You have thoughts about right and wrong, philosophy, religion and politics. Where did you learn those from? Did you ever consider different or opposing views? Did you ever challenge your thoughts robustly or have you simply accepted the first ideas that got into your mind?
If you don’t know, you need to pay more attention. Yes, it goes quickly. But, you can do much more with it if you pay attention to it.
Two tips to improve your time use. First, take a piece of paper and jot down what you do every 5 or 15 minutes, for your whole day. Write the time and a few words. For example, 09:00 at desk, opened 10 emails, replied to five. 09:15 went for a coffee. At the end of the day, see where you could tighten things up a little.
Secondly, write out what you need to do and when, the night before. For example, 08:45 make coffee and take to my desk. 09:00 – 09:45 complete house financing. 09:45 – 10:15 make three calls to potential clients.
If you do the second one, you can compare it to the first tip. You’ll see where, when and why you are getting distracted and off track. And for how long.
With this greater awareness, you can make some adjustments to improve your timing and effectiveness.
Are you going to the best spot for the results you want? Have you thought much about it? Where do you fish? Clearly, the best place is where the fish you want are swimming.
Too many times we ask the wrong people or the wrong question. It is often easier to ask a friend what they think rather than ask someone who might be in a better position to answer.
If you want to catch salmon, you are best not to fish in a lake with only trout and bass. And if you don’t know where to catch salmon, asking your trout fishing buddies might not get the best answer.
By all means, do ask your trout fishing buddies though. They may also like salmon fishing, have been salmon fishing or knows a relative or friend who loves it. It’s a good place to start, especially if you are out on the lake spending time fishing.
But don’t stop there. Go online. Find out where salmon tend to live. Watch videos, read articles or call a salmon fishing shop or tour operator. You will get a variety of ideas and points of view. Some will be repetitive, some unique, some useful and some will be of little use at all.
Apply this search method to everything including getting medical information, finding a job, looking for clients and finding a partner – business or personal.
Where do you fish? This can make all the difference.
