Welcome everyone to the 30th episode of Professor P's Podcast. Welcome to this month’s entrepreneurial tip. The topic for this show is TIME, your relationship with time, time management, and project management. It is vital to your success in business that you understand them all. They are part of the foundation of being an EMPOWERED entrepreneur and one who lives an EMPOWERED life.

For today’s episode I pull from the book Don’t Let Anything Dull Your Sparkle * How to Break Free from Negativity & Drama; Doreen Virtue; Hay House, INC; 2015

Your Relationship with Time

“One source of stress is the way in which you view and manage time. How often have you been upset because you’re running late or behind on a deadline? Time pressure is a major source of stress. Chronic lateness can also lead to relationship arguments. Your brain under stress is focused upon surviving and reacting, and less focused upon planning and creating. With chronic stress, your brain leans – and is rewired – to be focused upon survival and reacting only. It has difficulty amping up the area devoted to devising plans for the future. Constant time urgency takes a toll on your body, brain, and emotions. Here are some time-urgency patters and ways to heal them:

Approval seeking: A mind-set of I must get everything done right now, or I will be in trouble or something bad will happen comes from the desire to prove yourself or to appease a real or imaginary authority figure. Usually, this stems from a childhood where you were working overtime to gain parental acceptance. As an adult, you can transfer the desire to win outside approval to a healthy desire to give yourself approval. And that comes from taking positive action steps, such as peacefully working instead of frantically racing against the clock.

Forcing yourself: If you find yourself starting a sentence with the words “I have to…” stop and question why you’re doing what you’re doing. Why are you forcing and pushing yourself? That’s a sign that your soul is rejecting the activity, and it isn’t healthy. Either meditate and get to the point where you are happy to engage in the activity, make changes with respect to how you engage in it (switching to a more enjoyable workout routine, for example), or stop doing it altogether.

Indecisiveness: The thought I can’t decide whether to do this or do that can make you feel stuck. The existential dilemma of having to make choices concerning how to spend time is the basis of internal struggles and angst. Remember that not making a decision is the same thing as making one…because if you aren’t making a decision, you’re deciding to stay in your present state. Sometimes life calls you to make a choice before you’re ready. Do your best and go for what your soul calls you to do.

Not planning ahead: Part of drama addition is procrastinating until an appointment or deadline is upon you. Do you wait until Christmas Eve to shop for gifts, or the night before a report is due to begin it? These are examples of needlessly stressing yourself. Planning ahead is a new habit that can substantially lower your stress levels. One way to plan is to break a big task down into small steps, and then schedule them into your calendar.

Stressing to impress: Are you working like crazy to make enough money to buy prestigious items? Who are you trying to impress? This unhealthy and stressful habit stems from a desire to be loved. However, if people like you for what you own, it’s a hallow feeling. You desire and deserve to be loved for who you are…beginning with loving yourself for having a calmer, more peaceful schedule.

Being a martyr: Do you feel resentful and irritable because you have to do all of the work? This is stressful and toxic, and a sign that you need to (a) look for ways to simplify your life so that you’re not bemoaning how much you have to do, and or (b) start delegating tasks and asking others to help you.

Focusing upon the future: After a trauma, it’s natural to worry whether something painful will recur. However, if you become obsessed with fear about possible future traumas, you’ll lose the enjoyment of the moment. This is a part of post-traumatic dissociations, where you lose present awareness of yourself. A simple and effective method for reconnecting with the present is to do deep breathing. Inhale deeply, and then exhale completely. Notice your heart rate. Be aware of whether you’re comfortable or not. What do you see and hear right now? Focusing upon present feelings and environmental cues help center you in the here and now. This empowers you to feel more confident about your present and your future”.

I have given you homework to reflect over the above categories and to track your time. I want you to really understand what you are doing with your time. I then have given you homework to research backwards planning. In project management this is how we plan. We go to the end date and plan from that point backwards. Then we start. Make sure to have a margin of error in place. For example, if something is due on the 31st of March, then you want to have it fully ready in your planning by the 28th of March – side note – That is Professor P’s Birthday!!! 50 and oh so fine like red Italian wine, I am aging gracefully. With long life He will satisfy me! – That was a whole squirrel moment!

Let’s get back to it shall we. Then from 3/28 you want to work back again. You will need a draft of what you are working on, however that looks ready by say 3/25. And you continue to work backwards. In project management we add in others to help us. In entrepreneurship you will do the same with what you are working on. It is important to understand that delegation is your superpower. Then you have different tasks overlapping during the timeline you have set. I want you to do your own research on backwards planning and try it for yourself.

Learn to block your time. Learn to set your boundaries and honor them. Learn to do only your part. If God, ask you to 80% and you do 100% you were 20% disobedient. Keep that in mind. Let others help you and do their 20% or whatever it is. TRUST, which I know can be hard. But it is important in building a team and building your business.

The mismanagement of time can cause you unwanted stress and stress is not good for us. It is a secret killer. Understand that your relationship with time is many times tied to your trauma. If you deal with the root, you can become a master of time. I am a living witness. Let’s jump into today’s podcast to hear more.

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