How List-making, Visualization, and Locating Time-Wasters Can Paramount Your Success
Hosea said, “write the vision and make it plain”. Archaeology testifies to the importance of writing. Civilizations are remembered or forgotten simply by the magnitude of their written word. Writing is effective for execution of visions during your lifetime and for sustaining them in future generations.
Archers are attempting to restore the skill behind the use of the bow and arrow. They say that it is one of the most accurate shooting weapons of all time. Because of the recoil when a gun shoots, they do not have the same level of accuracy. The more strength the shooter has to maintain their posture even after the guns’ recoil, the more likelihood they will have an accurate shot, but these variables range. The bow and arrow is not a strength-based accuracy tool. If you practice shooting the bow, you can gain great accuracy.
List-making and visualization are like shooting archery; they are accurate and present little to no recoil. When you visualize your target, you pull back your bow (pinpoint your plan), and you release the string allowing the momentum of the air to guide the arrow (God), you will hit the target head-on. Lists help you to pinpoint your target.
Many of the world’s most successful men and women ascribe to the practice of list-making to successfully complete tasks. Daily, if you write what you want to accomplish, it brings clarity to your day. For most people, they have a habitual practice of focusing on “I don’t want” statements. “I don’t want to get in traffic”, “I don’t want to be late”, “I don’t want to give off a bad impression”, and the statements go on throughout the day attracting what they do not want to magnetize. Visualizing and list-making is a practice of getting more unified within; disciplining yourself to be more definite with what you do want. Statements like, “I want to arrive to work in peace”, I want to enjoy my travel”, I want to give a good impression” are statements that definite and will manifest our unified goal. Napoleon Hill said in his book Think and Grow Rich “Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.” Let the world stand aside and let you pass as you create your vision-board and practice your daily list-making.
There is always something that you could do to push your assignment forward, but obligations can sometimes distract you from your purpose. Obligations have their role in our lives, but they should not exhaust your time and disable you from manifesting your purpose. Bill-paying is important, but should only take a small percentage of time. Cleanliness is important, but should only take a small percentage of time. Networking is important, but social media and other networking tools should only take a percentage of your time. Effectiveness should be empowered, so that time is not wasted on “wild living”. Analyze your time, and ask, “Am I spending an overage of time anywhere?”.
When I analyzed my time, I found that because I was taking shortcuts on putting things where they belong, my cleanup time was longer than it had to be. One shortcut that was expensive for my time was living out of my laundry basket. When I would wash clothes, I would live out of my clean laundry basket. When I needed anything, I would have to fumble thru all of the clothes, which would take me extra time. Something like socks would take an extra 5-10 minutes to find a pair. When I began writing my goals and my schedule, I realized that I was not accomplishing my cleaning within the time that I desired, and I had to ask myself, “Why am I spending this overage of time on cleaning?”. I started doing more studying about productivity and organization is key to spending smaller amounts of time in unnecessary tasks. Something simple like pairing socks can cut so much wasted time because you sort the socks once, rather than fumbling through the laundry every time you are looking for something. Over time, you will find that organization is a practice of gratitude. As you treat your belongings as you are grateful for them, blessing them as you put them in their rightful place, you will prolong their use, and cut time that you would otherwise spend on shopping to replenish.
My grandmother is one of the best examples of outstanding preservation. My grandmother, Juanita Lovelace has been married to my grandfather, Ernest Lovelace for 62 years! She has always treated her relationships with others with gratitude, but she also treats her belongings this way. When her dishes get very tough stains, she has purchased all the right cleaning agents and scrubbers to remove all of the stains; maintaining her pots and pans in brand-new condition. She has kept the same set of pots and pans looking brand new for 62 years! She has only purchased one set of pots and pans in her marriage. She never had to deal with the inflation of prices, having to add pots and pans to her budget, or investing time in picking another set of pots and pans. The same practices that she has used to preserve her pots and pans have been used in her budget, her relationships, and all of her other property, so she has been retired (to a life of mentoring others) my whole life (I am 27 years old as I write)!
For more help with planning and manifesting your future, stop by and check out Perception: The Most Affluent Leader Workbook or Transform Your Habits To Create Your Position Of Power Workbook.
QUESTION: If you find that something takes you an extensive amount of time, analyze the reason. Are you doing it with a critical, “I don’t want” attitude? Is there some way that you can change your practices throughout the day, so that you do not have such a difficult task during your disciplined time?
Additional Resources:
Productivity News & Topics – Entrepreneur
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Productivity News, Resources and Columns – Lifehack.org
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