How to Finally Find Time for What Matters with Backwards Planning Primer

The trick to take advantage of time and achieve what is really important to you.

I don’t know you, but I know this about you: you don’t have enough time for everything you want to do.

The list is long. Enjoy a romantic date night. Escape for a weekend and walk through nature. Work out at the gym to finally get in shape. Watch your kids play their first little league game. Read an investment book and work on your financial freedom.

But you’re busy with your morning coffee, your day job, and the evening news. You follow your established routines day after day, trying to get things “somewhere.”

But some place is neither the time of day nor the day of the week. At one point, you look back and realize that, despite your efforts, you have spent most of your time on trivialities and distractions instead of important things.

If you want to do what matters, you have to plan backwards.

Step 1: Start with the end in mind to determine your values

Most people walk through life without a clear plan, so they follow someone else’s.

Society has channeled them into the narrative of the house with the picket fence, two kids from 9 to 5.

Instead of creating the life they want, they are stuck in meaningless routines that lead nowhere, briefly interrupted by painful awakenings and empty promises.

On New Year’s Eve, they analyze their life and their bad habits, wonder where they went wrong, and vow to do better next year, only to end up in the same place again.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The best way to reach the end you want is to think about your own.

Ask yourself: “When I die, what kind of life do I want to remember? How do I want others to remember me? How do I want to have spent my time?”

In simple words, death doesn’t suck. When you realize that one day you will take your last breath, your excuses no longer matter. Just the cold, hard reality.

As I thought about my ending, I realized that many things I spent time on didn’t matter at all. Who cares if I wore the fanciest sneakers, was the hardest working employee, or if everyone praised me?

Instead, I realized that I wanted the freedom to see the world, meaningful connections with a select few people, and the presence to consciously enjoy every moment of my life.

Whatever your goal, keep it in mind in everything you do.

Step 2: Use small commitments to create big change

Your dreams, goals and ambitions mean nothing if you don’t act on them.

It’s simple: if you don’t dedicate time to them, they become a pile of duties, desires and desires.

For years I have wanted to improve the connection with my mother. I love her and I don’t want to attend her funeral – or mine – with resentment towards her. But instead of letting it become just another item on the long list of things I should do, I decided to get to the point.

I called her and told her about my plan to book a vacation together so we could soak up the Italian sun, eat copious amounts of pizza and pasta, and talk heart to heart. Now that we have a flight and hotel booked, the chances of this not happening are slim to none. No excuses, no changing my mind, no bullshit – just planning backwards and forcing myself to do what matters.

Advance planning is about trying to fit things together. Backward planning means keeping the end in mind and spending time on what matters.

The reason rushing things is so stressful and prone to failure is that it is inherently last minute. The Back Planning framework takes the values ​​you identified in Step 1 and places on your calendar the things that are important to you in the long term. forcing the rest of your life will flow around them when the time finally comes.

• Schedule a date night with your spouse on the calendar for 3 weeks from now
• Do you want to spend more time with your children outdoors? Choose an 8-week weekend to go camping.
• Do you have a desire to be more social? Invite your friends over for game night next month.
• Do you want to be healthy and in good shape? Block out three spaces per week for exercise.
• Do you want to have a great connection with your family? Block out time in 5 months for a weekend getaway.
• Do you want to be financially independent? Block out a specific time every day to work on your side hustle.

It’s simple, but most people still don’t do it.

Nothing It will change if you continue with your daily life and try to do things well. Instead, you need to sit down and do time for what matters. You must ask yourself what you must do to reach the goal you want.

Do this every week, month and year. Block time. Put it on your agenda. Then fight tooth and nail to protect it, because affairs.

The choice is yours

Time management is simple: make what’s important a priority.

But good intentions are nothing without actions. The waves of everyday life will always try to wash away your commitments. Keep the ending in mind, plan backwards and stick to it.

Every day, you choose what your future will be like.

Would you say? “I wish I had done it” either “Am I glad I did it?”

Your time is your greatest asset: make sure you spend it on what matters.