Myxi via Compfight

You may have a job, a significant other, kids, ailing parents, church or volunteer commitments.

It just seems like your life is already maxed out. 

How in the world will you find the time to search for your passions?

As a result we don’t think we have enough time to find our passion.

We choose how to spend our 168 hours every week and often we choose things we like rather than things we love.

When I was in my 20’s I would go to work all day and then come home to play video games.

Football and baseball games were my favorite and I could spend hours creating the perfect team and going through a virtual season.

I liked video games – still do in fact.

However, at some point I realized that video games were not getting me closer to my goals in life.

So I took stock of what I was doing that was either helping or hindering me from achieving my career and life goals.

Then I eliminated the things that were getting in the way of achieving my goals.

Here’s what I’ve learned after going through this process:

Be intentional with your time. Time is a vacuum and if you aren’t clear on your priorities someone or something else will fill your time for you. You may or may not like what they schedule you to be doing.

Create a time budget. Just like a financial budget you can create a time budget. Spend your 168 hours every week on paper before they begin. I sit down almost every Monday morning and review my schedule for the week. I schedule in the most important items I want to accomplish or make sure I spend time with the people most important to me each week to make sure I allow enough time to do those things.

Set some boundaries. In order to ensure you’re making time for your priorities you’re going to have to say no to some things. Sometimes that means saying no to things you like so you can work on things you love. That may be video games, tv time, movies or something else you enjoy. None of those things are bad but you must ask yourself if doing those things is going to get you closer to your goals or doing work you love.

Time is our most precious resource. Time is the one resource we cannot replenish. We can always make more money but time is slowly ticking away never to be reclaimed. We really only have now, and now, and now. Be thoughtful and intentional about the use of your time so that you don’t squander the rest of your days.

I once heard someone say they could tell a person’s priorities by looking at their calendar and their bank statement.

In other words, where do you put your time and your money?

Take stock of those two things and you’ll have a good gauge of what is really most important to you.

Question: What’s one thing you can do this week to ensure you’re making your passions a priority?

bigbirdz via Compfight

Deadlines seem to be looming around every corner and just when I’ve checked one off the list there is another one staring me in the face.

I know this time will pass and everything will slow down again, but right now I feel like I’m in the fruit ninja game and I’m just hacking at the next thing in order to stay alive.

How about you? How’s your week been?

I’ll bet you’ve had a similar type of week or something close to it.

So what do you do when a deadline is quickly approaching and you’ve run out of time?

Here are five steps you can take to deal with the situation:

1. Assess the situation. Take a moment to stop, collect your thoughts, and evaluate what really has to be done at this point. Can you actually complete the work in the amount time you have left?

2. Create a plan. After you have a handle on what will be required to complete the task it’s time to figure out the best way to get it done. If you can get it done on time then it’s time to get to work . If you know you simply don’t have enough time to get the job done it’s time to create contingency plans. Can you get others to help you? Can you produce a less than perfect product at this point? Can you ask for an extension? Start thinking of ways to get the job done without jeopardizing the timeliness or quality of finished product.

3. Decide to act. This may sound silly, but we can often get so overwhelmed by what lays before us we become paralyzed. Regardless of what happens, make a decision to take action on something. If it turns out to be the wrong action, change as soon as you can, but keep moving forward.

4. Communicate. If the deadline is in jeopardy of being missed begin communicating with anyone who may be impacted. Start letting them know where you are and what you’re doing to still deliver. If you know you’re going to miss the deadline regardless of what you do be sure to set expectations with those involved. Don’t surprise anyone at the last minute. It may still be painful, but it’s better to experience the pain earlier than later.

5. Do the work. Ultimately you just have to grind it out. Put fingers to keyboard, paint to canvas, hand to wrench, rear in seat. Whatever you have to do, just do it. No more dilly dallying – get ‘er done.

I can see the calm on the horizon at this point in the week and I know everything will turn out just fine. (Except for losing my iPad, still grieving that one – ouch). These types of weeks are a test. Sometimes I pass and sometimes I fail. Kind of like life.

Question: What else can you do when you think you might miss a deadline?

It feels like too many things to do in a given day.

Montecruz Foto via Compfight

Likely, you think you don’t have enough time to do everything you’d like to do.

You’re busy. I’m busy. We’re all b-u-s-y.

As a result, we don’t believe we have enough time to work on our dreams.

However, let me tell you what the real problem is.

It’s where we put our focus.

Our hours are soaked up by the varied responsibilities and priorities we have in our lives.

As a result, we live our schedules and we talk ourselves out of doing anything even remotely related to our dreams.

We’re just trying to get through the day.

So how in the world can you squeeze in dream time when you have no time?

The solution?

Focus on the tasks and not on the amount of time it will take.

It’s a subtle shift, but when you begin viewing your dream as a series of short term tasks and not a huge, overwhelming mountain of a dream you will give yourself the gift of hope.

Some days, you will only be able to take a baby step toward your dream.

Other days you’ll be on fire with your amazing productivity.

Either way, you’ve had a victory.

String together enough victories and you’ll find yourself moving forward one small step at a time.

Here’s four suggestions on how to shift your thinking to accomplish your dream:

1. Clarify your priorities. Michael Hyatt’s Creating Your Personal Life Plan is an excellent resource to help you get clear on your priorities. You’ll need this when life gets crazy and you have to choose between your dream time and the necessities of your daily reality.

2. Set yourself up for success. Have a way to capture those ideas you come up with for your project tasks. Then when you sit down to focus on those tasks you can hit the ground running. You may only have 30 minutes on any given day. Start with task one and go through your list with the time you have allotted. It may take you a week or 6 months to finish. However, you’ll finish your project if you just focus on completing one task at a time.

3. Cancel your cable. Read that again. Yes, call your provider and drop the “c” bomb on them. The first 30 days will be hard. After that you will wonder why you ever watched TV. On average, you’ll give yourself an extra 2.7 hours every day by not watching TV. You can either watch actors perform a good story on TV or you can choose to live an interesting story yourself.

4. Embrace the tension. You will never figure this out completely. You won’t find yourself achieving perfect balance with your schedule. That is the beauty and chaos of life. Some days you will quit on your dream. Then you’ll realize your dream is what makes you feel alive. You’ll start the balancing act again.

You’ll still be busy. You may become busier than is comfortable. However, it’s your dream and it’s your life. You just might find you have time for both.

Question: What would you do if you felt like you had more time?

Free Book Giveaway

I’m giving away a free copy of Michael Hyatt’s brand new book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.

Here’s how you can win it.

1. Add a comment below to this post.
and
2. Share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus

I will choose a winner at random on Monday, May 28, 2012. If you don’t hear from me via email you unfortunately didn’t win.

Receive my free ebook 5 Essential Steps to Landing Your Dream Job when you join the Work You Enjoy VIP newsletter list. Sign up here.