You have no business with success if you don’t respect time. That is one of the messages I got from one of TD Jakes’ motivational speeches. As a filmmaker, you quickly learn that you have to be organized in order to get the best out of any major project. The problem is: Getting your affairs organized around time requires a lot of self-discipline and motivation. It means getting out of our comfort zone; pushing yourself when you are already exhausted, mentally and physically.
Hence the solution is to make a list of all the important tasks we need to do. And then prioritize them. And start with the most important. The problem is: our most important task which has the most important potential for our bright future is often the least attractive task to embark upon. This is how procrastination creeps in. What makes it harder is the Internet. “Let me check my email”. “Let me check my social media pages.” And before you know it, you have lost a whole day of potential productivity which only adds to your work pressure. This then leads to guilt and lack of confidence and motivation and the disappointed faces of your clients — all of which must eventually reflect in your bank account, negatively.
Initially, I used to think that time was just a factor of life. No, it’s the only thing we can use to measure our level of productivity. Time does not wait for you. Time is infinite. When you see the clock counting, it’s not time that is counting. It’s your life. Don’t wait until you get inspired. Inspiration and further insights can meet you while you are busy on your work.
Assume that your time here on earth is limited. You have to figure out what is important for you to do and work on it, wholeheartedly. Get rid of all distractions before you start a task, and work hard on your task until completion.
This keeps you consistent and reliable for your clients and gives you guilt-free time for you to enjoy yourself, knowing you have done a great job. This is the open secret of living a purposeful and wonderful life. Everyone respects those who work with time. Remember: “All success in life comes from task completion. If you don’t complete tasks, you have no future”. And the key to task completion is setting a deadline.
When you think about it, Time Management is actually Life Management. Cheers to your success.
