Bloody Marvellous – Get Things Done

We often spend a lot of time beating ourselves up about not getting things done. The “to-do” list keeps growing, people around us want things done that don’t really figure on our priority list, we set goals and forget about them because life takes over. It becomes a vicious circle as more and more needs doing and less and less is getting done as we take up mental and physical energy thinking about what needs doing.

Taking time out to clean up our outstanding items seems like an impossibility. We can’t afford to take time out so we keep adding to the lists, the goals, the targets, but don’t actually achieve much in the process.

How often do you wake up thinking about the things that have yet to be completed? Do you find yourself dreaming about jobs that should have been done by now. This is just taking up your mental energy and leaving you feeling drained rather than energised in the morning. That’s why you must make the decision to do something about it once and for all, forever.

Getting rid of your current load is the first step and it will take commitment and persistence. You will need to be determined to rid your life of “time pressure” and make a choice that you will get things done according to what’s important to you. What should appear on your to-do list is what you believe to be important, not what others think is important.

This might sound ideological and impractical but if you decide it’s important enough to be done, it will get done. If others decide it’s important it is much more likely to slip down the list until such time as you are in a position of pressure from a deadline and then likely to feel resentful of having to do it in the first place.

There are a raft of time management tools out there and if you search for “time management tips” on the internet you will currently create around 130,000,000 results. That’s a lot of tips!

The simple fact is that we have the same 24 hours per day as everyone else. Some people use the time more effectively than others, that’s all. Come to that, who says what is the most effective use of your time and what is “wasting time”?

Managing your time is about managing yourself. Time cannot be managed.

If you need a first step and you’re overwhelmed by all that you currently have on your plate, you will have to bite the bullet and take some time to reorganise your priorities from your current workload, or expectations of you. Decide to take just two hours out of your day, today, and list everything that you currently have on your plate. Work through the list and cross out all those things that have been on your list for a while and are not being done. If you haven’t started, you’re probably not going to, so you may as well delete it and rid yourself of the mental clutter.

The next step is to look at your list and clean up the incompletes. Anything that can be done in a few minutes just do it now. Get if off the list. Don’t worry about priorities at this stage, just get rid!

By completing all of the quickly achieved tasks you are now beginning to create success. You are getting things done so congratulate yourself.

Look at your list again. Now it’s time to make priorities. What are the items that need handling that will have the biggest impact on your results? What, if it were achieved would help you move forward with your goals?

Begin to schedule these tasks into your diary or planner. Set aside an hour or two for the task as if it were an appointment with someone – this is non-negotiable time. You wouldn’t miss an appointment with someone so honour yourself and your time by scheduling this important task and keeping it.

Over the next few weeks, by scheduling your important tasks, you will begin to find that your list gets smaller and smaller. Things will get done and you will be feeling better about your time and yourself. As things come up each day, decide whether this item can be handled now in less than a few minutes, in which case just do it, or whether it needs to be scheduled, in which case schedule it.

Leave nothing to chance. Do it, schedule it, or if you have people you can delegate it to, pass on the responsibility for its completion to someone else.

Very soon, you will see that you are more productive, more at ease with your time, getting better results and feeling Bloody Marvellous!

We’ve tried and tested so many “time management” tools and it all boils down to the same simple thing. We have the same time as everyone else, the same 24 hours. We have a choice as to what we accept on our plate and what we decide to leave. You will find you are more productive when you decide to say no to things that are not important to you and schedule time for the things that will have the most impact rather than just trusting that because they are on your list they will get done...eventually.

We believe in simplicity so if you have a simple, practical way of managing your time that has helped you get real results, please let us know by commenting on this article.

Five Quick and Easy Tips for Feeling Great

1. Change your voicemail on your phone - First thing in the morning change the voicemail message on your mobile and make it uplifting and welcoming. Give it some volume and some power, e.g. "GOOD MORNING, IT'S SIMON SMITH ON THURSDAY 1st APRIL AND I'M SORRY I MISSED YOUR CALL..." Give it some energy, some buzz. You'll be amazed by the comments you get from people and the "feel good factor" of creating the message first thing in the morning.

2. Change your language - The most common question people ask when talking to someone is "How are you?" Decide to respond positively rather than in the usual boring manner of "yeah fine" or "could be better", "can't complain" and so on. That's how "Bloody Marvellous" was created and why whenever someone asks me how I am I always respond the same way; "Bloody Marvellous!"

3. Change your physical state - You can't fool your body. Try saying your excited and happy when you're slumped in a chair with your shoulders hung. To be excited and happy you have to be in a physical state to match the emotion. Jump up out of your chair, breath deeply and move around. Positive motion creates positive feelings.

4. Smile - Take the smile test. Smile at everyone you walk past for one day. Note how many people have to smile back at you. When they smile at you, you get to feel good.

5. Give someone a hug - It's said that you need 7 hugs a day for maintenance, 12 for growth. The physical interaction of a hug between two people creates a positive response that can't fail to help you feel great. Why do you think people give someone a hug when they're feeling down, have had bad news or are upset about something?

Most of all, have fun trying to feel good. What we focus on we create so as as you practice feeling "Bloody Marvellous" you will begin to feel more and more

"Bloody Marvellous!"

Tell us what you think is the easiest way to feeling great for you. We'd love to get your comments.