Have you ever caught yourself saying any of the following :

• There’s not enough time in the day
• If only I had more time
• I’ll get to it later when I have more time

High Achievers know that in order to achieve greater levels of success in their life they must manage their time and energy effectively so they can achieve maximum results without burning out.

Those who run around FRANTICALLY trying to get everything done often achieve less and create chaos both internally (in their mind) and externally (in their environment).

With that being said, I want to share with you my:

Top 5 Tips for Effective Time Management

1. “To-Do Lists” are shit. Focus on the tasks that will get you closer to your goal.

Let’s be honest, writing out a “to-do list” feels great; it gets everything out of your head and onto paper.

On top of that… every time you check off something from the list your brain releases a small hit of dopamine making you feel a sense of achievement.

The problem is that we tend to check off easy to complete, non-important tasks first in order to get a quick win on the board and feel productive; when in fact doing this is just wasting time that could be spent on high priority tasks with a greater return.

Instead of using a “to-do list”, sit down with a pen and paper and ask yourself this:

“What can I do today that will get me closer to achieving my BIG goal?”

2. Track your success patterns.

Most people spend their time focusing on what they can do better in life; which is an important question to ask, however it’s also important to focus on what has worked well.

If you can identify patterns within your own life where you have created success, you will then be able to repeat them and better manage the time spent on achieving in these areas.

3. Create high quality habits & routines.

Most people spend their day in a reactive state; dealing with whatever is thrown at them never really sticking to a schedule.

High achievers develop high quality habits by creating a routine that reinforces those habits on a daily basis.

Stick to a routine that creates high quality habits over time and you’ll see your performance increase and you’ll spend less time rushing around “catching up” on tasks that were forgotten about.

4. Stick to the 80 / 20 rule.

Focus on the 20% of tasks that will provide 80% of the results.

We all have a long list of items that need to be completed but the overall results we achieve at the end of the day comes down to how well we prioritise those tasks.

Ask yourself this:

“Which tasks can I complete today that will provide the highest results?”

5. Be effective first and efficient after.

Everyone, at one point or another, experiences the fear of getting started on something new.

It can be paralyzing for many, as most people want to work out the BEST possible way to take action before they start.

The truth is; you’ll likely never get it right the first time around, regardless of how much information you have before getting started.

The key is just to START….. then work on improving over time.

I hope you find these tips valuable, let me know in the comments below which one stood out the most to you.