3 Easy Strategies to Get MORE Time

We're often so pressed for time we wish someone would add a 25th hour to the day! But what if you had a way of having more energy to devote to your projects without needing any extra hours?

We can’t control time, but we can control our thoughts. They are the origin of any result you get and they create the quality of your life. Do you know how many thoughts the average human being has a day? Scientists have done this research and indicate the average person has 60-70,000 thoughts a day. 

Every one of those thoughts will take you closer to your goals and the quality of life you want to have, or further away from it. So… how many of your 60,000 thoughts a day (averaged over the past week) are going toward the results you want, and how many are taking you further away? 

Of the thousands of people I’ve asked, many estimate half toward, half away (and an even larger number of people say more of their thoughts derail them). Very productive people say about 70% of their thoughts go toward their daily results – yet that still leaves 30% of your thoughts on the table. That’s 20,000 thoughts a day. Over the course of one week that’s 100,000 thoughts. 

Even if you had no more time each day, what could you do if you had an extra 100,000 thoughts to devote to it this week? 

Start to notice: 

What’s the content of your thoughts: Do you have a picture of your bigger game in mind, and do you focus thought after thought on coming up with innovative ideas toward it? 

Or are your thoughts thwarted by how you feel about your colleagues? Or are you worried about whether people will judge you or hire you? 

What is the tone of your thoughts: Are your thoughts energizing and inspiring or do you pressure yourself with harsh self criticism or guilt? 

 Every thought has an energetic consciousness. It creates a physiological pattern—a confident thought literally gives you energy to act. Anger and frustration cause a stress response. Thoughts like “I have so much to do I will never get it all done” perpetuate your circuits being overloaded. 

What is the quality of your thoughts: Do your thoughts generally focus on the one matter before you, or do you frequently allow your attention to be divided with multitasking? 

Yes you have 60,000 opportunities a day to create the experience you want to have in your day and in your life. All you have to do is become more aware of the thoughts you are currently having, and know how to instantly change them.

This self talk you have all day long is like listening to a mental iPod. All you have to do is ask yourself what kind of tunes are playing on your soundtrack? Then take the easy steps to become a better DJ of your own mental iPod!

-Sharon Melnick, PhD, January 2015 Career Coach