your commitment to improving your time-cleaning process.
Get ATI’s Time Cleaning Worksheet at http://www.ationlinetraining.com/2022-05 for a limited time. It will assist you in performing the challenging time-cleaning exercise. Enjoy the journey!
