I can’t remember where I found Jim Rohn, but he was one the first places I started; I found myself listening to some of his old tapes the other day.
Mr. Rohn goes through such simple advice that can truly have a huge impact.
In these particular talks, he was covering time management.
These lines by Mr. Rohn stuck in my head:
“When should you start your day? When it’s finished.”
“When should you start your week? Once it’s done.”
“When should you start your year? When it’s complete.”
And what he was talking about was PLANNING.
Don’t get started until you know what you’re going to do. Why bother? What would you be doing? Spinning your wheels doesn’t count as work no matter how much it feels like it.
Make a plan in advance. I know you’ll won’t stick to it perfectly. That’s ok. But might you stick to it a little bit? Will some days be better than others? Do you think you’ll get better at planning as you practice?
Ever read Alice in Wonderland?
Alice and The Cheshire Cat give one of my favorite illustrations with these few lines:
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
I realized when I coached soccer or baseball that I’ve been giving them the same advice – advice that’s universal and that I (and you) should be practicing more.
Know what you’re going to do BEFORE you get the ball.
If you wait until the ball comes to you, it will be too late.
If you get the ball and then look around to see who you can pass to, the defense is on you.
If you pick up a ground ball and then look around to see what base to throw it to, everybody is safe.
A second of thinking ahead changes everything.
If your alarm goes off at 5 am while you’re snuggled under the blankets and you try to decide what work you want to get done at this crazy, cold hour, you’re not getting up.
If it’s already decided…
If before you went to bed you said…
- I’m getting up and starting with 10 minutes of The Final Step on endocrine which I finished studying yesterday.
- Then I’ll flip back through pulmonary which I finished last week but need to spend a little time reviewing.
- Then I’ll start reading through the O’Connell book on dermatology.
- If the coffee pot is already programmed for 4:45, it’s a whole lot easier.
Go ahead and get your copy here:
Brian Wallace