As entrepreneurs it can become very easy to slip into, what I call, the Work Schedule Twilight Zone. This is the zone that seems to suck the consistency of showing up to work at the same time every day right out of our core being. It's the zone that confuses us into thinking that by becoming entrepreneurs we have earned the right to show up whenever we wish, punch our alarm clocks in the snooze nose a dozen times and then stay up late to catch those riveting and life-changing shows like, The Man Show, Star Trek Voyager and Golden Girls reruns.
The truth is that an inconsistent schedule robs you of focus, creativity and the ability to maintain a proactive work day. What could we all do with one extra hour in the morning? How much more clarity, calmness and control could be gained?
You might be thinking, ‘Yeah, that's great, but who actually does this?' Lots of very wealthy and famous people, that's who. But I don't want to share their stories with you, likely you've already heard them before. I do want to share one man's victory with you, a Mortgage Professional, loving husband, father of two, avid reader and music collector, regular, everyday-kinda-guy, who took up the challenge and set a very lofty goal for himself in regard to waking up out of the Work Schedule Twilight Zone.
Brian shared with me that he has successfully and consistently hit his goal of waking up at 5:00am every morning for the past 30 days in a row!!! He has been into work by 6am...a whole 2 hours before his team ever arrives and before the phones have started ringing off the hook. And exactly WHAT does Brian accomplish in those 2 hours you might ask. Here is his list:
- Read Goals
- Read Affirmations
- View Vision Board
- Complete Weekly Focus and Goal Report
- Update Outlook Task Manager
- Update Calendar
- Hit the Ground Running!
By the time Brian's team walks in the door at 8am, he's already planned out his entire day, put himself into a positive and proactive state of mind AND has given himself a daily dose of working ON his business instead of IN his business. Brian reports that his new schedule has COMPLETELY changed his entire day and sets the tone for the remainder of the week. He also stated that he is very aware of where his focus is every day, that he is significantly less reactive and a personal bonus for him came the other day when he was able to leave at 4:00pm to watch his son play baseball...without the burden of left-over work on his mind.
Brian also understands that celebrating each victory trains the brain to go after more big wins, so I'd also like to report that Brian celebrates his new, early morning schedule with his favorite Extra Bold Java and a slice of chocolate chip-pumpkin loaf, not every day of course.
Why am I sharing a Mortgage Professional's win to a community of Realtors??? Because, the nature of your schedules and the challenges to building your businesses have many, many strong similarities. Giving yourself quiet time in order to plan out your day ahead of time, utilizing your calendar to time-block and then focusing and staying the course are all challenges that I have witnessed with both my Mortgage and Real Estate clients.
Just by getting started one hour earlier in your day, you can gain twice the momentum and twice the focus than you have right now, which can generate more opportunities and more leads than you have right now. Don't believe me? Try it anyway...Heck, it won't cost you any money. You don't have to buy anything, nor do you have to learn a new system or install new software. Here's all you need to do:
-Choose to set you alarm an hour earlier and actually get out from underneath the covers.
-Make a list of all that you know you MUST do, as well as those things that you'd like to do.
-Open up your calendar and select blocks of time to accomplish each "Must do" and "Like to do."
-Review your goals. You know, the ones that you have been pushed into writing down by your Coach, Brian Buffini, Mike Ferry, Jack Canfield, etc., etc.
-Throughout the day, touch base with your calendar and stick to your time-blocks.
-Before you end your day, review what you have accomplished. Write down how you, "Won the Day."
Remember, this stuff WORKS. It may not be sexy, but there's a reason why there are thousands of books, articles, blogs, podcasts, ebooks, etc. that promote these disciplines. And besides that, there's a hot cup of java and a slice of chocolate-chip pumpkin loaf in it for you.
-Coach Victoria
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