Back when The Jetsons came out the thinking was that in the future people would be less busy. Robots would come along and perform mosts tasks. Because of that the cost of living would drop dramatically.
And people would be left with a lot of free time.
But something weird happened along the way…
Robots have already replaced a lot of the tasks people used to do. We still work about the same number of hours. Sometimes more, but we do have a lot of free time, but we fill up every waking hour.
It’s become a status symbol to say, “I’m busy” whenever someone asks, “How are you?”.
I always cringe at those interactions. It’s not that it’s good or bad to be busy with work or pleasure or whatever.
What can cause issues is when you want to achieve something like a goal or a dream, but you feel like you don’t have time.
That’s when it becomes important to prioritize your daily tasks. Because if you really wanted you could totally scrap everything and start fresh.
You may already be coming up with excuses, but fight that urge.
If you’re serious about doing something – a new job or more time with family – it can certainly be done.
Step #1. Document Your Top Life Priorities
As if you could do whatever you wanted. No commitments.
Both on the work side of things and on the personal side of things.
It’s amazing how many people will go through life angry and frustrated because they don’t have time for what they love.
They don’t take the time to think about what’s important to them. They’re busy. They’re tired. They think they don’t have time to sit and do some soul searching.
It’s not necessarily about happiness. It’s about finding what fulfills you.
You can find plenty of unhappy and unfulfilled rich people. It’s not all about money once you reach a certain point.
If success in business is fulfilling then make time for business. If success to you means being with family and friends then do it. A little less money can make it happen or you could discover a different talent that pays you more for doing less.
Make a list yourself. Talk to people you trust and ask them what they think your priorities are and what matters to you.
It’s all self awareness.
Step #2. Document Your Current Daily Tasks
Now look at what you actually do everyday. Document an entire week. It’ll be a challenge. You’ll probably find that you’re doing a lot of things that don’t really add value to your life.
It might be TV. It might be social media. It might be a mundane task at work that you really don’t enjoy doing, but that you’re just doing for a paycheck and because the company requires you to do it.
Once you realize what you’re actually spending time on both at work and at home you can see how those align with your priorities.
Step #3. Remove, Realign, Replace
Now it’s just time to remove the stuff that doesn’t fit with your priorities. You can realign some that need to move up on the list. You can also move some down that are still required, but not as important.
And you can start working in some new ones.
A big one is your job. If your job doesn’t align with your priorities then a new, temporary daily task should be looking for a job that does align with your priorities. Even if you have to create it yourself.
Secret Of Successful People
There is no shortcut to success, but here’s a secret you’ll notice about many successful people…
They do work a lot, but they don’t clutter their days. They have a clear understanding of what they want in life and they focus their effort there.
They still have hobbies. They still spend time with family. They seem to love their life.
You wonder how it’s possible.
Really it’s just understanding what you want and then resetting your daily tasks. And repeating that process from time to time.
