Prioritise your priorities.

My mentor Dr. Alan Weiss is right when he says that time is a priority not a resource. In other words, people who say they don’t have time for something are lying. What they have is a higher priority. And if they have too many priorities, they are no longer in control. Typically, these are the people who will answer the phone every time it rings, reply to every email immediately, drop everything when someone comes to them with an “urgent” issue – you get the picture.

The uncomfortable reality for many of us is that regaining control over our time is easier than we think. We just have to start orienting our actions to fulfil specific purposes, instead of reacting to everything that happens, all the time.

Here’s another challenge for you: Next week, do not answer your phone. At all. Let people leave you a message and call them back at your convenience, preferably within a specifically allocated block of time. I guarantee you will free up several hours a week. And who doesn’t need that?