Jeffrey T. Hicks

When your values set the course, your life gains direction.

Have you lost control of your life by being enslaved by useless daily habits or influences that invariably stifle your productivity? Do you find yourself plagued with tasks and activities that do not contribute to your personal goals and ideals?

When the answer to those questions is a resounding YES, it’s time to refocus. Here’s how.

Imagine yourself hiking through a thick forest without any distinct trail that will guide you to your destination. The beauty of the forest is magnificent as you bask in the exquisite colors and sounds surrounding you. However, you are troubled because the further you walk into the forest, the more lost you become since there is no defined trail. With the tall trees surrounding you, you are unable to determine your location or direction of travel.

Suddenly, you remember the GPS in your front pocket. After turning it on, you are quickly able to mark your location and the direction of your destination in relation to your surroundings. That is exactly what your P-GPS will do for you personally as you navigate whatever paths you choose in your career and personal life. Your personal Guiding Principles Statement distinctly defines your personal “position” in context with your chosen surroundings and environment.

Your Personal-GPS is a statement containing some broad descriptors that explicitly define you. And as you are writing your own, it’s a good idea to use terms in your statement that are broad and general, in order to cover all the vast expanse that defines your purpose and existence. As an example, here is my own, Personal-GPS. Be compassionate and virtuous, honest and ethical, real and present, open minded but solid in my convictions.

You may be asking, “What does a Personal-GPS have to do with my own time management?” The answer is your guiding principles statement is the foundation of principles and values with which your daily life is structured. In fact, you may even recognize that the values contained in your Personal-GPS guided you as you pursued educational choices, your career path, and the other major elements in your life that subsequently dictate what your daily tasks entail.

Every person has a few things with which they “hang their hat.” These ideals pretty much dictate a person’s views and actions and usually influence a person’s daily and weekly routine. Here’s an example. Consider all the people you know who follow a strict religious standard of Sunday worship. One of their personal ideals that govern their activities is the belief that Sunday is a day of rest and should be reserved for religious service and worship. Each Sunday, these folks make a conscious decision to be sitting in the pews at church. In contrast, consider your friends who find Sunday solace by visiting nature. Every weekend, they head for the hills to partake of nature’s beauty and serenity by hiking, fishing, or taking a drive through the beautiful countryside. Both of these groups have Sunday ideals but define them differently. And they both feel a sense of fulfillment in those ideals.

In order to take control of your personal life and manage your time effectively, you must determine what your core ideals are. Take some time, be true and honest with yourself, and define your core ideals. Here’s a few that I consider to be my own:

1. happiness and safety for my family
2. belief in God and daily prayer
3. finding purpose in everyday living
4. lifetime pursuit of education and knowledge

Figure out what your core ideals are and write them down. Even post them where you can see them each day as a reminder of what you, personally, are all about. As you confirm your core ideals, you will recognize how they influence the daily and weekly activities in your life. If you are firm in those ideals, you will not allow outside influences on a whim to alter your actions based on those ideals. You will soon be recognized as one resolute in your goals and life’s direction. And ultimately, the actions facilitated by those ideals will define who you are.

Consider this. Everyone on earth has the same amount of time–exactly 24 hours each day to accomplish their goals and tasks. However, we can all stipulate that some folks just seem to accomplish a lot more with that 24-hour allotment than others. It’s a fact; they do. And the reason is, they have a game plan.

After you’ve established your Personal Guiding Principles Statement and defined your core ideals, you have a better understanding of who you are and what defines you. You can now plan your days and weeks with purpose. Your daily planning will illuminate your personal standards of excellence and draw you towards activities representative of your personal goals.

How often have you found yourself sitting on the couch, phone in hand, your eyes glazed-over, with your fingers methodically clicking through, as you surf through the countless images and links on your favorite social networking site? I’ve been there! I recall times that I easily wasted full days checking out all the cool things my “friends” have posted. Connecting with friends and associates on the internet has its place, but we all know that a huge amount of time can be lost, messing around on social media–time we will never get back!

So, how do we avoid the pitfalls of time wasting? The answer is found in personal discipline and planning. You manage the discipline part and then follow this simple planning sequence for immediate success.

Here’s how it works! You will need a daily journal recording device or notebook. Years ago, I used a small flip-notebook that easily fit inside my shirt or inside suit breast pocket. Now I use my iPhone. Whatever device you choose, you need to have it with you always and make sure it can easily be written in. Since I always have my phone wherever I go, I prefer to use it. If you like, a rectangular pocket calendar will work just fine.

Now for the “meat and potatoes” of this game plan. At the beginning and end of your day, you must allocate five minutes of quiet time for only yourself. Here is what you will do with this short, but invaluable time:

• list on your chosen device the tasks that must be completed on this day–and write them down
• take a look at yesterday’s list and bring forward any that still need to be completed
• be sure to rate each task according to importance and expediency
• establish the time parameters for activities–for example: Internet surfing: 15 minutes, grocery shopping: 60 minutes, staff meeting: 30 minutes
• Review all your tasks and activities for the day and make a mental note how each contributes to your Personal-Guiding Principles Statement and/or your core ideals
• Review your task and activity list often throughout the day and follow it! When you finish a task, cross it out.
• At the end of the day, take a moment to record your successes and make notes for the next day’s activities.

It’s that simple! As you perform this exercise at the beginning and end of each day, you will soon notice your mind beginning to bend toward personal order and constructive time management. You will draw positive parallels with your tasks and activities in relation with your core ideals and guiding principles. You will gain self-discipline and will no longer find yourself being overtaken by mind-numbing activities that you admit are a complete waste of your valuable time, unless of course, you specifically planned it.

Give this a try! Maybe you already have your own time management system in place.  If so, good job! As you incorporate this simple plan, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much more productive your days become. And that productivity leads to happiness!