Many people waste time and money trying to find shortcuts for reaching BIGG success.

They buy programs that promise an easy road to riches. Unfortunately, these programs almost never deliver.

Time and money wasted…once again.

We’ve talked before about hard work and BIGG success. In most cases, the first is part of the explanation for the second.

So here’s the dilemma:

What can you do if you’re working as hard as you possibly can but not making satisfactory progress toward your goal?

We relate to this subject all too well. We put in long hours almost every day of the week.

Yet, when we finally shut down for the day, there’s always so much left to do. It can wear on you after awhile.

So today we want to share a few things that have helped us.

Listen to this post! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.

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Let’s do a quick review (or a quick primer for those of you who are new here):

BIGG success is life on your own terms. The 5 elements of BIGG success are money, time, growth, work and play.

Time and money are your two resources.
Time is more precious than money but, at any given moment, you only have so much of either one.
Almost every human (and every organization) faces resource constraints.

Work and play are your opportunities.
Growth bridges the gap between resources and opportunities.
Growth begins as an opportunity but can become your most significant resource.

Expand your capacity

As growth moves from opportunity to resource, your capacity expands.

As you master anything, you’re able to cut through the complexity and see the simplicity again.

This helps you get more done in the same amount of time.

You can also grow your capacity over time. It’s like any other sort of training.

How far could you jog right now?
If you did that every day for a month, do you think you would be able to either run the same distance faster or run further in the same time?
Of course, you could. This works in all areas of your life.

End your energy crisis

The BIGG idea behind BIGG success is synergy. One area to look for synergy is between the five elements.

We both love our work. We found that we often worked so hard for so long that it became counter-productive.

So now we schedule downtime. Here’s the funny thing:
We usually get more down when we work a little less!

Of course, there’s a limit to this. But there’s a reason for the fifth element of BIGG success – play!

Nobel Prize winners know how important it is. Have you ever wondered why kids have so much energy?

Because they play!

So don’t think so much about managing your time. Manage your energy!

Where to start

When you think of your goals, what’s the most important thing you need to do today to reach it?

Start by getting it done.
Then move onto the second most important.
Then the third.

What difference would it make if you got your three most important things done every day? It’s huge, isn’t it?

Focus isn’t fun.
It isn’t easy.
Focus sometimes means forcing yourself to do something you really don’t want to do.

If it’s important, get it done. Then relish in the accomplishment.

Oh…and keep going!

Can you borrow time?

We’re not talking about the traditional definition of “borrowed time”. It has negative connotations.

This is all positive. You know you can borrow money but you can also borrow time.

Money and time are your two primary resources. Your need for them is negatively correlated.

If you have money to spare, you won’t have to invest as much time. If you have time to spare, you don’t need as much money.

Let’s say you buy a house that needs to be painted.

• If money were no object, you could hire a contractor. If you’ve selected them carefully, you shouldn’t have to lift a finger other than to write a check.
  

• If money were a little more constrained, you might hire a freelancer.
  

• If you have almost nothing left after buying the house, you’ll have to do it yourself.
  

• If you have plenty of money and plenty of time to spare, you can do whatever you want!
  

So you can borrow time by spending money. However – even if you don’t have money – you may still be able to borrow time by taking on a partner.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure you share a vision and you have the same values. Otherwise, your partner will cost you both time and money!

Punt

Finally, we come to the last resort. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by how much you have to do, it may pay to punt. By that we mean:

Push back your due date.

We caution you to think long and hard before you do this. However, you may conclude that your goal was too ambitious.

If you’re stressing out so much that it’s starting to affect your health, the best action you can take may be to decide to give yourself more time to reach your goal.

It’s better to reach BIGG success a little later than to not reach it at all!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00752-111011.mp3

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Many people accept the terms placed upon them by the company for which they work. Sure, they may have their own goals.

But they let the company dictate the timeline. BIGG success is life on your own terms.

You won’t be a BIGG success if you let others dictate how fast you rise.

Your company’s timeline versus your timeline

We have a friend who wanted to rise to the top ranks of his employer. He looked at how quickly his company promoted people. On average, it was about every four years.

Then he went a step further.

He determined that the people in the executive suites got promoted about every eighteen to twenty-four months. He realized that he needed to get promoted every two years to reach his BIGG goal.

Modeling a timeline for your business

This doesn’t just apply to climbing the corporate ladder. If you’re a business owner, who are the models of success in your industry?

Comparing yourself to others can be a trap. But it can also be a tool.

Create a timeline based on their success. For example, you may establish milestones like:

• time to build your prototype
  
• time to startup
  
• time to make the first sale
  
• time to breakeven
  
• time to profitability
  

Of course, your milestones will depend on your business. But a timeline will help you push even the next milestone seems far away.

Just make sure you’re starting from relatively the same place as the person you modeled. For example, if they had more capital than you, you may want to back off of their timeline a little.

Look at the people who are where you want to be. Figure out the path they used to get there. But also look at the time it required. Make adjustments for your situation.

Set your own timeline. It leads to BIGG success!

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Imagine walking on a beautiful, seemingly endless beach. As you look out on the calm turquoise sea, you kick something in the white sand.

It’s a bottle.

As you shine it, a grayish-white cloud of smoke rises from the lid. The smoke forms into a genie.

Hear this post! Listen to George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast


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Sounds great so far, right?

So what’s the catch? The genie explains:

The money is only available in increments.

Every moment…like this one…and this one…about 1/1000^th of a penny will become available.

It seems so insignificant.

Yet it adds up. Because you can spend it however you want.

Now this moment…and this one…another 1/1000^th of a penny becomes available.

You can’t store them up. Either you spend it or it goes away forever.

However, you can string them together. You can use the money from this moment…and this moment… together for a single item.

However, at the end of the day, all $86,400 will be gone.

The only question will be: How did you spend it?

Would you take this bargain from the genie? Why not, right?

Time is money

As you may have figured out, we’re not really talking about money, one of the five elements of BIGG success.

We’re talking about time, another one of the five elements. Money and time have some similarities:

• Money and time are your only two resources.
  

• They both have inflows and outflows.
  

• You can often substitute one for the other.
  

• You can leverage both money and time.
  

• You can spend or invest either one.
  

Time is not money

But money and time also have their differences:

• You can have money but you don’t have time. Time is here and gone.
  

• You can find money but you can’t find time.
  

• You can make money. But you can’t make time.
  

• While money is infinite, time is finite.
  

Time is a gift. But you can’t keep it.

So the only question is: do you spend time or do you invest it?

Investing time leads to BIGG success!

We know your time is precious. So we thank you so much for investing some of it with us. Until next time, here’s to your BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00735-091411.mp3

Image in this post from Flickr

We really wanted to make the title to this post:

“How to Have an Extra Day Off Every Week Without Working More Hours in the Remaining Four Days and Without Sacrificing Productivity.”

But it seemed a little long!

We have a three-day weekend coming up here in the United States. It’s Labor Day.

It got us thinking:

What if you had more time for leisure?

What if you didn’t need to labor so much?

What if every weekend was a three-day weekend?

It’s not such a novel idea. Frank Bettger did it. More employers are considering a four-day work week.

What would it take for you?

You could work more hours over four days. It’s a step in the right direction if you want more time for play, one of the five elements of BIGG success.

Your leisure time is bunched up instead of being spread over the week.

But it’s still just a tradeoff. Why settle for a quid pro quo?

So ask yourself a question to get to the crux of the issue:

What if you could be more productive?

Is it possible to get ten hours worth of results in eight hours? Or twelve hours in ten hours, depending on how long you typically work.

This is the question we often ask ourselves. And we know it’s possible. Or more accurately stated, we won’t accept that it’s impossible.

So we have to figure out how.

Conduct a time audit

We’ve started by measuring our activities. So we’re doing a time audit.

It may not sound like fun. But it’s temporary. And an incredible tool to discover waste.

Every fifteen minutes, we record what we’re doing at that moment. We set an alarm to remind us that it’s time.

We’re going to do it over a two week period. We feel this will cover a typical week for us.

Sure, it’s a bit of a pain. Sure, we could be doing something else.

But when we’re done, we’ll know better if we’re wasting time. And if we are, we’ll know where.

Then we can make corrections. And move on to testing something else to be more productive. It leads to BIGG success!

How have you increased your productivity?

Image by brunortema

You hear radio and TV hosts say it all the time, “I’m up against the clock.” It’s a simple technique they use to cut the conversation short.

Isn’t it amazing how focused their guests get when they hear that magical phrase?

You don’t have to be a media star to use this technique in your life. You can keep yourself on schedule by keeping yourself up against the clock.

Keep your conversations up against the clock

Don’t be rude. But why not set a time parameter at the beginning of a conversation?

When you both know you have five to ten minutes (or however long you decide), you will keep the conversation from wandering.

There are times when you shouldn’t do this. For example, when you’re looking for a solution to a difficult problem, you don’t want to impair the creativity with an artificial deadline.

However, most conversations will be more productive by establishing an end time upfront.

Keep your meetings up against the clock

We won’t elaborate much on this one since it’s so obvious. Well, at least it should be.

Let every one on your team know the designated end time. When the conversation starts to stray, remind them.

It’s a great way to keep every on track without seeming like a tyrant.

Keep your projects up against the clock

Before you pull out a project to start working on it, determine how long you can work on it.

This works best for small projects. For example, we do this now when we write a blog post or prepare for a podcast. We find that we get them done much faster without sacrificing quality.

You’ll also do better carving up your bigger projects into sub-projects. Then you can treat them like a small project.

Keep your day up against the clock

Think of yourself as a show host. You have the whole day to do your show.

Now carve it up into segments. Work with different amounts to find one that works for you.

For example, we use 30 minutes. We pound it out for a half an hour. Then we take a five-minute break.

Get away from your desk. Stretch a little. Walk around. Breathe.

Three, two, one…you’re back at the desk. The show must go on!

We have to go now because we’re up against the clock.

How do you keep yourself up against the clock?

Image in this post from molpole