Do it now.docx
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Do it now.docx
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Doitnow
DOITNOW
Whengoingtocollegemanyyearsago,IdecidedtochallengemyselfbysettingagoaltoseeifIcouldgraduateinonlythreesemesters,takingthesameclassesthatpeoplewouldnormallytakeoverafour-yearperiod.ThisarticleexplainsindetailallthetimemanagementtechniquesIusedtosuccessfullypullthisoff.
Inordertoaccomplishthisgoal,IdeterminedI'dhavetotake30-40unitspersemester,whentheaveragestudenttook12-15units.ItbecameimmediatelyobviousthatI'dhavetomanagemytimeextremelywellifIwantedtopullthisoff.IbeganreadingeverythingIcouldfindontimemanagementandputtingwhatIlearnedintopractice.IaccomplishedmygoalbygraduatingwithtwoBachelorofSciencedegrees(computerscienceandmathematics)injustthreesemesterswithoutattendingsummerschool.Isleptseventoeighthoursanight,tookcareofmyroutinechores(shopping,cooking,etc),hadasociallife,andexercisedfor30minuteseverymorning.Inmyfinalsemester,Ievenheldafulltimejob(40hoursaweek)asagameprogrammerandservedastheViceChairofthelocalAssociationofComputingMachinery(ACM)chapterwhiletaking37unitsofmostlysenior-levelcomputerscienceandmathcourses.Myclassmateswouldaddupallthehourstheyexpectedeachtasktotakeandconcludedthatmyweeksmusthaveconsistedofabout250hours.Igraduatedwitha3.9GPAandalsoreceivedaspecialawardgiventothetopcomputersciencestudenteachyear.OneofmyprofessorslatertoldmethattheyhadaneasytimeselectingtheawardrecipientonceitbecamecleartothemwhatIwasdoing.
Iwasn'tconsideredagiftedchild,andthiswasthefirsttimeIhadeverdoneanythinglikethis.Ididn'thaveanypersonalmentorshelpingme,Ididn'tknowofanyonewho'ddoneanythinglikethisbefore,andIcan'trecallasinglepersonencouragingmetodoit.Infact,mostpeoplewerehighlydiscouragingoftheideawhenItoldthemaboutit.ThiswassimplysomethingIdecidedtodoformyself.IfyouwantabetterunderstandingofwhereIwasatthistimeinmylifeandwhyIdecidedtoattemptsuchacrazything,youmightenjoyreadingTheMeaningofLife:
Intro,whichincludesthefullbackgroundstoryandmoredetailsaboutmymotivationfordoingthis.
Ittookalotofconvincingtogetthecomputersciencedepartmentchairtoapprovemyextraunitseverysemester,andmyclassmatesoftenassumedIwaseithercheatingorthatIhadatwinorthatIwasjustmentallyunstable(Igetaccusedofthatlastoneprettymucheveryweek,somaybethere'ssometruthtoit).MostofthetimeIkeptquietaboutwhatIwasdoing,butifsomeoneaskedmehowmanyunitsIwastaking,Ididn'tdenyit.Iwasperhapstheonlystudentattheuniversitywithatwo-pageclassschedule,soitwaseasytoproveIwastellingthetruthifanyonepressedme,butrarelydidIeverdoso.
Ididn'ttellyouthisstorytoimpressyoubutrathertomakeyoucuriousastohowIdidit.Ipulledthisoffbyapplyingtimemanagementconceptsthatmostpeoplesimplydidn'tknowbutthatwerereadilyavailableinbooksandaudioprogramsatthetime(1992-93).ThetimemanagementhabitsIlearnedincollegehaveservedmeverywellinbuildingmybusiness,soIwanttosharethemwithyouinthehopesthatyou'llfindthemequallyvaluable.Theyallowedmetoshaveyearsoffmyschoolingwhilealsogivingmeabout$30,000tostartmybusiness(allearnedinmyfinalsemesterasagameprogrammer,mostlyfromroyalties).Withoutfurtherado,here'sthebestofwhatI'velearnedaboutmasteringtimemanagement:
Clarityiskey.
Thefirststepistoknowexactlywhatyouwant.InaTaeKwonDostudiowhereIusedtotrain,there'sahugesignonthewallthatsays,"Yourgoalistobecomeablackbelt."Thishelpsremindeachstudentwhys/heisgoingthroughsuchdifficulttraining.Whenyouworkforyourself,it'seasytospendawholedayatyourdeskandaccomplishnothingofvalue.Thisalmostalwayshappenswhenyouaren'treallyclearaboutwhatitisyou'retryingtodo.Inthemomentswhenyouregainyourawareness,askyourself,"WhatexactlyisitthatI'mtryingtoaccomplishhere?
"Youmustknowyourdestinationwithasmuchclarityaspossible.Makeyourgoalsspecific,andputtheminwriting.Yourgoalsmustbesoclearthatitwouldbepossibleforastrangertolookatyoursituationobjectivelyandgiveyouanabsolute"yes"or"no"responseastowhetheryou'veaccomplishedeachgoalornot.Ifyoucannotdefineyourdestinationprecisely,howwillyouknowwhenyou'vearrived?
ThekeyperiodI'vefoundusefulfordefiningandworkingonspecificgoalsisninetydays,orthelengthofoneseason.Inthatperiodoftime,youcanmakedramaticandmeasurablechangesifyousetcrystalcleargoals.Takeamomenttostopandwritedownasnapshotdescriptionofhowyouwantyourlifetobeninetydaysfromnow.Whatwillyourmonthlyincomebe?
Howmuchwillyouweigh?
Whowillyourfriendsbe?
Wherewillyoubeinyourcareer?
Whatwillyourrelationshipbelike?
Whatwillyourwebsitelooklike?
Bespecific.Absoluteclaritywillgiveyoutheedgethatwillkeepyouoncourse.
Justasanairplaneonautopilotmustmakeconstantcorrectionstostayoncourse,youmustperiodicallyretargetyourgoals.Reconnectwithyourclear,writtengoalsbyre-readingthemeverymorning.Postthemonyourwalls,especiallyyourfinancialgoals.Yearsago(duringthemid-90s),Iwentaroundmyapartmentputtingupsignsineveryroomthatsaid"$5,000/month."Thatwasmymonthlybusinessincomegoalatthetime.BecauseIknewexactlywhatIwanted,Iachievedthatgoalwithinafewweeks.Icontinuedsettingspecificincomegoals,evenamidstoccasionalsetbacks,andIfoundthisprocessveryeffective.Itwasn'tjustthatithelpedmefocusonwhatIwanted--perhapsevenmoreimportantisthatitmadeiteasyformetodisregardthosethingsthatweren'tonthepathtomygoal.Forexample,ifyousetagoaltoearn$10,000/month,thiscanhelpyoustopdoingthosethingsthatwillonlyearnyou$5000/month.
Ifyouaren'tyetatthepointofclarity,thenmakethatyourfirstgoal.It'sabigwasteoftimetogothroughlifebeingunclearaboutwhatyouwant.Mostpeoplewallowwaytoolonginthestateof"Idon'tknowwhattodo."Theywaitforsomeexternalforcetoprovidethemwithclarity,neverrealizingthatclarityisself-created.Theuniverseiswaitingonyou,nottheotherwayaround,andit'sgoingtokeepwaitinguntilyoufinallymakeupyourmind.Waitingforclarityislikebeingasculptorstaringatapieceofmarble,waitingforthestatuewithintocastofftheunneededpieces.Donotwaitforclaritytospontaneouslymaterialize--grabachiselandgetbusy!
Beflexible.
There'sakeydifferencebetweenknowingyourdestinationandknowingthepathyouwilltaketogetthere.Atypicalcommercialairplaneisoffcourse90%ofthetime,yetitalmostalwaysarrivesatitsdestinationbecauseitknowsexactlywhereit'sgoingandmakesconstantcorrectionsalongtheway.Youcannotknowtheexactpathtoyourgoalinadvance.Ibelievethattherealpurposeofplanningissimplysothatyouremainconvincedthatapossiblepathexists.We'veallheardthestatisticthat80%ofnewbusinessesfailintheirfirstfiveyears,butafarmoreinterestingstatisticisthatnearlyallofthebusinessesthatsucceededdidnotdosointheoriginalwaytheyhadintended.Ifyoulookatsuccessfulbusinessesthatstartedwithbusinessplans,youwillcommonlyfindthattheiroriginalplansfailedmiserablyandthattheyonlysucceededbytryingsomethingelse.Itissaidthatnobusinessplansurvivescontactwiththemarketplace.Iliketogeneralizethistosaythatnoplansurvivescontactwiththerealworld.
RenownedauthorandbusinessconsultantStephenCoveyoftenusestheexpression,"integrityinthemomentofchoice."Whatthatmeansisthatyoushouldnotfollowyourplansblindlywithoutconsciousawarenessofyourgoals.Forinstance,let'ssayyou'refollowingyourplansnicely--sofarsogood--andthenanunforeseenopportunityarises.Doyousticktoyouroriginalplan,therebymissingtheopportunity,ordoyoustopandgoaftertheopportunity,therebythrowingyourselfoffschedule?
Thisiswhereyouhavetostopandreconnectwithyourgoalstodecidewhichisthebettercourse.Noplanshouldbefollowedblindly.Assoonasyougainnewknowledgethatcouldinvalidatetheplan,youmustexerciseintegrityinthemomentofchoice.Sometimesyoucanreachyourgoalsfasterbytakingadvantageofshortcutsthatariseunexpectedly.Othertimesyoushouldsticktoyouroriginalplansandavoidminordistractionsthatwouldtakeyoufurtherfromyourgoals.Betightonyourgoalsbutflexibleonyourplans.
Ibelievethathavingacleargoalisfarmoreimportantthanhavingaclearplan.InschoolIwasveryclearaboutmyendgoal--graduatecollegeinonlythreesemesters--butmyplanswereinaconstantstateofflux.EverydayIwouldbeinformedofnewassignments,projects,ortests,andIhadtoadapttothisever-changingseaofactivity.IfItriedtomakealong-termplanforeachsemester,itwouldhavebeenrendereduselesswithin24hours.
Usesinglehandling.
Insteadofusingsomeelaborateorganizingsystem,Istuckwithaverybasicpenandpaperto-dolist.MyonlyorganizingtoolwasanotepadwhereIwrotedownallmyassignmentsandtheirdeadlines.Ididn'tworryaboutdoinganyadvanceschedulingorprioritizing.IwouldsimplyscanthelisttoselectthemostpressingitemwhichfitthetimeIhadavailable.ThenI'dcompleteit,andcrossitoffthelist.
IfIhada10-hourtermpapertowrite,I
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