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Make Useful Time

Today, there are two forces competing for our attention. On one side is "The Busy Club," the current culture of our society, which promotes being busy all day with emails, meetings, or endless to-do lists as the key to success. On the other side are "The Infinity Pools," apps or devices that offer us endless content. As a result, we spend almost all our time in "Default Mode," moving through life not based on our priorities, but on what appears.

Making time for purpose is the topic of my reflection, and I'll turn it into a three-day retreat later on. It's a framework designed to help you decide what you want to focus on, find the energy to do it, and leave the default mode behind, beginning to live more consciously and deliberately. This method was designed for you as a result of my work with managers and people over these past 25 years, and is based on experiences in companies like those you can read in my personal resume on this website. Below, we'll look at the four parts that make up this method and how to apply them seamlessly in our daily lives.

PART 1: “PRIORITY”

One of the main premises of the Busy Club is that we should make the most of every minute of our day. Thus, we accept all the meetings, social commitments, and emails that arrive in our inbox. However, the key to moving toward our goals isn't doing more, but rather doing what's important, leaving room for family, friends, and the hobbies that fulfill us.

Every day, we should choose a priority that has a certain urgency, but that, at the same time, brings us joy and satisfaction. This priority should be reserved in our schedule for a block of time of between sixty and ninety minutes, preferably first thing in the morning, when our energy is at its highest.

PART 2: “LASER”

Once we've defined our priority and scheduled a time for it, we should take advantage of this time to work in "Laser Mode," a state in which your attention is focused on the present like a laser beam focused on a target. The key to achieving this focus is placing barriers between us and the Infinity Pools. The more difficult they are to access, the less temptation we'll have to interrupt our work.

Some helpful steps include deleting social media from your phone and only turning on the internet when necessary. Additionally, while working, it's a good idea to set a timer to add a sense of urgency and keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas or to-dos as they arise, avoiding distractions.

PART 3: “ENERGY”

Today, humans focus primarily on their minds when working. However, the energy we have depends largely on how we take care of our bodies. The best way to do this is by simulating the lifestyle Homo sapiens had before the agricultural revolution.

For the duration of its two hundred thousand years of existence, Homo sapiens lived as nomads, except for the last twelve thousand years, which began with the agricultural revolution. Some recommendations for living like that era include:

  • Stay in constant movement and, if possible, schedule time to exercise.
  • Eat natural foods, preferably fruits, vegetables and animal proteins.
  • Have spaces in your day disconnected from the internet and promotes in-person conversations.
  • Turn your room into a “cave”, a space intended solely for sleeping.

PART 4: “REFLECTION”

Our daily routines keep us constantly on the move, which, in many cases, prevents us from considering whether what we're doing is the best we can. Setting aside time at the end of the day to review how we did and what new things we can try is key to constant improvement.

In this space, we'll review our priorities for the day, how Laser Mode worked, and how we managed our energy. Finally, we'll reflect on how we did and what tactics we can implement the next day.

This four-phase method is designed to help you optimize your time. Remember: time is more valuable than money, and you can't buy it. Thanks for reading. Keep it up. I send you a hug, and if you want to delve deeper into this topic, sign up now! Coaching Wednesday with Dr. Roch in the WhatsApp that appears on the page.