How Can You Prioritize More Time For Your Own Development?

​In yesterday’s post the focus was on ensuring that you are growing and developing yourself.  When you look at how busy your day is and the back to back meeting schedule, how would you fit it in?   Stephen Covey said ” The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”  This is where you have to take control of your calendar vs letting it take control of you.

The easiest thing to do is to block time out time each day for you to do what you want to do.  Block out time first thing in the morning to look at what is ahead in your day.  Are there meetings that should be delegated to someone else to go to instead of you?  Are there meetings that really aren’t adding any value and should be cancelled?   Plan out what you want to accomplish that day to develop yourself.

Block out your lunch time and choose to spend that time for your development.  You can choose to have a networking lunch, eat your lunch with a friend, eat your lunch and listen to a podcast or read an article.  Look for ways to spend that time ensuring that you are getting recharged and working in some personal development at the same time.

Block out time on Friday afternoons or at 4pm each day.  You can look at what you want to accomplish the next day or the next week.  You can also use it as a time to look back on the day or the week and see what you have accomplished.  Did you do the things that helped you move forward on your development goals?  If not, be sure to schedule those things into your calendar for next week.  For many people if it isn’t on their calendar, it doesn’t get done.  Other things get in the way and they get the priority instead.

Greg McKeown said “Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”  Don’t let other people dictate how you spend your time.   The time is always there, it is just a matter of how you use it.   In order to really control your time you have to start looking at things differently. Think about the best way to schedule your priorities and give yourself some free time in your calendar to proactively develop yourself.  Be intentional with the priorities that you schedule and you will see how much more time you have to make real progress on your own development.


​Are you ready to focus on your own development?  Coaching can accelerate your learning to help you reach your goals faster.  Set up time and let’s get started today!    http://susanmbarber.com/schedule-an-appointment/

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