REAL Talk #5

First of all, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to check in on what’s up with us. Let’s keep it REAL, most of us have used the excuse, “I would do it, if I had more time.” Most of us also find time for Netflix and Twitter… Interesting. What if we had enough time to do the things we needed to do, but also had enough time to enjoy the things we want to do? We all have the same amount of time in our day; from the multi-millionaires to the homeless. If we all have the same amount of time, then it’s all about how we use our time. Even though we all have the same 24 hours, it’s about quality, not quantity. The good news is that we have full control over the quality of our life; of course, if we believe we do (always remember that nothing is possible without belief, your Rook).

Always remember, time is given, not earned. It’s a privilege. We earn the ability to use our time however we want. So, with that being said, it makes sense that time is life. Therefore, life is given, but how we use the time we have is earned. Further, we must appreciate the life we’re given to embrace the life we choose and want to live. Here are a few tips you can use to maximize the time you’re given so you can live the life you want to live. When we give ourselves more time, this means we give ourselves more time to do what we want to do, but only after we’ve done everything we needed to do. This is kind of how retirement works; you do what you need to do (aka work) until you’ve earned the ability to do what you want to do (aka sleep lol). What if we can live this life much sooner than our mid to late 60s? What if you maximize the quality of your time (aka life) now so maybe you can live that retirement life in your 50s, 40s or even 30s? Here are a few tips you can use to help you reach this goal of using your time how you want to while living the life you dreamed of.

Wake up at 5:00 am

Yes, we are starting with this! We get it, no one wants to wake up at 5:00 am (not even us), but there are so many benefits to it. Let’s keep it REAL, no one wants to workout either, but it’s the only way to look the way you want to. It’s an inevitable necessity… just like waking up earlier. If you wake up in the double digits (10:00-12:00 pm), you’re setting yourself up for a sluggish afternoon and evening. There will be little time to get work done, especially when you consider simple hygiene tasks which we hope everyone makes first priority. Of course there are those night shifts people need to work or those of us who make our money at night (doing whatever it is you do; no judgment), but the point is to literally give yourself more time in the day, and what better way to do this than to be conscious sooner? We’re going to assume that most of us (especially students) get most of our productivity tasks done during the day (aka 9:00-5:00 pm), which is about 8 hours. Now, imagine if you started that day at 5:00 am, giving yourself an extra 4 hours of productivity? Think about all the possibilities! That’s 20 extra hours a week, not including weekends. That time could be spent (but is not limited to) working out (or getting an extra workout in for you athletes), reading an inspirational book, writing an inspirational book, getting your homework out of the way so you can party later, etc. Yeah, so here’s 11 tips that are extremely useful for helping you wake up early. It’s worth considering.

Do what you need to do first, then what you want to do last

This is a nice follow-up to waking up early. Why not take care of what needs to get done first. Think about it, if you’re a college student for example, typically you want to hang out with your friends. We get it. You should. But when does that usually happen? Right, after classes, which is usually in the evening. Keep it REAL, if you’re in college, we know you’ve experienced that dilemma at least once; do I hang out with my friends or get this homework done that’s due? Your friends turn on your favorite turn-up song and before you know it, it’s 2:00 am and that 6 page paper is due in 6 hours. *Rewind* What if you woke up at 5:00 am and knocked it out in 2 hours? Not only that, but what if you were able to look it over later in the day, make some corrections and feel good about turning it in the next day? You’ll be able to turn up to your favorite song later with no worries.

When you do what you need to do first, you can focus your attention on it because you don’t have lingering distractions that hang over you, like feeling like you don’t have enough time. There’s also this sense of achievement you feel when you get things done that you might not want to do but need to. When you do them first, you feel good about yourself because you were productive. A good strategy to practice is to consider what you want as a reward for getting done what you needed to first. This not only gives you purpose and motivation to do it, but you get to enjoy what you want as well because you’re not even worried about what you have to do. It’s a win-win situation.

Write down your schedule and goals for the day

Once you wake up early and get things done that you needed to first, you can create a schedule for how you plan on going about the rest of your day. You are literally giving yourself time by dictating what you will do with it. By waking up early, you can block out time to chill or nap if you wanted to later in the day. Regardless of your plan for the day, it’s always good to see your schedule. You can have your schedule electronically if that works better for you, but we just believe writing things down is a good habit to practice because not only does it help you remember things better, but you’re also putting it somewhere you can go back to for those times that you do forget. It’s also nice to write things down because it rids the mind of clutter, that we can all fall victim to if we let our minds run wild. Writing your thoughts down gives you more time to think about other things, which you can then write down and the process continues. Before you know it, you have a list of brilliant ideas that you might have not been able to remember without writing it all down. It’s a good habit to write your goals down as well. You should always have long-term goals, but short-term goals lead to long-term goals. Daily goals are important because you get that instant gratification that a long-term goal might not give right away.

2 minutes (or less) rule

Let’s keep it REAL, we make excuses about not having enough time for even little things that take less than 2 minutes to do. The 2 minutes (or less) rule is that anything that takes 2 minutes (or less) should get done right away; without hesitation. Again, talking to college students, but a perfect example of this is sending a simple email to your professor about an assignment. We’ve seen countless students slip up academically because they aren’t on the same page with their professors. Sending a quick email (that usually takes 2 minutes [or less]) about a question you have or even sharing a situation that negatively impacts your work is an easy way to help yourself. Some students think their professor is against them and wants them to fail, but professors deal with so many students that it can be challenging to cater to each student’s needs (even though REAL professors find ways to do this). Sometimes it’s up to the students to take action and make the professor aware of a question you have or something you’re going through. Little things can make a big difference.

The 2 minutes (or less) rule also applies to anything non-academic that’s also beneficial to your life. A good example is washing your hands. Let’s keep it REAL, we won’t say any names, but there’s people (and not just college students) in this world who choose not to wash their hands after touching something gross or using the bathroom. We can’t think of too many situations that would cause someone to not wash their hands after touching something gross. There’s also the great invention of hand sanitizer you can carry around, just in case you don’t want to walk all the way to the restroom if you’re not there already. By not taking care of this, not only are you at a higher risk of experiencing all kinds of health problems, but you expose others to it as well. Simply taking 2 minutes (or less) to actually put some soap and water on your hands can go a long way. Do your part, please; for the culture. The point here is that the 2-minute (or less) rule reminds us that it’s just 2 minutes (or less). If it’s productive, why not just get it done and out of the way so it’s not lingering and maybe even causing other kinds of problems.

We hope these tips are useful and you found something you can take with you. We appreciate your support and hope you continue to have a positive impact on our culture. Check out our previous post about how you can thank yourself later as well as our new Book, Let’s Keep It REAL. You can also check out some of our previous blog posts as well!

Keep it REAL.