Most people I talk to who feel overwhelmed feel that their life and time is out of control. In this video, I am going to talk about are some ways to take control and keep control.

The first step is to take responsibility for your time choices and become the pilot.

We usually blame others for our time being out of control. We blame our bosses, our jobs, or the fact that we have kids & other family members making too many demands on our time. By telling ourselves that we have no control over our time, we effectively give up control.

Taking the responsibility back for your time choices is a scary step but is a critical step to take control of your time as you can’t take control if you attribute your lack of time to outside sources. Thinking everything is outside your control keeps you from taking control.

Now you might be saying, “But Garland, my boss DOES control my time.” Not entirely – each day you make hundreds of decisions as to what to work on next, how to do the task, when to seek help, etc. Within these choices, there are ways to find opportunities to prune tasks, complete tasks more efficiently, or even automate some tasks.

The same goes with family. You and your family can learn to be more productive together to create more quality time for family.

You can regain control by:

• becoming the pilot
• Planning your time and projects before you start

• Setting aside ongoing, dedicated blocks of time for each project
  • ensures time is spent on each project
  • makes that some projects and tasks don’t overrun their boundaries
  • see my time blocking videos (linked below) for more information on this
• Blocking and reducing distractions
  • see my reducing distractions online course for more information on getting rid of distractions

“Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.”
― Carl Sandburg