Create A No-Gap Schedule
The secret to success is in your schedule. What you give your time to will determine how far your impact will go. You can’t live a successful life by wasting your time. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
Don’t manage your time…lead your time by taking control of what you do and when you do it. This will require you to be incredibly intentional about what your day looks like. In fact, your day should unfold by design, not default. Meaning, your day is engineered for success, not just directed by what comes your way. Too many people live their day without a sail leading the wind of requests. They are floating throughout the day, controlled by the current of other people’s agenda. But great leaders put a sail on their day and catch the right momentum and sail to a productive destination.
Too many people live their day without a sail leading the wind of requests.
If the secret to success is in your schedule here is one vital tip to make your day more productive:
Create A NO-Gap Schedule
Your day should be planned out before it even begins. If you wait to plan your day when it arrives you are already late to the game. You’ll end up living reactively rather than proactively. Everything will get your attention because you haven’t determined what should even be allowed to get your attention.
Every moment should be accounted for in order to maximize your output. Don’t just fill in your appointments, you should also schedule in exactly what you’re going to work and how long you’re going to work on it. Don’t just start working and see what happens. Remember Parkinson’s Law…work will shrink or expand based on the time allotted for its completion. Give the things you’re working on boundaries so you don’t get lost in overthinking and overworking on something.
If you allow cracks in your schedule it will deteriorate your productivity. You need to seal your day with a game plan that is tight and prioritized. Don’t just prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities. Give your time to the things that are the MOST important that will move you forward.
Practice the no-gap schedule over the next few weeks and see how your output will begin to sail to new lands of productivity. I coach hundreds of leaders on how to get the most out of their day, and I am have seen every person squeeze significantly more productivity out of their week with this small tweak. Be committed to the no-gap schedule. Let me know if you have any questions or need some one-on-one coaching on how to do this effectively.
