Hope is not a strategy. We can’t hope we get it right. We can’t hope we’ll do the right things. We learn and implement proven strategies that make a difference in our lives and careers.
One of the best strategies I’ve implemented is called “The Power of P.C.” Every time we discuss a goal, any passion we want to pursue, any desire we may have, we understand it’s not good enough to say, “I’m going to do it.” We always attach a P.C. to it. The P stands for Promise. The C is for Calendar.
The promise is simple. It’s to your accountability partner. Ask yourself who you’ll make a promise to. Identify the person who will challenge you. They won’t allow you to create reasons or excuses for why your goal can’t be accomplished. They aren’t afraid to hurt your feelings. They are involved to push you beyond any walls you set up for yourself.
Once you’ve chosen a C.R.A.C.N. calendar, add your personal priorities first. Here’s the list I use:
- Spiritual time
- Family
- Date night
- Hobbies
- Obligations
- My day, why day
- Exercise
- Vacations
- Friend time
- Sleep
The only item on this list that might need explanation is the “my day, why day.” Don’t set any appointments on this day. This is one day a month that you set aside to do anything you want. You can work on yourself or your business on this day–just not with clients. It’s your day to recharge and take time for yourself. For me, this is the first Friday of every month.
Remember, these are your priorities. Keep these things sacred. Build your business life around your personal life priorities. Use your calendar to set high standards for how you value your time and use it to teach others how to treat you. You’re not available 24/7/365 to people. That’s just insane. Block what’s truly important to your personal life first!
Then, and only then, add business plans and commitments. Grant Cardone says, “White space on your calendar is the enemy of production and plants the seeds of doubt.” After blocking your personal priorities, all of your white space is available for creating and servicing your business.
I use the 80/20 rule for planning my business time. Twenty percent of my activities generate 80 percent of my business. The tricky part is learning which activities those are. I suggest drawing a quadrant like you’ll see here.
Carry it around with you for a month, identifying what activities and which people in your life belong in each quadrant. You’ll likely know after the first week, but I still recommend doing this for a whole month. If you find that specific activities lead to 20 percent of your business, those go in that quadrant. Some activities fluctuate as to their value to your business; those will be listed in the 20 percent to 80 percent quadrant. The 80 percent is for things like admin work, transaction coordination, planning marketing for your listings, and so on. There are things we do every day that make us look busy, but they generate nothing to the business. Those are zero percent items.
Once you have the list, focus more of your white-space time on the things listed in your 20 percent quadrant. Operating this way with your calendar will allow you to maximize your potential. It will do these three things for you:
- Protect. With a limited amount of time to accomplish your goals, you will protect this time at a high level because you’re being purposeful with the time you’ve allocated for important activities.
- Create. You’ll want to accomplish your dedicated activities in a shorter time period. You’ll seek out different tools and resources to do it better and faster.
- Mental. This system creates clarity. With clarity, you’ll gain confidence. You’ll know exactly what you’ll be doing every day. It gives you peace of mind.
If you do tomorrow what you did today, you’ll get tomorrow what you got today. This system takes work at first until you make it a habit. Once you start using it all the time, you’ll be amazed at how much more productive you will be.