How to understand using the fuel in our tank..
I was watching the fuel gauge on my car the other day and I noticed one function of it a little differently than I ever have before. I have this one particular gauge that is always measuring the “economy usage” of my fuel. If I push the pedal down hard my fuel economy or best dollar for my money goes way down. If I am able to coast with applying small amounts of pressure to the gas pedal my fuel economy goes way up and I can go much further on one tank of gas. You think about car dealers advertising and they always will tell you the “city mileage” verses the “highway mileage” in order to educate us on usage .
In side the city limits it is a constant stop and go process, Traffic lights, pedestrians, making turns, school zones all create the need for us to slow down with brakes and then speed up and then slow down to speed up again. All of this applying our foot to the gas pedal and then slowing down again causes our fuel usage to go way up even though we often are not going very far at all. When we are out on the highway it is one constant speed with very little need for pressure that keeps the car engine running and allows us to go far distances at a much lower cost per gallon of fuel used.
Okay, enough about automobiles, what does this mean to us as human beings searching for life to be more rewarding and more fruitful for the energy (gasoline) we spend in each day of our lives?
We start by learning to fuel our tanks properly before we try to go out and use it. This is probably the largest malfunction in our western society today. Thinking that just doing the items on our “to do list” will eventually lead us to some nirvana or salvation. It is the way we build ourselves up through disciplined practices of growing, learning, thinking, meditating, praying, exercising that fill the tank of energy we each possess. After we have been filled it is the way we drive our lives and use our energy that makes the difference in how far we can make it or if we ever even arrive at our intended destination/desires.
You may have heard this topic I am referring to as “block time”, “cluster booking”, “Managing commitments” but all in all it is about all of us becoming what we desire by using the energy we have most efficiently. It seems that no matter how many times I have learned this lesson in my life I always need to return to the basics because it seems to drift away again and again.
A few steps to help cleaning up your life and using your energy more efficiently;
Make a list of Values; Know the reasons you do what you do especially for who in your life and the why in your life. This is the prerequisite for all accomplished beings to understand why they get out of bed each day. This absence will leave all of us feeling the monotony of a routine instead of the opportunity for feeling accomplished in reaching our values.
Draw up a schedule for your week. This could be a schedule thats driven by a 9-6 job, taking care of the house, travel schedules etc.. but it is really way more important than that. The values of our lives should make us choose to do everything we do in order to help us accomplish our values. Interacting with people at any chosen “occupation” all day will give us the chance to either become what we want to be or exist within our routines. The difference between those two spaces is fully within our mindsets. The values of our personal relationships are served or harmed by the choice of “have to” all day long or “get to” all day long and that is up to each of us to decide. The contrast between being better today than yesterday at communicating with others and reaching my goals is the exact same choice of “have to” or “get to”. Who you want to become starts with choosing to be that person who “gets to” today at whatever level we can understand those concepts of choosing our attitude today. More knowledge to understand and evolve as human beings comes to us as we walk in the right choices which allow us to expand but it starts with one step. Its a choice
List the necessities you must do each week. Your tasks, your responsibilities, your chores put them all on a list on the left side of a piece of paper, no matter how long you may think it is just write them out. Start to look for an order and a grouping in your life by placing items together on the right side which create better usage of time each day. All of these items belong some place but they are only one part of the equation. The second part is to list the items you will accomplish this week which will set you a part or grow your strengths to reach your values. There are so many people around us walking through the steps of what they must get done it almost seems like it is okay to do so or be just this way, but it’s NOT!!!!
The Second list of items is about really knowing what you want to work on which helps you become who you want to be. It is about serving your values, it is about going the extra mile to building you through things we often “don’t” get done. It could be a dream which increases results at work but it’s really all about you. It could be choosing to tackle something that has been hard to face but it is really about developing you! Each day, week and even a year may come and go but it is what we decide to do with the time that sets us apart. Having a list of the things I need to get done on my checklist is important to be structured and organized but coming up with new items to challenge me and my search out each week are the source of life which turns us on.
After coming up with the items on both lists, one STATIC list (consistent tasks that need to get done) and one DYNAMIC list (Consciously chosen goals for your week which move us towards our greatest life), for each week you should start to see fresh life and fresh possibilities for what you want to accomplish when you think about what you want at this level. Start to move the things from your Static list around that work well together at certain time blocks on Monday and make a group of similar items to accomplish at those times. Do the same for Tuesdays and Wednesdays and every other day of the week. Break each day into half days and know which groups of tasks will work better on certain days as opposed to others. The static list will be very much the same week in and week out. The Dynamic list items now get plugged in and they will become centered on your high energy spots/times in the schedule and make you feel very accomplished at the end of your week.
Make the first party of every single day (early) about you being alone and growing yourself before interacting with others. If you see no room for this then make room! Get up earlier, go to bed earlier but do not EVER think you can take a trip to some place incredible without first filling up your tank. Make sure the first half of your Mondays is structured to allow you to chart the week for greatness. Monday morning meetings SUCK because they do not allow room to think and prepare a minds course for the week. Jumping into a new week and creating a rhythm for what you want takes focused energy. Having a simple structure to obey is great but do not use up a fresh weeks mind with lots of mundane activity and expect incredible results. This is your best time and place in the week to be creative.
Monday Mornings are about creation and focusing accomplishment of your desires on Monday afternoons, Tuesdays and Wednesdays every week. Thursday is critical to start making the switch by cleaning up all the stuff you created and knowing that the last day of the week is approaching so you have either planned well or you will carry the angst of things left undone into the weekend. Take the morning and start cleaning up quickly and by the end of the afternoon start moving any major items you think will not be wrapped by Friday Midday to next weeks list while still staying focused to finish this weeks Dynamic list that you believe you can accomplish. Friday is clean up and wrap down so that you feel the level of accomplishment by looking back not just at the things you always have to get done (Static) but also by seeing the ones you were able to tackle which put you closer in life to your real values (Dynamic) . Everyones life has the opportunity for you to take the large items you wanted to get done this week (Static or Dynamic) and stack them in just this way. The results of change, growth and happiness will amaze you.
I have had many discussions over years of coaching with people who truly think they are trapped by a determined schedule. What they end up doing each week is getting stuck in a routine and not really feeling like they are making headway. Each week has certain expectations for all of us but really accomplishing great things which will serve your values is up to you. That means this week can stop and go for turns, school zones, stop lights etc or we can learn to create space where we can cruise on the open highway. The difference is in our choosing to make this week count because I DECIDED what I wanted to get done, WHY I Decided it and for WHOM I decided it. This is my life and I will go really far on this tank of gas, I hope you do also!
Safe travels. Brian
