How I Manage My Time #542

There's a great quote the key is not spending time , but investing it . So when we're clear on what we want from our life , what fulfills us , what we want to experience , we then look at what we do as an investment , not as a chore .

So an example could be my sister actually messaged me last night and I'm really proud of her because she is doing similar to me a daily heart , she's choosing her daily heart and she's been doing her 30 minute walks and it's extremely hot back in Brisbane and she said I don't think I'll ever learn to love exercise , I just don't like it .

And I said that's okay , just continue doing it and let's see if your relationship changes with it .

And I think once we experience benefit or we are aware of the upsides , we start to look at it as an investment , because same with money another example for those who want an example when we invest money , so you might put it in a house , you might invest it in your own personal development , you may invest in a weekend away .

Sometimes it can be hard to part with the money because you'd rather see that savings in your account , but it's what you get from where the money goes . So , for example , a holiday with your family might be the time that you guys need to connect and reconnect as a family .

Putting it into an index fund , for example , over a sustained period of time , may see your wealth grow . Investing in your own personal development may help you learn skills or create contacts that are gonna help you earn more money . So there's a shift that needs to happen . But what I wanna talk about is seven things that I do to manage my time .

So you may have some other ones and if you do , whether you're watching on YouTube or listening on Spotify or wherever you're listening just drop in the comments .

I'd love to learn from you guys as well , because I think this is everyone has ideas that work for them , but this is what is working for me and , as I mentioned , I did this when I was 24 , 25 , the last time I spoke specifically about this and I listened back . So if you wanna go have a bit of a laugh , listen , I've grown a lot .

I think a little bit differently and I definitely have incorporated some new strategies to help me maximize my time so that I feel more fulfilled . I get to spend time doing what I love , with those that I love . So , number one , accept that I am in control of my time .

When life is not going to plan , I always would use the excuse of I don't have time to do the things that maybe I wanted to do or I knew I needed to do to create a better life .

So when someone would say to me I don't have time to go to the gym , I don't have time to check out this opportunity , I don't have time to read that book , I recognize that I used to be that individual and , whether you , there are things that you don't have time to do because it's a priority or it's not a priority .

But when we are clear on what we want , which I am , it now makes it very easy to go . Okay , well , I'm in control of my time . Therefore , I can choose to do the things that I want to do .

And , yes , you may work for someone , which means , technically , they tell you what hours you have to work , but it's also your choice to be going there , so think about that . But one thing I did was accept that I'm in control of my time .

So therefore , if I'm not happy , if I'm not healthy , if I'm not earning the money that I want , or my marriage isn't going well or my friendships aren't going well , that's on me , because I haven't been prioritizing my time to invest in those things . So that was a really powerful shift for me and hopefully it is for you as well .

So just to recap , accept that you're in control of your time . Number two it's either a hell yeah or it's a no , and I have heard many people say this and it just makes sense . Quite often we're like oh , maybe I'd like to do that , but there's a lot of things that maybe we would like to do .

If it's not a definitely yes or a hell yeah , and it doesn't truly excite , you just make it easier and remove one of those , I guess , open tabs on your computer and just say no . You can always circle back around to it if you change your mind . But when you leave so many unopened , so open browsers on your computer , you're using bandwidth right .

You're not able to focus . It slows everything down , so it's just easier to close tabs as you go . So one thing once again , I do if it's not a hell yeah , I'm not doing it because I might want to use that time later on to do something . That is a hell yeah for me . Like you know , today doing the podcast , my wife's gone to go get her hair done .

Hanging out at the shop's where she does that , that's a big fat no for me . So the hell yeah was let's do this , this will be fun . So number three the one thing there's a great book , the One Thing and if you have not read it I would highly recommend doing it .

And the general gist of the book is do choose to do the one thing that if you were to do it , everything else would become redundant or it would help progress them forward . So every day I have that one thing , and sometimes it's , you know , depending on the day of the week .

Sometimes it's work focus , sometimes it's relationship focus , other times it's health focus . Generally , monday to Friday , it is work focus . What's the one thing ? That if I get it done today , everything else will progress or will become redundant .

And it just really helps me knock that one thing over so that I feel satisfied I'm making progress and it also helps me focus . Number four or actually I do have a quote for that . I do have a quote for that , the quote for the one thing the shortest way to do anything is to do one thing .

So once again you're not distracted , you're fully focused on that one thing . Let's go to number four now . So number four is a to-do list , and for me the to-do list comes after my one thing , because there are definitely things that we need to do and once again they may be in the line of work , they may be I have to get groceries on the way home .

It may be I have to respond to a few emails , whatever it is . Put that on the to-do list . But don't live and die by the to-do list .

We can always have things to do and that's how we become busy and we'll go to one of my other points of delegation shortly but I think it's very important to just focus on that one thing and be proud of yourself for doing that , and then allow the to-do list to come next .

So I do have a to-do list and it's always in my diary , but generally it's no more than five things . If I'm adding a bit more , I'll move it to a Saturday or Sunday and then it's out of sight now to mind .

But when I'm prepping for the next week I can review those things and go okay , which of those things that I wrote down during the week really need my attention ?

Or some of them may have just been a moment of energy where I'm like I've got to do that , or I've seen a post or felt inspired to do something that is actually just distracting me from what is really important to me . So that's another thing that I do .

Number five my daily must-dos or the non-negotiables . We all have those things . We are what we repeatedly do .

So if you were to look at your calendar and where you're spending your time and here's a little tip for you if you can't see where you're spending your time , maybe you want to start using a diary just so you can see where your time goes , because it'll show you who you're becoming and the results you're getting .

So things for myself is I value my health , I value my marriage and my friendships and I also value my business . Therefore , I have some daily must-dos . Now , the daily must-do is I must exercise , not only for my physical health , but for my mental health . It's awesome . It just helps me prep the day .

I must read or listen to a podcast because I want to learn , I want to be inspired and I want to be challenged . So that's a really important , non-negotiable Spending time with my wife every single day . It's extremely important , that is . You know , there's a great quote the grass is greener where you water it . Water the things that are important to you .

Okay , so think about what are the things that you must do daily , essentially the habits that you want to create that are going to shape your life , and obviously then , for me as well , work .

I want to grow and continue growing the man that can project and , most specifically , our Strongman , a Value Academy , because I am committed to , or I'm on a mission to connect , influence and empower 100,000 men to live inspired lives .

So therefore , one I have to practice what I preach , you know , do things that inspire me , but I also have to be in the trenches , because if people don't know , especially men , if they don't know that there's a way to connect , be empowered and influenced to live inspired lives through our academy , how will they ever change their life , how will they ever achieve

that . So that's on me . I have to be networking , I have to be creating content , because it's moving me closer to my mission Number six time chunking . This was game-changing . I probably learned this back around the first time in 2017 , when I did this episode the first time .

But here's a quote Realize that now , in this moment of time you are creating , you are creating that next moment . That's what is real . That is what's real , sorry , so let me read that one again Realize that now , in this moment of time you are creating , you are creating your next moment . That is what's real , and that's a quote by Sarah Patterson .

So when I think about the next moment , it then helps me start thinking about how do I want to chunk time . For example , I might have you know , let's use the three buckets that we always talk about . You've got health , wealth , relationships , and , for me , I love to give time to those every single day .

So the best way to chunk time , so that you're not going to and fro , is morning time .

That's health , and that's spiritual , physical , emotional health , mental health , and that looks like my exercise , that looks like my reading and development Okay , meditation , when I decide I don't want to do that , but also just having a coffee in the morning with my wife , just stuff like that , that really fills my cup .

Okay , then we go into the chunk of time which is work related . Now , once again , most people , if you're working nine to five , that's your chunk of time . Then we have the afternoon time . Right , that could be relationship , that could be health , for example . You just design your time .

But when you're putting things that can piggyback off the bat you know , off off each other you're creating the next moment . So , example , and this is how we create routines . Right , this is the great thing about routines and owning routines . When I get out of bed , the one thing I have to focus on every day . That's the challenge .

The big hard thing , I guess , is getting my ass out of bed . Sometimes I want to hit snooze . Right , it's cold , it's minus 14 today here . It was bloody hard to get out of bed , but I knew that if I just get out , that routine is going to kick over . I'm creating my next moment .

My next moment was to boil the kettle , start reading my book , rolling my feet at the same time . Then I would make my coffee come over to this couch where those of you are watching on YouTube and I would read Okay , then I would write , and then I would get ready to train .

So you're always creating your next moment and when they stack , it works extremely well . One thing that I actually haven't put in here , which I think is important to put there when you're time chunking , you want to make sure that your time is focused , so avoid distractions depending on whether you work in an office or you have people around you .

And Amy and I here in Nashville , we have a one bedroom apartment at the moment , so we're technically living on top of each other . So there's an office downstairs , there's a sky lounge upstairs , so I'll always make time to go into those cubicles if I don't want to be distracted .

Other things , like turning your phone on do not disturb Various other things , like that closing all the browsers , just so you can really focus in on getting the thing that you want to achieve completed . Now the final one , aside from that bonus one I just gave you , is delegation .

The first rule of management is don't try and do everything on your own , because you can't . We are managing our life . We are managing the outcomes , the quality of the relationships , the quality of everything . So when you understand that the first rule of management is don't try to do everything on your own . You need to build a community .

You need to belong to a community Once again . It's why we started the academy . I wanted to have people that I could share responsibility with or who could challenge me on things or even upskill in things that then I could learn and get the shortcuts on it .

I don't mean as any shortcuts , it's just like give me the overview of how you got there , because then I can know what to expect if I decide to do a similar thing . What a lot of people don't understand when they're looking to improve something . All the frameworks , all the skill sets are available for us to learn .

What a lot of people don't share and what a lot of people don't talk about , which you can get through delegation of experience or listening to a podcast like this is what's going on in the head . It's 80% psychological , 20% skill sets . What's holding you back is a doubt , fear of judgment , comparison .

There's so many things that are happening inside of us that we can get from delegation in parts of community , but also delegating things like outsourcing this podcast so that I can just do the content . Someone else can create it . I can delegate other things in my business , or you can delegate other things in your life .

Amy and I have and Amy for those who are just tuning in for the first time Amy and I have our own responsibilities and roles , some of them we've discussed , others we've just taken on board for ourselves , and that's okay . But Amy does the majority of the cooking . I do , I'm the dish pick out of the house .

But what we do by not , sometimes we do it together because it's fun , it's nice . But we want time back . So while I'm cleaning , she might be playing the guitar and working on her craft and while she's cooking I might be doing something that's helping . I need to finish up for the day . But that's delegation . They're working together on a common objective .

So just to recap the seven things that I do to manage my time . One I accept that I'm in control of my time . Two it's got to be a hell , yeah , or it's a complete no . Three focus on the one thing . The shortest way to do anything is to do one thing . Four is to have a to-do list that you , you know little , sit behind the one thing .

Five is your daily must-dos . We are what we repeatedly do Six time chunking . Realize that now , in this moment of time you are creating , you are creating that next moment . That is what's real .

The bonus that I gave you was avoiding distractions . Okay , I manage times by turning notifications off , et cetera . And the final one is delegation . The first rule of management is don't try to do everything on your own , because you can't .

So , guys , I hope you got value from this episode and if you're tuning in for the first time , make sure you hit follow and share the episodes . It helps the one . I bloody love it . But if you have questions , connect with me on Instagram . If you're watching in YouTube , leave it in the comments .

Be more than happy to hear your thoughts on this and remember to support the man that Can project podcast in any way that you can . My name is Lachlan Stewart . Thank you , guys , for being here .