8 Steps to Maximizing Your Time

How would you feel if you could to live life to the fullest? What would your days look like if you could live your dream? In this article, you will learn the best steps to maximize your time so that you can put action to your vision and live your dream.

If you’re honest with yourself, you have a dream hidden in the depths of your soul. Perhaps you’ve told your closest friend or your spouse, or perhaps you’ve kept it tucked away to think about once in a blue moon.

It’s time to resurrect this dream or yours. It’s time to put action to the vision you hold sacred and only dare to hope for one day. That one day can be now. I’m going to give you 8 steps to help you achieve your goals and create the life you want.

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Step 1: Validate Your Dream

Validate your dream by identifying it. What dream or passion is important for you to pursue right now? Is there something that you’ve had in the depths of your soul that has only grown over the past few years? Identify that one thing that you wake up thinking about every day.

Validate your dream by justifying it. Is this dream worthwhile? And are you the right person to make it happen? Make sure that you are absolutely convinced of this, otherwise, you won’t be able to convince others.

Be sure to deal with insecurities that may hinder your confidence. Once you realize why you are the right person to create this dream, it’s time to get to work.

Validate your dream by considering the cost. Yes, there will be a cost that comes with creating your dream. It may be monetary, it may be pride, it may be the cost of a lost friend, or it may be time. Make sure that you are willing and ready to count the cost when the time comes.

Step 2: Equip Yourself

You must equip yourself with knowledge in order to create your dream. There will come a time when you hit a roadblock and you will need to have the knowledge to know how to handle situations. You may have a dream but it may require you to training. Equip yourself for what you aspire to be, not what you are currently are.

Equip your workspace. No matter your dream make sure you have adequate workspace to create what you envision. This does not mean that you need to spend a ton of money creating an elaborate office. A small area to begin in will suffice. Set up your work area with inspirational quotes and visuals of what you aspire to be or what dream you aspire to live.

Equip yourself with supplies. This goes along with validating your dream by considering the cost. You will need to set aside money for supplies. What does your dream consist of? Make a list of supplies you think you would need to begin this amazing journey to create the life you want to live.

Step 3: Organize Your Information

You have responsibilities. Whether is at your current job or it is the life you are dreaming of. Regardless, there is information that needs to be organized so that you can maximize the time to create your dream.

Organize your emails by creating separate folders for different roles in your life. If you want to take it a little further to help with organization, color coordinate your folders. You may need to go through and delete emails that you no longer need. If you’ve opened an email and would like to save it, create a folder for that.

Organize your computer documents by creating main categories and subcategories. Create practical file names that are easy to remember when looking for them at a later time. Take a little time to do this and it will save much time in the future.

Step 4: Plan Your Schedule

Strategically schedule the time to work on your dream. If you do not put this into action, then your dream is nothing more than a good intention. Track your time, prioritize and find a way to get things done. Use a planner to write down daily tasks.

Plan your goals. What is your long-term goal? What is your short-term goal? What is your immediate goal? Plan for the immediate goal and work your way up. It may seem as though the long-term goal is out of reach, but it is achievable by working one day at a time.

Plan your weeks. When you first begin working toward your dream, it may seem overwhelming. You will have a million to one things to do and you will need to have a strategic visual plan. In your planner, write down what you have prioritized to be done right away. Then write down things that could be done if times allows.

Plan your days. Segment an allotted amount of time for you to work on tasks that get you closer to your goals. Figure out when the best time for you to work will be and try to stick to that. This may take a little time for you to get into a groove but it is beneficial.

Step 5: Focus On Priorities

To create the dream that you have, you must have focus! You can do all of the other steps mentioned above but if your focus isn’t there, it could be for naught.

Focus your surroundings. Do your surroundings have a positive impact on your work? Find what surrounding works best to help you focus on your work. Maybe you work better in a library.

Maybe you like to be quietly tucked away in your home office. Or perhaps a coffee shop is more your preference. Don’t focus on your surrounding but rather focus your surrounding to create the right atmosphere for you to be able to work.

Focus your motivation. Remove tasks from your to-do list that aren’t necessary for you to be able to reach your goal. Be sure to know exactly what your task is for the day to keep you motivated. Don’t just guess. Have an accountability partner that will help keep you motivated during the hard times.

Focus your self-discipline. If you do not have the self-discipline to keep you on track, your dream could easily be set aside for a rainy day. Therefore, either prolonging your dream or quite possibly never being able to see it come to pass. Start with small steps and create small daily habits that help you stay disciplined to see this dream come true.

Step 6: Create Balance

To be able to see this long-term dream come to pass you must create balance in your schedule. Guilt, burnout, and neglect are very real when it comes to pursuing your passion. Be careful not to fall into this trap.

Balance with expectation. Having a dream and passion is wonderful but so is a realistic expectation of a time-frame. Take realistic steps each day toward your goal. Don’t beat yourself up over the small things that weren’t completed.

Your dream will progress in the appropriate amount of time. You cannot look at others while they are in the middle of creating their dream and expect to have the same success at your beginning.

Balance with boundaries. It is okay for you to tell people “No” when you are working. You do not have to give explanations because most time many people will not understand. They don’t have to. But it’s up to you to create that boundary for your time that you need to work on your creating your dream.

Set a time limit for yourself so that you do not fall into the trap of overworking yourself. Set safe boundaries so that you do not fall victim of being a workaholic and become exhausted.

Balance with rest. Make sure you are getting adequate rest while creating this dream life that you want to live. Schedule vacations to relieve some stress and unplug. Schedule in time for a little pampering and relaxation.

Step 7: Delegate Your Work

If you have followed the steps given above and still cannot find time to create the dream life that you would love to live, it is time to look into delegating work. Look into different areas of your life such as home, work, creating your dream, and recreational responsibilities.

Delegate for the right reasons. Think of the reasons why you would need to delegate certain tasks to others. What are the benefits of delegating and the time it would allow? You would most likely need to pay someone to do certain things, but is it worth it to you for the time it allows you to focus on your dream?

Delegate the right people. First, think of anyone you know who might volunteer. Do you know of a young teen who wouldn’t mind keeping your children for an hour? Perhaps they are eager to learn and you could have them complete small tasks. Secondly, at what point is it worth it to you to hire help?

You could hire a virtual assistant to help with building your dream. You could hire a housekeeper every few weeks to allow you a few hours of work time. You could hire a teen to run errands and buy groceries. Think outside of the box on how you can use people to help in certain areas of your life to free up work time for your dream.

Step 8: Free Yourself

You might need to free yourself from certain responsibilities in order to find time to create your dream. While this may be a hard one to do, this does not mean it will last forever. This just means that at this time in your life, you need to step away from one activity to complete another activity. Look into your schedule and life to see if you are overcommitted.

Are there activities that you currently do that have no long-term benefit? Remember this, you can only do as well as you treat your body. If you are overworked and running on fumes you will not be able to wholly build this dream you desperately want to live. Are you building a hobby or are you creating a lifestyle?

Free yourself from activities that do not fit your personality. Every person has a unique skill and ability. Recognize what you are good at and what you are not good at and let the rest go. Don’t try to hang on to something that isn’t meant for you to do. It will only bog you down while trying to create the life that you want to live. Look at what is a good fit for you and turn the rest down.

Free yourself from activities that cost too much. As mentioned above, there will be cost to take into account on this journey to creating your dream. Access where your finances are being spent and cut any unnecessary activities that may cost too much.

Your budget is not the only cost you should be concerned with. What is costing your time? It is important to let go of activities that you could better spend that time creating your dream.

Creating the life of your dreams does not have to be hard. It can be quite fun actually, but there is a shift that should take place once you set your mind to creating your best life. You will shift your focus, finances, and time to building a wonderful life you’ve always dreamed of.

Once you:

Validate Your Dream
Equip Yourself
Organize Your Information
Plan Your Schedule
Focus On Priorities
Create Balance
Delegate Your Work
Free Yourself

You will be unstoppable while forging through the path to creating and building the amazing life that you want to live. It’s time that you create your dream!