Do you have trouble Sleeping?

Laura is a time management expert – yet admits to having been late to one of her own time management talks.  Perhaps it is this down-to-earth attitude which makes her advice so popular and well-received.

Laura’s 2016 TED talk has been viewed nearly eight million times.  In it, she explains how she came to realise that “not having time” is often a question of priorities rather than time.

Laura proposes that the first step to having the life you want is figuring out what your priorities are.  The second step is to prioritise them in your schedule – to give them the time they need.

Laura suggests that Friday afternoon is a great time to work on these priorities.  While she admits, “most of us aren’t sitting there on Friday afternoons saying ‘I am excited to make progress towards my personal and professional priorities right now’, we are willing to think about them.”

By using the low productivity time of Friday afternoon to plan the following week, you can transform Friday afternoons into the most productive part of your working week.  Use the time to schedule the most important tasks for the beginning of the week ahead.  This way, you hugely increase the likelihood of getting them done.

Laura also emphasises you should give equal weight to your professional, personal, and development goals.

This is advice she reiterates in her book “What the most successful people do before breakfast”. Her research into productivity and the habits of successful people led Laura to realise that in the early morning it is often possible to accomplish things that are often difficult or impossible to achieve later in the day.

Using this time to work on your priorities – whether they are personal or professional – is a habit that many successful people share.  Laura says, “While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity.”

She recommends that these early morning hours are great times to focus on what is important to you.  This way, you are able to achieve your goals before the interruptions of daily life have chance to knock you off course.

Laura argues that by rethinking your morning routine, you can jump-start your life before the day has even begun.

Watch Laura’s inspiring TED talk here:

https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_vanderkam_how_to_gain_control_of_your_free_time#t-482747