TAKING AND KEEPING CONTROL

You are never too old to do anything you want to do, become who you’d like to be, meet the man of your choice, become financially secure or take the world by storm.  It’s yours for the asking.  However, you may have to make some minor adjustments to make it happen just the way you want to, so here are some helpful hints to do just that.

1. Know your body clock.  Do your best things at the worst time and vice-versa. 
2. Group like things together.  If you have to run errands, group them geographically.  Do items at non peak times and make phone calls consecutively. 
3. Put things on a single sheet of paper.  If you have a hard time keeping track of things, having a dozen different lists only complicates things.  Take each key area of your life and make a heading for it.  Then list the things you need to get done under the heading.
4. Divide things into segments.  Learn to slice and dice things into five, ten and fifteen minute segments.  You’d be surprised how much you accomplish by utilizing every spare moment you have.
5. Prioritize, rank and delegate.  Put things in A, B, C order and then rank it 1, 2 and 3. Then decide if someone else can do it for you.  If you don’t follow this rule, you just have to work longer.
6. Does this “thing” have anything to do with where you want to go?  Believe it or not, the majority of what you do has nothing to do with what you personally want or where you want to go in life. 
7. Make a decision and stick to it.  Don’t second guess yourself, If you’ve weighed the choices and done the best you could, don’t feel guilty.
8. Don’t spread yourself too thin.  You have a large capacity to do many things at once, but are the only person who can judge your ability to juggle one against another. 
9. Don’t make changes all at once.  Don’t go on a diet, stop smoking or move all at one time.  It’s too much!
10. Walk your talk.  If you do what you say, people will expect it.
11. Have realistic time tables.  Don’t set yourself up for failure.  Always get up one more time.  Reward yourself with small nuggets of success.
12. Be assertive and set limits others will respect.  Don’t get angry with someone because you’ve let them step all over you.  It’s up to you to show how you want to be treated.  Take a pro-active position and stop reacting.
13. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, you must plan.  Since only 50% of what happens to you in a day can be controlled, schedule your “have-to’s” and focus on only one thing at a time.
14. Be a role model.  If you practice Success Rules, you’ll be more pleasant to be around, make better choices and a lot happier.

There is a light at the end of every tunnel.  You will self-correct along the way.  This is a continuous journey, not a destination.