Brian Tracy is America’s one of the most sought after achievement trainer and self-improvement guru.

For the past few days, I have been listening to his lectures on “Time Management” while commuting to the office. I could relate to several things that he advocates in that lecture series. There are several things in Time Management that I follow but there are several that I do not, but intend to follow.

Hearing through the lecture I was amazed to learn so many time management techniques that help one to organize everything related to family and profession and lead a virtually stressfree life. I started thinking who amongst my peers, seniors, friends and family follow many of these techniques given by Brian Tracy. I note that T P Anand, my closest friend of many years and a guest writer in this blog comes out as the most organized and amazingly fantastic time manager. Incidentally, the previous post on this blog was by T P Anand and it dwells on management of time in our daily routines.

Clocks off to him.

I recall how he planned every hour of my two pleasure trips that I had made during July 2009 to Dubai. He had printed a time table and had listed out a schedule for the entire period of my stay from arrival into his house to catching the flight back to Kuwait. I bet, even Barrack Obama’s travel itineraries would not have been planned that precisely.

Listening through the audio of Brian Tracy, I liked the quote “By the Yard it is Hard but inch by inch it is a cinch”.

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Every day when we get up in the morning we are opening a new leaf in our life. It gives us a great feeling when we get up in the morning and start thinking about what is in store for us during the day.

As the day progresses we confront some unplanned activity which happens on most of the days. The execution of the planned as well as the unplanned activity during a day depends entirely on how well or ill organised we are.

It is good to follow a daily routine list so as to structure our day to day living. This structured approach will also help in executing both planned as well as the unplanned activity during the day with the best of our abilities.

The daily routine also paves the way for defining our lifestyle which is very important for a healthy and happy living.

I have been visiting Dr.Gandhi Murugan in Dubai for regular BP Checkup as I am under his treatment for Hypertension since 2006. He advised me to change my lifestyle and I took his advice very seriously in August 2010.

We have only 24 hours in a day and out of that 8 hours are spent in sleep. Out of the remaining 16 hours 3 hours are spent on shower, shave, nature’s call, dressing, reading newspaper, having morning Tea/Coffee and having food (breakfast, lunch and Dinner).

Out of the balance 13 hours we need about 11 hours for going to work (including commuting time). We are then left with only 2 hours for ourselves. We have to pack so many things in that 2 hours – Exercise, Self Improvement, Family, Friends, Personal emails, Phone Calls, Chats, etc.

Packing so many activities in that 2 hours which is the prime time in the evening is the challenge faced by many of us. We end up doing some compromise or the other and we also end up postponing things. If we give priority for family then we cannot spend time with friends. If we give priority for emails, phone calls and chats then we cannot have
time for exercise or self improvement.

It is a huge task to manage the time and rank priorities in life. The things that are paramount in staying healthy and happy with a positive mindset are Physical Exercise; Attention to Family; Personal Time to Think/Introspect/Stay positive.

Luckily the above crunch for time happens only on Weekdays and the weekends are the days to spend quality time with family and friends. We get 11 hours on each weekend as free time as we do not go to work. This time needs to be entirely devoted for Family, Friends and Self Improvement.

Time flies and we cannot control the movement of the clock. The best way to control our activities and fit into a cramped day is to regiment. Nothing works better than regimentation.

Going to bed at 10 p.m. is the key to success. Most of us have difficulty in this as we tend to extend the day beyond 10 p.m. because of phone calls or internet browsing or chatting or watching Television. It is extremely important to cut out the activities and defining the timelines for each activity so that the day definitely ends at 10 p.m. Unless
we fix this we will not be able to start the day the next morning at 6 a.m. Hence I feel the most important daily routine should be to go to bed at 10 p.m.

The first alarm should be at 6 a.m. After a beautiful dream filled night sleep the most irritating thing is the first alarm. It is inevitable though irritable and hence have the first alarm at 6 a.m. The second alarm should be at 6.05 and the third one at 6.10. The second alarm brings us to reality that it has dawned into the next morning. The third alarm will
help us to prepare for the rise up in the morning. By 6.15 latest we should be out of the bed. The next 30 minutes can be spent on brushing your teeth, attending to nature’s call, having the first morning coffee/tea and going through the newspaper.

6.45 to 7.30 should be devoted for Physical Exercise. It is extremely important to do the physical exercise in the morning preferably on empty stomach. The first coffee or tea in the morning should be taken ideally after the physical exercise.

After the Exercise we can devote another 45 minutes for shave, shower, dressing up and breakfast. By 8.15 a.m. we have to leave for work.

It is always better to start the day at work with a plan – make a “things to do” list and provide time for unplanned activity which will come your way from your boss. The regimentation at work will help to finish all the tasks by 6 p.m. and leave the office latest by 6.30 p.m.

If you reach home by 7 p.m. you should spend a good one hour with the Family. Sharing your day’s experiences and getting to know theirs is a great way of spending time with Family. Watching TV with the Family is certainly not considered as time spent with family.

Dinner should be finished before 9 p.m. If you are able to strictly follow this practice of having dinner before 9 p.m. then it will be very easy to go to bed by 9.45 – 10 p.m. Ideally 15 minutes before sleeping we should sit and think. Thinking is very important part of the daily routine as this keeps us focused on top priorities; it helps to introspect on
what has happened during the day; it helps to plan for the next day and above all it will help us to stay positive.

I have been following a regimented daily routine for the last over 8 weeks. I get up at 6.15 a.m. in the morning and go for a brisk walk at 6.45 a.m. I get back home from morning walk at 7.30 a.m.

I reach office before 8.30 a.m. and plan my day’s work. I take a heavy lunch at 1 p.m. and follow it up with a nap for 20 minutes. The short nap in the afternoon really helps me to keep fresh in the post lunch session.

When I get back home in the evening I get busy with dish washing, cooking and cleaning which is a good way to relax and unwind. I finish my dinner before 9 p.m. and the next one hour is spent on telphone calls, chats, emails, sudoku. I go to bed by 10 p.m.

The change in my daily routine over the last 8 weeks has really made me feel healthy and fresh throughout the day. I am able to think better and focus better on both personal matters as well as the official matters.

T.P. ANAND
DUBAI , U.A.E.
14th October 2010

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Tips to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is an active one. As well as planned exercise (e.g. 30 minutes three times a week) you should also incorporate activity into your day-to-day life. The following are some ideas to help you to incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle.

• Take the stairs instead of lifts or elevators.
• If you work in a large office, walk to talk to your colleagues, rather than picking up the phone.
• If you use buses, get off a stop or two earlier and walk.
• Don’t worry about finding a car park next to the supermarket or shop entrance. By the time you have found a close park you could have walked from a further, empty and less stressful space!
• For small amounts of shopping or other errands use a bicycle instead of the car, saving you money and the hassle of finding a park. If you live in a town, you will probably save time and if you live in the country you can enjoy the countryside.
• If you have a cordless phone, walk and talk.

Best of walk!

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These simple steps will take you on a path to honoring your uniqueness every day. Use them as a way to see how you are doing. Celebrate what is working, and choose to make adjustments where there is adjustment necessary.

1. Take time for quiet daily. Yes, there is much that needs to get done. Once you maintain a habit of being quiet either to contemplate, pray, meditate you will be amazed how much more efficiently you will perform your tasks, duties and projects.

2. Treat yourself with as much care, if not more, than you treat others. Love and nurture yourself as you love and nurture those around you OR as you would LIKE to nurture those around you. Once you master caring for yourself, caring for others will become effortless and spring from the heart instead of from duty.

3. Accept compliments from others with grace. Never, ever disrespect the person you are complimenting by disregarding or negating their compliment. Instead, accept it as you would a treasure box or a long awaited gift. Be grateful they can see something extra special about you!
4. Spend time investing in and cultivating close friendships. Incorporate friend building activities into your daily routine. Exercise with a friend, share meals together, keep in touch with a brief email or 10 minute daily phone call (and time the call and KEEP the appointment.)

5. Surround yourself with beauty. Honor your home by decorating as a way to express who you are at your core. If you are bold, use bold colors and accessories. Light scented candles, listen to music you love, use soaps that are lathery and smell great. Go for the multi sensory approach.

6. Give joyfully and receive with open arms. Recognize that giving and receiving are on the same continuum and not separate at all! Learning to give completely translates into receiving more than you could ever plan or expect to receive. The results take care of themselves.

7. Become a part of a larger community. This may mean a mastermind group or it may be a circle of friends or a book discussion group. Connect yourself with people who share your interests, goals and vision for the world. Synergy will empower you incredibly when you join in a community where you can equally give and receive on a very regular basis.

8. Mentor someone simply for the pleasure of observing and becoming involved in their growth. Invite someone who does not have the same level as skills as you do along for the ride with you. Listen to their input and see what you can create together. Chances are you will learn a lot from them (and vice versa!) creating both a Win/Win situation as well as learning about your own strengths and weaknesses in the process.

9. Live a purposeful, vision, values, cause oriented life. Recognize and embrace that you are creating your life as a masterful artist each and every day. You can choose each day whether you want to simply let life happen each day or if you want to create it fully. Choose the latter.

10. Love yourself with all your heart, soul, and strength without attachment to what you are achieving in your life today. Be compassionate and understanding while also standing firm in the knowledge that you are both incredibly unique and incredibly capable. When you can master this balance, being attached to your outcomes is not an issue because you will be achieving outcomes beyond your own imagination. You will be so magnetic you will wonder where YOU have been all this time! The answer? You are RIGHT there, ready and waiting to follow these simple principles.

Live with Passion. Start today.

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