Time Management – for teens who do more than most! PART II
It takes a certain kind of person to go on this journey. Someone who is committed to excelling in every aspect of their life and has that drive and passion. This is something that can’t be taught – it’s embedded inside of us. And most dancers have this. Especially if you are still dancing at a senior level. Sometimes this ‘overdrive’ can cause a disconnect between teens and their parents as they find it hard to see you stressed and going through the pressure of life at such a young age. They may even tell you that you need to stop or slow down – and in some cases they are right! For sure! Your health and well being is of utmost importance. But what if there was a way to still be able to do all that you do – working smarter not harder – and basically take your stress levels from 100 to 30?
What you need to know:
You are NOT going to be able to do everything that your friends do. It’s as simple as that. Socially – you won’t be at every party, you won’t be at every birthday, you won’t get to go to the movies every week and you’ll rarely see the beach (except on holidays). That is an honest fact that you all need to come to terms with now. Because when you are living at this level of accomplishment – where you are working on your life and building a foundation for your future – your time is VERY valuable! Talk to any person who is successful in their field – and they will tell you. Sacrifice is necessary at some point – before you reap the rewards. Just remember: you’ve got the same 24 hours in your day as Beyonce! So go hustle!
Time is time. You actually can’t do anything about it – you can’t change it, stop it, make more of it. It is one of the fundamental things that we cannot control. So what are you going to do with yours?? How will you use it?? We all have the same amount – so why is it that some people can effectively grow and achieve so much when others do not?? Choice is huge! Motivation is huge! A desire to want something spectacular for your life is huge! AND having the knowledge and discipline to make a plan and stick to it is crucial!
You have to change your mindset about this being HARD to do. Quoting Gary Keller from his best selling book ‘The One Thing’ he states; ‘When we know something that needs to be done but isn’t currently getting done, we often say, “I just need more discipline.” Actually, we need the habit of doing it. And we need just enough discipline to build that habit.’ He then goes onto explain that as this habit becomes part of your life you will look like a disciplined person, but that’s not the case at all. You will be someone who has something ‘regularly working for you because you regularly worked on it. You’ll be a person who used selected discipline to build a powerful habit.’ Human beings are creatures of habit. So make these ‘habits’ work for you!!!
How to put it into practice: Build a NEW routine – CHANGE your old habits.
Before we dive into the practical steps of building your NEW routine, you need to learn about an effective time management tool that I too currently use for myself. It is called time blocking. This is where you group ‘like’ tasks together and you smash them out! Time blocking sections chunks of your time and dedicates them to specific tasks. Here’s the clincher. You cannot stray from that task at all. This is the beauty of it. Let’s say you schedule 1.5 hours to work on your English rough draft. Firstly, you’ll need a goal. This could be I must finish, get halfway, write 500 words – whatever; as long as it’s realistic. This will keep you focused. You then need to remove any and all distractions. This is not time to check Facebook, snapchat your friend, reply to emails or txt messages. This is wholly and solely time for you to work on your English draft. That’s it. It’s your ONE THING that you are focused on. By completely channeling your time and effort into your one thing – miraculous things will happen. You will start to actually accomplish your work. You will start AND FINISH all that you need to do. It will be a quicker and much more efficient way of ‘getting things done’ as you aren’t consistently putting down and picking back up the same piece of work – which in turn requires greater time to re-focus and get back on track into the same thought process over and over again. You will feel SO much better and accomplish SO much more!
Ok – it’s time to take back control of your life. Let’s create your NEW routine.