Use a Shot Clock to Improve Decision Making

Set your shot-clock and make a decision before time runs out.

The ability to make smart decisions quickly and eh, decisively, is a valuable skill that can improve all areas of your life.  Not only is decision-making a necessity in this fast-paced world we live in, it can also be empowering and alleviate stress (the stress that comes from delaying a decision!)

So, if the ability to make quick decisions is a skill you need improvement on, there is an easy method you can use to build your decision making power...

Multitasking doesn't work. Smart-tasking does.

How to become a super-tasker, a strategic-tasker, a smart-tasker. 

Welcome to the overworked, over stressed, nonstop digital age, where the to-do list is never complete and another distraction is only moments away.

If there was only a way to get everything thing done... to do multiple tasks at the same time...  ahhh, the luring siren song of "multitasking."   Time to find a new strategy.

Put in 2% Daily Effort to get ahead of 98% of the Crowd

Focusing effort on something for just 2% of the day,
28.8 minutes daily, is more than most others will ever do.

If getting ahead is so difficult, how it can it be that small amounts of time could make a big impact?  The secret is to dedicate that few extra minutes each day to a focused task and then stay consistent with it.

Skills can be developed, knowledge can be learned, money can be earned.  But despite man's greatest attempts to turn back the hands of time, we are all left with only 1220 minutes each day to live out our lives.  Time is the one undeniable equalizer among all those who walk this planet.

But despite the lofty dreams of wealth and prosperity, very few will dedicate even just 28.8 minutes a day towards making those dreams a reality.

Nothing Gets Done by Clock Watching

Tick tock tick tock.  Worrying about the clock will not help you get things done any faster.

There are many good strategies you can take towards accomplishing your goals.  You could treat each one like a mini project, strategizing how to manage each step; you could use imagery and visualize success, actively creating a picture of your future self; or you could simply rely on a handy to-do list and just tackle tasks as they come.

No matter the choice, you will notice a common theme in all these methods in that they are based upon giving conscious thought to your goals and figuring out the actions needed to achieve them...

Take a Rest to Increase Your Productivity

Work, work, work.  In order to get the most output, we need to commit to working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, right?  At least that's the perception... Or perhaps, misperception!

Despite the fact that most successful people will tell you it takes more than four hours a week to truly make progress in your goals, they often will leave out the part about rest and relaxation.  Interestingly enough, there are countless scientific studies that prove you are more alert, better prepared, and overall more productive, when you take time to rest...

Cut it Out! Do Less to Accomplish More.

Don't ask "what more do I have to do?" Ask, instead, what you should do less.

When looking for ways to can get ahead or improve one's situation, most people start by think of what they need to add in their life.   "I need experience," "I need new skills," "I need to take a class," "I need to do more of this," or "I need to do that better," are some of the thoughts that run through their heads.

However, this is not always the most effective approach...

Time is on Your Side

Are you fighting time, or embracing it?

Time.  The thing mankind has tried to take control of, tried to manage, tried to travel through and tried to stop, for all of eternity.  Time is the one thing everyone in this world has, and the one thing most feel there's not enough of it.  No matter what you do, no matter what you say, no matter where you go, no matter how you face it, time is always there.  Time is always there doing the thing it does best... moving forward.

So how does a Self-Made Sage embrace time?   Well, you can try to resist it, or you can embrace and go along with it.  Here's how...

Time Passing by All the Time

Are your steps leading you in the right direction?

In the immortal words of Pink Floyd, most of us are just "ticking away the moments that make up a dull day... waiting for someone or something to show you the way."   Like the title of the song these lyrics appear in, the subject of time is something that is relevant to every living creature and thus something we must always be conscious of.

Your inner sage is calling out for you to realize that time is a precious gift and true worth is measured in how you utilize that  time.  It is the most valuable resource you have.  And while there are numerous methods...