Many people go through their daily lives feeling overwhelmed. There are so many things to do and never enough time or energy to complete them all. Do you feel this way about your business, your career, or your life?

Have you promised yourself that you will make some major changes this month but are unsure what those changes should be?

Consider creating a vision, and make it a big one. One that encompasses your life's passion and the gifts you've come to share. You have a lot to give no matter what your business or career is about. You are unique and the only person who can use your strengths in your particular way. Life is not a dress rehearsal, so create your vision of what you really want and then take inspired action steps to attract it to you, whether it's staying at home and raising a family, producing the best widget there is, being the CEO of a company, etc.

How to Create Your Life Vision

Don't assume you can create a clear and well-defined vision overnight—imagining your life and deciding on a course of action takes time and reflection. You must cultivate vision and perspective, as well as use reasoning and preparation to put your goal into action. Your best vision emerges from your hopes, dreams, and aspirations. It will resonate with your values and aspirations, generating energy and passion to help strengthen your dedication to exploring your life's possibilities.

What Does Your Best Life Look Like?

Describe in detail your ideal life. Allow yourself to fantasize and build a vivid picture. Consider how your perfect life would feel if you can't visualize it. If you find it impossible to imagine your life in 10 or 20 years, start with 3-5 years—even a few years in the future will provide you with a starting point. What you see may surprise you.

Here are some thoughts to get you started.

• What will you have achieved so far?
• Where would you be?
• What does your perfect day look like?
• What would you be doing?

It's essential to concentrate on the final outcome or at least a waypoint in your life. Don't think about how you'll get there yet—the that's next step. Allow yourself to return to this vision every day, even if only for a few minutes. Maintain your vision in the forefront of your mind.

Taking Action

You must be ready to take action. You will never be able to change the results unless you change your focus and habits.

You are responsible for the momentum; it will be up to you to take the actions on your own unless you choose to have the support, encouragement, guidance, and accountability that a coach provides.

The creative process begins with a thought, a great idea, a passionate drive, or a hope of achieving something magnificent. These are the intangible sparks that ignite our ambition to progress and make the intangible a reality.

Begin by jotting down ideas on paper. Don't censor your thoughts or ideas during the first brainstorming session. Start with your personal vision, if you are working on both your personal and professional visions identify what you want and how you want to spend your time.

This will provide you with complete clarity on what is essential to you, what you want, and what aspects of your life you are passionate about and make you feel fulfilled. From there, you can construct a vision for your dream business or profession and take action to make it a reality. Concentrate on what you truly desire, and be as specific as possible. Don't simply state that you want a lot of money, a nice home, and no stress. Make a mental picture of exactly what you want, down to the color of the carpet and the list of clients, and then draw that picture with words until your vision is clear.

Final Thoughts

You create what you focus your attention on. If you focus on everything you don't want, everything you don't have enough of, that's what you'll get more of. Begin by imagining what you want.

Begin with your vision; clearly define your life, career, and business goals, and then take the necessary actions to make them a reality. In my Creative Goal Setting Masterclass, I teach how to become clear about your true desires that align with what you are truly craving in your life. Then I walk you through how to incorporate visualizations into your days, so you can create a life you love, that is filled with joy and ease as you accomplish your goals. If you would like to get on the waitlist for the next online masterclass please visit my website: www.createyourbestliferetreats.com

In order to create what you want in your life you need to focus on what you want, in other words, "the having". If you want money, you must focus on it. If you want a relationship, make it your priority to have the relationship of your dreams. Focus on becoming fit if you want a fit body.

However, in order to consciously "create" the life of your dreams and have the money, relationship, health, fit body, or whatever else you desire, you must focus your mind on it. Visualizations and even daydreaming can help with this.  What will it take to give you the feeling of having it now? That is how you will construct the life of your dreams intentionally.

The Power of Visualization

Everything that you want to happen in life must first occur in your imagination. This is where visualizations can help. If you can visualize yourself accomplishing this goal and enjoying a happy life, you will be more likely to succeed. Athletes often use the power of visualizations, picturing their desired outcome over and over in their mind, until doing it is second nature.  

That is why having a life vision is important. You must see what you want out of life so clearly that you can see it every day. It takes time to build your ideal life, but once you do, you can make it a reality. It all begins with you.

Many people believe they can accomplish whatever goals they set, but do not follow through. However, if you take action toward achieving a goal, you must continue even if you fail. Learn from your mistakes, but don't let them define you as a person.

You get stronger and smarter as a result of these lessons. When you discover something new about yourself, you change for the better. You are not a failure as a person simply because you failed at something.

Begin by making a vision board so you can clearly see what you want in life. You can begin with a word or mission statement that embodies the type of life you wish to live.

After you've established your word/mission statement, make a list of everything in your life that you want to improve. Consider the specifics of each day, such as eating a healthy diet or trying to communicate better with a loved one. 

It can be difficult to keep your thoughts under control. That is something I believe we can all agree on. So rather than attempting to control your thoughts all the time, use an approach I am going to name "chunking". Set out a chunk of 15 minutes at a time to intentionally imagine what you want. You can do it while doing something else, such as driving, exercising, or vacuuming the home. But it is best to do it right after waking up, or right before going to sleep. During that moment, fantasize and visualize the end result in your mind. Consider what you would feel, see, hear, and touch if you could have your heart's desire. Make use of all of your senses. Enjoy your "daydream chunk" as much as you possibly can.

Making Time

Plan and prepare accordingly once you've determined what you want out of life. Make sure you're working hard enough to meet your goals while still finding time for fun activities that will allow you to unwind and enjoy yourself.

Maintain your focus on your dreams by asking yourself why you started doing something in the first place so that you are encouraged to continue. Even though it seems impossible right now, keep in mind that everything happens for a reason.

A happy attitude generates positive energy and improves outcomes. Remind yourself of a happier memory if you are faced with a negative situation.

For instance, if you are concerned over a problem, recall the happiest time you spent with someone special. This could include going for a walk, having dinner, dancing, or viewing fireworks. Positive thoughts produce positive outcomes.

Remember that the secret to achieving anything is to be optimistic and think that you can do it. Nothing can stop us from achieving our goals as long as we remain confident and believe in ourselves. “Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t you are right.” - Henry Ford

Use Affirmations to Help You Visualize

An affirmation is a statement that recalls not only a mental image but also the sensation of already having what you desire. Repeating an affirmation numerous times a day helps you stay focused on your objective, boosts your motivation, and programs your subconscious by giving an order to your brain to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

Live in the Moment

Although daily visualization exercise is important, we don't need to spend all day thinking about our goals for this technique to succeed. In fact, spending too much time visualizing can deprive you of something essential: living in the current moment.

Daily rituals assist in finding the appropriate balance between thinking about the future and living in the now. Begin by deciding on a time when you will examine your goals and imagine your success. Do this ideally twice a day, first thing in the morning and shortly before bed.

It's time to let go once you've visualized each goal as completed. Allow yourself to let go of your ambitions and spend the rest of the day in the present moment.

Remember

You will be well on your way to consciously producing your heart's desire if you learn this practice. Your daily acts will decide the quality of your life. Maintain your commitment to your goals and build the life you want because you can. 

If you have ever set goals before, but failed to achieve them, it may have been because you did not create a specific plan of action to accomplish those goals.

Taking the time to set goals is only part of the process of goal setting, and many people often overlook the other part, creating a plan!

Without a plan, your goals remain incomplete. It’s like having a destination but without a map. Your goals tell you where you want to go in life, and your plan tells you how to get there.

What Is a Goal Plan?

A goal plan is simply a list of scheduled activities that you will do sometime in the future. These may include activities done over a series of days, weeks, months or even years depending on the type of goal you set for yourself.

 Your plan does not have to be completed perfectly the first time. Usually, you will find that your first attempt at creating a goal plan will be vague and incomplete. Don’t worry this is ok. Plans should be flexible and so are likely to be constantly updated as you move towards completing your primary goal.

 In your plan you should therefore create a series of steps, you think you need in order to accomplish that goal. So think of it like baking a cake. Your ultimate goal is to make a cake (and eat it!), but the ingredients and the things you do with those ingredients are your plan. Once you complete the plan, you complete your goal.

 Creating a goal plan is frequently overlooked, and many people discipline themselves to write their goals every day but create no plan! So make sure you take the time to decide where you want to go (your goals) and then create a plan that will tell you how to get there!

Write Down Your Goals 

Planning, a pad of paper, a pen, and a few minutes of your time are all necessary for success. Start with the Three Goal Method: in less than 30 seconds, jot down your three most significant life objectives right now.

Whatever three goals you manage to jot down are most likely an accurate representation of what you would like in life. Writing down your goals brings them into the physical world, allowing you to begin to create an action plan to achieve them.

Visualization 

In addition to your goal plan, it is also a good idea to use visualization to help clarify in your mind exactly what you want to achieve. This can simply involve thinking about your goals, and imagining them as completed when you go to bed. You can do this for about 10 minutes (or longer if you want) before you fall to sleep, and you will be surprised at what a difference it makes in achieving your goals. One of the main reasons visualization before sleep is so effective, is that it provides easy access to the subconscious mind. Thereby allowing you to program your goals into your mind, increasing the likelihood you will accomplish them.

How To Create a Plan

Plan ahead of time for each day, week, and month. Each month, plan at the beginning of the month; each week, plan the weekend before; and each day, plan the evening before.

The more thorough and precise your planning of activities and tasks, the more you will complete in less time. According to the rule, every minute spent preparing saves 10 minutes of implementation time.

Then, as you move through each day of your plan, choose your top priority for the day.

Remember 

Making and setting goals isn't always easy, but it will improve your life once you get into the habit of doing so. You'll be surprised at how much easier your tasks feel once you've planned them ahead of time.

Effective time management is a critical skill to learn if you want to be more productive and reach your goals easily and quickly. Effective time management involves completing more essential tasks in less time each day. Good time management is important since you only have so much time each day to achieve your goals.

Learning how to successfully manage your time will help you reduce stress and feel in control of your time. Ineffective time management lowers effectiveness and causes overwhelm and distraction.

Developing these skills is comparable to beginning a new workout routine. It may be difficult to stay motivated, form new routines, and exercise muscles you've never used when you first begin. But, as with exercise, you'll look back on your success months later and be glad you persisted.

In this article, I’ll share eight time management tips for effective time management. These time management tips will help you set better goals, prioritize effectively, plan your time, and increase your productivity.

1. Clarify your goals and strategy

Be very clear about your short and long-term desires and goals. Make a note of them. When you know what you actually want to achieve (and why), it's easier to decide what needs to be done and plan appropriately.

2. Focus on your top priorities

You've probably told yourself that you don't have enough time to complete a task. However, if you think about it, you do have time. You've let other tasks take priority.

Understanding your top priorities and allocating sufficient time for important tasks are essential for effective time management. It also helps with the organization of your daily calendar, allowing you to keep on track throughout the day.

Examine your current task list and prioritize it based on two factors: the task's value and the risk of not completing it. Then, tackle your to-do list by allocating time to each task.

3. Create a daily planner and schedule your time

Make a list of the tasks you need to complete that day, and make a note of any future meetings or deadlines. Tick off the things you have finished as you go through your list. This reduces anxiety over not having enough time and keeps you focused.

4. Say no!

Saying "no" isn't always easy, but it's a good approach to setting limits for yourself and the people around you. When a new task comes that can wait till later or that you cannot handle, be confident in saying "no."  Don’t allow others to divert you from your objectives.

5. Avoid the urge to multitask

This is one of the most basic time management techniques for work, but it is also one of the most difficult to implement. Concentrate on the task at hand and eliminate all distractions. It may be tempting to multitask, but doing so is a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot. Switching from one work to another wastes time and reduces productivity.

Similarly, don't become overwhelmed with a mile-long to-do list. Stressing about it will not make it go faster. Make sure to plan your day ahead with achievable goals.

6. Take a reality check

Will your current activity have a positive outcome, or are you doing it to avoid something else? Ask yourself – will doing this take me toward my goal? As Peter F Drucker observed, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

7. Delegate!

It’s tempting to do something yourself when you think you can do it faster and better. But consider the long term – delegation now will save time in the future, and if done appropriately can motivate your staff, boost their confidence and help them develop their skills.

8. Balance your life

Formally schedule personal activities too, so you make time for family, friends, your health, and fun because having a balanced life reduces stress and increases energy levels. Time management is really about life management!

Remember

Remember to be kind with yourself as you learn to integrate these time management techniques into your daily routine. Creating new habits is challenging; allow yourself enough time to incorporate those habits into your everyday routines.

These time management tips will help you reduce stress, overcome distractions, and ensure you finish each day feeling like you accomplished what matters.