How can you maximise your productivity?
Quotes can help.
I love being inspired and challenged by people who have come before me. So that you can benefit as well, I’m sharing my five favourite quotes around time management to both inspire and challenge you.
Quote #1: “The bad news is, time flies. The good news is, you’re the pilot.”
This quote is about taking responsibility and realising that you are the one that’s in control.
One of my mentors said to me once: the millionaire and the beggar have the same amount of hours in a day. Every single person has 24 hours. It’s how you use the hours in the day that makes a difference in how successful you become.
Quote #2: “Priority management is the answer to maximising the time you have.”
This quote from John Maxwell is all about helping you to understand what your priorities are. When you’re running your own business, there’s a question you need to ask every day. And that is, “What is the highest priority task that you need to work on now?”
Do less of the tasks that can be delayed to a later time. Let someone else do them. If you focus on doing more high priority tasks, then you’d be a lot more successful.
So think about where your priorities are right now in the business. Make sure you are working on those things and only those things.
Quote #3: “Do the thing and then you’ll get the energy to do the thing.”
Now this one is a little weird. Do the thing and then you’ll get the energy to do the thing. What does that actually mean?
For me, it’s all about getting started. We often wait until we’re in the right mood or we’re feeling right. Sometimes that may never happen.
Now there’s another quote that I really like; “it’s starting that stops most people.” So when it comes to doing a task, just get started even if you don’t feel like doing it.
After 5 minutes or 10 minutes, you’ll find that feeling turn into excitement. It’s because now you’re actually well and truly into it. Now you’re in the flow. Now you’re actually seeing the finish line and you’re getting excited about getting it done.
So even if you don’t feel like doing it, if it’s a high priority, do it anyway. And you’ll get the energy to keep doing it and get it done.
Quote #4: “Progress is more important than perfection.”
This is one of my all-time favourites. A lot of business owners and a lot of high achievers really suffer from this.
What you need to understand is that perfection is an illusion. It doesn’t actually exist. You can always make things better. You can always improve. Let go of this idea of perfection and focus instead on the idea of progress. When you do, you’ll find that you continue to make things better over time.
So that way, you actually get something back. You get feedback really quickly and then you can iterate and you can make it better. So remember, progress is more important than perfection. Anytime something takes a long time, just get it done as best as you can. Then get feedback and improve.
Quote #5: “Don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time on a ten-cent decision.”
Now, this last one is one that I absolutely love. We often spend hours or even weeks on things that aren’t really important. We find ourselves spending way too long on stuff that doesn’t actually matter.
For example, where should this kind of logo go? Should it be on the left side? On the right side? It might take you an hour to brainstorm where it should actually be.
Now if it’s super important, obviously spend the time. But if it’s a ten-cent decision, don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time. Because your time is your most valuable commodity. It’s the one resource you don’t get any more of so you want to ensure that you’re using the time wisely.
So remember. Don’t spend $1 worth of time on a 10¢ decision. And conversely, don’t spend 10 cents on a dollar question. It’s very important to make sure that you ask yourself those questions constantly. If you are, you’re spending your time in the right place.
More Time Management Quotes
These are my five favourite quotes of all time. The next step is to print them and stick them around your desk so you can look at them every single day.
If you’ve got another favourite time management quote that isn’t on this list, send it to [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!
