![\"Time](\"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Time-Management1.jpg\" "\\"Time")
<\/a>The only requirement is that you post it front-and-center over your workspace. \u00a0You need to see this goal every day to make it a reality. \u00a0Write it down and keep it at the top of your mind and you\u2019ll get there faster then you ever thought possible.<\/p>\nFirst, figure out how many hours a week you work now. \u00a0You can do this two ways:<\/p>\n
Estimate your total work hours \u2026and then add 20%.<\/p>\n
Why the extra 20%? \u00a0Because it\u2019s very easy to \u201cforget\u201d hours you logged working outside of your business. \u00a0We entrepreneurs tend to be optimists, so it\u2019s natural for us to \u201cforget\u201d the 2 hours a night we spend answering emails and setting up our schedules. \u00a0Or driving to and from appointments. \u00a0Or the time we spend thinking, worrying, and planning.<\/p>\n
Writing late-night emails, driving time, and evening thinking about your business all fall under the category of \u201cwork\u201d. \u00a0And those little time thieves need to be accounted for if you\u2019re going make big changes in your business and life.<\/p>\n
So if you estimate that you currently spend 50 hours a week on your business, you should add 10 hours (20%) to that number and work backwards from there. \u00a0If you work 60 hours a week, add 12 hours, for a total of 72 hours a week. \u00a0And so on.<\/p>\n
Track your actual work hours This process can be very useful for time management, but it\u2019s not absolutely necessary. \u00a0However, it WILL open your eyes to all the time you waste on unnecessary tasks and how much extra work you create for yourself.<\/p>\n Part of our nature as businesspeople to take on more responsibility, \u201cget it done right\u201d, and handle it all on our own. \u00a0That drive is key to long-term success\u2026but it can also lead to frustration and burnout. \u00a0Tracking your actual work habits can be a very simple, very powerful way to focus your energy on the important stuff\u2014the stuff that actually makes you money.<\/p>\n Chances are you\u2019ll be shocked when you tally up your actual work hours. Because the truth is that most of us work far more than we think we do.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not unusual for entrepreneurs to work 60\u202670\u2026or 80 hours a week. \u00a0And when you include the time you spend thinking about your business or worrying about what needs to be done, that figure can be even higher.<\/p>\n Now, figure out how many hours you want to work\u2014and how quickly you want to reach that goal. Set a concrete date\u2014say, 1 month away. \u00a0Don\u2019t be afraid to be aggressive with your goal.<\/p>\n Using the \u201cCarrot and Stick\u201d to Reach Your Goals Fast As a side note, it\u2019s important that you do this by hand. \u00a0You must write this out. \u00a0It\u2019s key to making this process work.<\/p>\n Imagine what that freedom would feel like. \u00a0What would you do? \u00a0What would that do for you? Your family? Your happiness?<\/p>\n Write that down. \u00a0Make it real. \u00a0Really imagine yourself at the level of success you want to reach\u2014and write down how that feels and what it looks like.<\/p>\n Now, on the other side of the paper, write down what will happen if you keep doing things the way you\u2019re doing them now. \u00a0The long days. \u00a0The sleepless nights. \u00a0The constant low level of stress that\u2019s always in the background.<\/p>\n Just imagine what that does to your health. \u00a0Imagine what it does to your relationships. \u00a0And imagine what it\u2019s doing to your quality of life.<\/p>\n Now write down all of that. And write down what your future will look like if it doesn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n Scary, isn\u2019t it? \u00a0But there\u2019s a reason to go through this exercise. \u00a0You see, you can\u2019t just use the good stuff to motivate yourself. \u00a0We humans just aren\u2019t wired that way. \u00a0We need to have a bit of fear to really get us going.<\/p>\n In other words, we need the carrot AND the stick.<\/p>\n Please don\u2019t skip this exercise. \u00a0If you don\u2019t take action now, nothing will ever change. \u00a0Take the time to go through this process, and in 6 months you\u2019ll be amazed with how different your life looks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re like most entrepreneurs, you work long hours to pursue your dream. \u00a0But you can\u2019t work long hours forever. \u00a0You need to have a plan in place that sets clear goals about reducing your work time\u2014while simultaneously increasing your wealth, happiness, and freedom. Ok, don\u2019t panic; this doesn\u2019t require any hard work. \u00a0I\u2019m going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[235],"tags":[403],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>The other option is to keep an hourly planner with you and actually write down what you did every day for a week. \u00a0You don\u2019t have to fill it out every hour; 9am, 12pm, and 5pm are fine. \u00a0The 9am time slot will probably be an eye opener, because you\u2019ll find yourself writing down all the \u201cone more things\u201d you ended up doing the night before.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Now take out a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. \u00a0On the left side, write \u201cPositive Benefits\u201d. \u00a0On the right side, write \u201cNegative Consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n