24/7 series: Day 1- The lie of 24 hours:

The scientific fact that there are 24 hours in a day is absolutely irrelevant. It is irrelevant to the entrepreneur who has accomplished 10 things on their to-do list, only to have the other 20 things lost in the work mix. It is irrelevant to the mother who works a 9 -5 and then has to take care of her kids when she gets home. It is irrelevant to the college student who slacked off during the semester with the impression that they have "all the time in the world," only to go cram crazy during finals week. Where do these 24 hour days exist to get things done? For anyone actually living here with the rest of us, I have some bad news. You don't have 24 hours to accomplish anything. Here, let me prove it to you.

For those who have gone from having all the time in world to having none, this simple test will shred some light on where your time goes. Here is all you have to do:

1. Pull out a piece of paper and write the number 24 at the top.

2. Make a list of things that you do in a day. Be sure to include everything that is involved in your day. This is not a list of the things that you would prefer or want to do, but want you actually and authentically do in a day.

3. Make a list of the things that you should do in a day.  These are things that are important for you to get done, but aren't life threatening if you do not do them.

4. Make a list of things that you want to do in a normal day.

5. How long does each thing on those three lists take? Look at each thing and jot down how long each activity takes.

6. Now add up the amount of time in the first list and minus it from 24.

7. Repeat in the other 2 lists.

That 7 step process should shred some light between the time you thought you had, the time you actually have, and what you can actually do in that time. It sure opened my eyes. I realized rather quickly that I don't have "all the time in the world" as I always used to think. With this understanding I was able to move on to the next phrase of developing my time management. 
 
The Movement Continues...
- Rhetorical Artz