Aug 28, 2020
How to go after your interests while working a full-time job…
On November 11th, 1994, during a session at the famous Christie’s auction house, a leather-bound notebook was sold for the astonishing amount of $30.8 million, a price that made it the most expensive book ever sold at the time.
— Who was the winner of the auction?
Microsoft’s former CEO, Bill Gates himself.
— And the book?
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Codex Leicester”, a manuscript that dates back to the 16th century that compiles his observations and theories on all sorts of different topics like astronomy, the properties of water, rocks, fossils, air, celestial light… you name it.
— OK, but why pay a fortune for a handwritten book that you must put in front of a mirror to even be able to read it?
Simple: to have an insight into the mind of one of the biggest polymaths from the Renaissance: an artist, scientist and thinker as well as an exceptional illustration, a man that was able to bridge the arts and science.
It’s no secret that we all want to squeeze every drop of what life has in stock for us — spending time with family and friends, exercise regularly, traveling to exciting places and living the good life.
By the same token, we need to ensure that all the “not-so-fun-stuff” (daily errands) gets done, saving our homes and work from havoc.
OK, so far so good: it’s clear that there are things we “must/have to” do, and then there are other things we “want” to do. Roger that!
But then, when we thought we had it all figured out, a riot is about to explode:
— What goes first and what goes second?
— Do we do the fun stuff first — and risk regret for not doing what we should — or do we plow through our obligations until they are done and so is our “me-time”?
— No wait! Don’t you see that this is more important than that other thing?
— Hell no! I also want to enjoy life and not live like a robot 24/7!
— No, no, no! We agreed that we would have it ready by today! — and on and on…
Often it seems that we need longer days to squeeze some slack here and there, slack that will finally allow us some “me-time” for the things that our heart longs for…
The Good News.
But don’t panic! Like most things in life, someone has already been through the same and came on the other side with a solution that you might apply in your own life.
As stated in the book “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think”, from Time Management expert, Laura Vanderkam, there is enough time to go after all the things we want while keeping our obligations at bay.
Alright now but, how do you do it?
Here are the steps she advices to follow:
Get Clarity.
Before you start climbing the ladder, make sure that it is leaning against the right tree first. In order to build the life we want, we must know what things are — really — important and then, let the rest be built around them.
Create a list of 3 to 5 items for the following topics:
· Career
· Relationships
· Self
Schedule them in your agenda.
On a specific day, start planning your week ahead, remember, things don’t happen by chance.
Write each item in your agenda — yes, I’m assuming you have one, right? — with a specific day and time, otherwise things tend to become trivial, they slip away, and we end up forgetting the whole thing, and missing the whole purpose of this exercise.
Oh! And one more thing:
Whenever you are doing something you previously planned, do just that thing… multitasking is not good for anyone, it doesn’t matter if you are the Wonder Woman.
Be Flexible and Adjust when needed.
Life has a way of surprising us, sometimes for the better and others for the worse. Allow some slack in between your days for any “Ad hoc” or unforeseen event that you might encounter. In this way you reduce the chance of having your whole day derailed due to some unexpected situation.
Every minute we spend is our choice — remember: there are no victims here, only poor choices…
