Ask any entrepreneur what their most valuable commodity is and, they’ll probably say it’s their time. Unlike money, resources, ideas and faith (which can all increase) time remains constant; no matter whom you are or what you do, there are only 24 hours in a day to live your dreams and goals. So, why do entrepreneurs often struggle with time? Especially, taking time for you?

As a conscious entrepreneur, you most likely have an abundance of creative ideas you want to implement in your business. And, it’s not unreasonable for you to stay up late or perhaps work on weekends to pursue the passion that wants to be expressed through your business. Taking time to pursue your dreams in this way is part of the entrepreneurial journey (as long as you’re not working late every night).

But, what about sacred time for yourself? Time for you to reconnect with your spiritual essence, time for reflection, meditation, contemplation and insight; time to pray, journal and ask for God’s guidance? This is the most valuable time you’ll ever experience, and it has a direct effect on your bottom-line.

With the accelerated journey I’m on after the release of my book (The Freedom Formula) on Amazon.com, I’m remembering how much of a priority it is to give myself the sacred gift of time… it’s as essential to my success as my marketing is. And, it is for you, too.

Recently, I’ve been shifting into some new ways to enjoy the sacred gift of time to simply be with myself, and with God. I’d like to share two of these with you right now in hopes that you, too, will commit to enjoying more time taking care of your heart and soul.

1. Journaling. One of my favorite ways to connect with my soul is through journaling. I love how the words simply flow from my pen. Sometimes I’ll write about those things I’m grateful for; sometimes I’ll write about a specific issues that hasn’t been resolved and ask for the solution to reveal itself to me; sometimes I’ll write about a recent success and everything I learned through that experience; sometimes I’ll simply begin by writing, “today I feel…” and take it from there; sometimes I write about the miracles that show up in my life everyday. Your journaling options are truly endless.

One of the most joyous things I’m experiencing in my recent journaling is that I’m writing in a journal I created myself. With the guidance of some creative friends at the Evolutionary Women’s Retreat, I took a simple composition book and proceeded to decorate the cover (and every single page inside) with beautiful words and photos I cut from magazines. Now, when I open my journal, I receive a unique message on every page… sometimes that message alone is the prompt for my journal entry.

So, I encourage you to take a look at your own experience with journaling and if you haven’t done it in a while, or simply need to shift the intention for your journaling, now is the time. Enjoy this sacred time to communicate with the essence of who you really are.

2. Mindful Walking. This is another one of my favorite ways to connect with myself and embrace some time to simply BE, and remember my Divine nature. Often I find my mind becomes still when my body is in motion, so mindful walking really works for me. With this activity, I have changed my usual cardiovascular exercise routine (on the elliptical with techno music playing on my iPod) to a glorious morning walk around my hilly neighborhood listening to inspirational songs by Karen Drucker.

The beauty of mindful walking is that you simultaneously take care of your physical body, while nourishing your soul with the nature that surrounds you and the gift of inspirational music that lifts your spirit. I’ll often find myself singing along, “When I start my day with love, that’s what I get more of, is love.” And, you can’t help but have a glorious day when it begins like this!

Mornings are a bummer to most people, since apparently sleeping in is a very trendy thing to do. However, with a few simple tricks, mornings don’t have to be so lame! If you could rearrange your first few waking hours to boost your motivation, your entire day can be incredibly productive and fruitful.

How you schedule your morning can be a tricky thing, though, since there’s no sure-fire way for everybody. Most people do something along the lines of waking up, then showering, and then eating breakfast. All in all, these three steps take about one to two hours. But what if there was some better way to schedule your mornings?

Luckily, there is! There are a variety of ways to reset your morning routine to make it more productive, and to set the tone for a fabulous day. However, to save you the time, I created this article, which will hopefully introduce you to several ways to make your mornings brighter. This article was influenced by Steve Pavlina’s “How to Create a Personal Productivity Scaffold” post, but I threw in some of my own viewpoints and things that have worked for me so you can get a deeper understanding into purely the morning routines.

Plan your day out the night before.

Yes, this advice has been given by countless other people. But tested time and time again, it always holds its water.

By planning the next day the night before, you get a clear look of what you have to do the next day. Instead of scrambling around the next morning attempting to make a to-do list, you already cleared the air so that you can get straight to working on your first major project when you wake up.

You can schedule anything the night before for the next day. Seeing as this article is for a more productive morning, however, I think it’d be apt to give a small list of how you can begin your morning:

• A quick breakfast
• Meditating, praying, or quiet reflecting
• Reading personal development literature
• Journaling (my personal favorite!)
• Reviewing minor and major goals
• Modifying minor and major goals
• Exercising at home, going for a walk or jog around the neighborhood
• A short practice time for a skill, such as cooking or piano practice
• Getting quick, easy tasks done, such as paying bills or checking email

Of course, that’s if you want a productive morning. There are also some things you don’t want to do, such as:

• Read gossip websites
• Read the newspaper or watch the TV news
• Get distracted by singing along to music (God knows how many times this one has got me!)
• Losing sight of the big picture of the day: to get things done

But I know you would never do any of those things in the latter list, right? (I’m not saying that watching the news or reading the paper or any of those things are bad ways to start your morning - but more often than not, people engage in those activities and lose track of time.)

Get up when your alarm goes off.

Don’t sleep in! Sleeping in is a bullet in the heart of morning productivity. If you sleep in, you tell your brain “ah, it’s okay, we don’t have to be productive today!”

Just get up! Don’t think about how much sleep you got the night before - human beings can run on less than 4 hours a sleep if needed. Don’t think about how nice your bed feels - there are better feelings out there (like eating! :P). If needed, set your alarm clock on the opposite side of the room to purposely make you get out of bed. That simple trick always works for me!

As a sidenote on the topic of getting up, I’ve never noticed there to be a specific”best” time to get up in the morning. Some people like to get up at 4:30am and get started on their projects by 5am, other people like to sleep in until 10am and not start their day until 11am. Personally, I’ve tried getting up at all times between 4:30am and 4:30pm, and getting up at about 5am is perfect for me. If I get up past 10am, I feel like the majority of the day was already wasted, and I’m not nearly as half as productive as I would be if I got up at 5am. Experiment, log your results, and see what works for you. There is no right or wrong answer as to what time you need to get up. (Unless you have a “real” job… then I guess that really does set up a right time…)

Eat breakfast.

Studies have shown again and again that (a healthy) breakfast is needed to fuel your brain and can alter how you think for the rest of the day. Some people, like me, prefer smaller breakfasts such as a bowl of oatmeal, while other people like large breakfasts, such as the whole bacon, eggs, and toast meal. Find out what works for you, and eat up! It’ll make you feel good, and keep you energized for the entire morning.

Schedule productive things you enjoy doing.

It doesn’t matter if you have the most glistening, brilliant, productive day scheduled out - if it’s full of tasks you loathe even laying a finger on, that schedule would have more use lining a bird cage. You need to put activities in your morning routine that you enjoy doing. Hate to exercise and would rather have scalding water thrown on your body instead? Don’t schedule to exercise right when you wake up! Morning routines should be motivational; they should inspire you to step forward into your day with your head held high, with the feeling that you can accomplish anything!

Also, your morning routine should consist of productive tasks. Why? Because by doing productive, small things, you accomplish a lot of very mini-goals and objectives, which makes your subconscious think you can accomplish much greater things later in the day. (For some reason, I find this to be incredibly true.) So, don’t take a nap 20 minutes after you awake! Read a personal development blog instead. Don’t take an hour long shower - take a quick 10 minute one so you can get right to work. Relaxing can come later - productivity comes first.

Don’t slack off!

How you decide to spend your first few hours of the day alters your entire day. If you get up, loaf around, take an hour and a half for breakfast followed by a 45 minute shower, you effectively wasted over two and a half hours of your day… and most likely won’t have the motivation to continue onward to accomplish real things. However, if you immediately get up at 5:30am, eat a quick 15 minute breakfast, exercise for half an hour, then take a 15 minute shower, by 6:30 you’re dressed, ready to go, and are energized and alert to tackle your first assignment of the day. Of course, this can work for any time of the day - you might have had the laziest morning of all, and at 1pm decide to kick it into high gear and get more done in 2 hours than you did for the last 8 hours you were awake. But wouldn’t it be nicer to get everything done in the morning, and then take a well deserved break in the afternoon?

An Example of My Mornings

Here’s an example of how I lead most of my mornings, from when I get up to when I start my day:

• Wake up!
• 15 minutes: Eat a quick breakfast (oatmeal, a bowl of cereal and two pieces of toast, etc.)
• 30 minutes: Some form of exercise (not necessarily my main exercise for the day, but maybe a light exercise such as walking around the neighborhood or very light jogging)
• 15 minutes: Shower
• 10 minutes: Review short and long-term goals I’d like to accomplish
• 15 minutes: Journal about my goals, what I’d like to accomplish during the day, and anything else that comes to mind

Procrastination is the biggest enemy of creativity. It is very destructive. Procrastination is a habit, which will never allow you to fulfill the purpose of your life. You’ll never reach, where you want to be. If you are a procrastinator, you have to deal with its consequences.

The consequences of procrastination are mostly devastating and often far-reaching. One of the effects of procrastination is fatigue. Out of habit, you keep postponing tasks and thus you become mentally fatigued. The reason behind getting fatigued is because of procrastination, the sense of accomplishment is not achieved, as we don’t complete the task. Thus, it lowers our self-confidence also. Our sense of well-being is also jeopardized. Fatigue is not the end; instead it is just the starting. Fatigue can lead to serious illness like depression, junk sleep or sleeplessness.

All this leads to emotional tiredness. The best way to get out of it is to “load-off” the tensions from your mind and start a new. Try to fix one matter and then switch on to the other. Don’t jump into anything. Things take time to get on the track; so don’t expect results overnight.

Another consequence of procrastination is many people cannot show their true potential, be it in their studies or work, because of procrastination. Procrastination has all kinds of negative effects linked with it. People have so much talent in them, but can’t show because procrastination has empowered them to a level so low they think all is hopeless and it is useless to try just about anything. Thus, in the end, they blame the circumstances, for things not going right.

Most important consequence of procrastination is it makes an easy task very difficult. The task keeps on getting postponed and ultimately acquires monstrous proportions, which is very difficult to handle. So, instead of avoiding the problem, we get trapped into more devastating situation.

Listen your reading this for a reason and that is because you know procrastination is a problem and you need to do something.

Congratulations you are half way home and your world did not fall apart; did it?

Once you take that first step and see that achieving the simplest of goals and not procrastinating you will immediately began to reduce stress and when you see the positive effect it will have a snow ball effect over and over until you will develop a mindset to finish the task at hand without even giving it a second thought.

Everyone starts big projects and gets overwhelmed by them sometimes. They can take a long time to complete and problems crop up so you wonder whether it is worth carrying on.

But you know you won’t achieve anything of you give up, so what you have to so is find ways to stick at a project.

1. Break the task down into manageable chunks

One of the most important ways to manage your workload and stick at a project without being overwhelmed by it is to break tasks down into manageable bits.

For instance, you might want to set yourself a small task to read one chapter; to write a one page; to work for 45 minutes. Then once you’ve done that, you could allow yourself a break of 5 or 10 minutes and then do another 45 minutes of work.

You’ll get through your workload more happily and therefore more efficiently for allowing yourself to do this, because your brain can focus totally on the immediate task at hand because it knows you will be fair and give it a break then.

2. Reward yourself

Always remember to reward yourself for being motivated in doing a job or task; this encourages motivation by dwelling on your strengths and making sure that you know you can be successful. That helps you stay in a positive frame of mind, rather that going into panic mode that you can’t do something.

3. Look at the problem from a different angle

If you feel you are getting stuck, rather than just stopping work and giving up, look to a different strategy. Remember, anxiety will slow you down.

Breaking off from a task for a long time and doing something else won’t relieve the anxiety that you can’t actually do the task. Working out how to solve the problem will help you complete the task and get it off your mind.

4. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today

It’s an old saying but there is a lot of sense in it. Putting off difficult choices or unpleasant tasks will just make it harder to tackle them in the future.

Don’t delay the task until what you think is the perfect time or perhaps when you’re in the mood. That perfect time will never come. Start now.

5. Take regular breaks and get plenty of sleep. If you’re tired or there are just too many thoughts buzzing around your head, you’ll procrastinate because thinking straight has just becomeway too difficult.

6. Don’t multitask

This can be counterproductive. That muddies the waters in the same way as fatigue does because you’re never sure what to concentrate on and your mind keeps straying back to the other tasks you have lined up and slotted in between.

Simply begin a project and finish it before you move on, so you plough all your energies into that one project and get it done quicker and better.

7. If you have several priorities competing for your time, give yourself a sense of accomplishment by actually completing the easiest task first.

It will feel so good once it’s ticked off your list of things to do. You will have got somewhere with your time and effort and your subconscious mind soaks up the idea that you can be a success, so you stay in a positive and productive frame of mind.

8. Keep your workspace organized so that you can concentrate on each project rather than what clutter is surrounding you.

9. Eliminate any possible distractions before beginning a large or complicated task.

10. If you feel you are getting tired of the task and there is a long way to go, get to where it’s beyond the half way point before you stop. When you go to pick that up again, you’ll actually have less than have to do! That’s a great psychological boost which gets you motivated to start work again.

Have you ever thought about authoring a novel? Picking up a new hobby? Speaking another language? Do you know someone who wants to study for a new career? Spend more quality time with their children? Get fit and exercise more regularly?

Have you yearned to spend more time on the golf course? More time with your friends? More time pampering yourself?

Would you do more with your life if only you had more time?

Ever since I can remember I have been interested in what drives people, what makes them do what they do and why some people success and others just seem to tread water.

Probably like me you’ve occasionally met someone who seems to have fitted into their life so much more than the average human being… we usually dismiss them as freaks, non-sleepers or super achievers.

I was listening to a conversation in an office the other day and it went a little like this…

“John ran a marathon last week. He trains for 2 hours every night you know.”

“Yes, I did and he just finished his Open University degree too. I’d like to do something like that but I just don’t have the time!”

“Me neither.”

How common is this kind of conversation?

“I would if only I had more time!”

Most of us hear it every day. Probably many of us say it too. We say things like, “I’m rushed off my feet” or “I can’t cope with everything I have to do” or “If only I had more time”.

So here’s my simple answer…

Stop watching television!

That’s it. Stop watching television!

Seriously, how much TV do you watch? When I walk into most houses the TV is on in the background… all of the time. When I get into offices in the morning all that people are talking about is what was on TV last night.

It’s laughable really. People who want more from their lives but spend their time living it vicariously through fictitious or reality TV stars.

How much more time would you have if you stopped watching TV? How much this evening? This week? This month? Over the next year? Over the next 10 years?

What could you do with that kind of time?

Could you learn a new language? Help out at the local hospice? Get out and take up that new sport? Learn to ride a horse? Learn how to invest well for your retirement? Set up a part-time business to get you out of debt or start you on your way to your fortune?

I’ve done a bit of research on TV watching for you…

1 United Kingdom: 28 hours per person per week - 2 United States: 28 hours per person per week - 3 Italy: 27 hours per person per week - 4 Ireland: 23 hours per person per week - 5 Germany: 23 hours per person per week…

And what’s more TV is addictive! The more you watch the more you want to watch. How many people do you know who rush home to watch certain TV shows abandoning other activities? How many people do you know who tape TV shows whilst they are out to watch them later on? How many people do you know who would get annoyed if they missed an episode of a favourite soap or series?

These are all signs of addiction. TV is an addiction and it’s one that takes over many people’s lives, disempowering them, seducing them and making them think that they don’t have enough time to do the things that they really want to do.

Several pieces of psychological research have suggested that heavy TV watchers display all the symptoms of a non-substance behavioral addiction. I know so many people who “want” to get fit but spend their time instead watching TV and opining that they “don’t have time” to go to the gym because they’re too busy.

I remember being introduced by a well-meaning friend to 24 - the fantastic series with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. My friend lent me the box set and I watched the first couple and before I knew it I was hooked. I needed to know what happened to Jack!

I worked my way rapidly through the series and upon reaching the series cliffhanger got in my car and drove to the local video store to get series 2!

I don’t know about 24 - more like Nightmare! I was addicted… and for what? What did I get out of it? I wasted perhaps 120 hours or 15 full working days and how did I benefit exactly? Once I’d watched it what could I tell you about it? And even if I could, who cares?

According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.

What could you do with an extra 9 years of life? People spend fortunes on medical health care to get an extra few months at the end of their lives but piss up against the wall 9 years of quality life!

If you’re wasting your life away watching TV you need to do several things…

1. Think about how much of your life you’re throwing away.

Seriously! Work it out! And work it out now! Work out how much time you spend watching TV last week. Now multiply that by 52 weeks and then by 10 years to see how much time you waste watching TV every decade.

Be realistic. Most people underestimate how much TV they actually watch. I used to say, “Oh I don’t really watch TV” but actually I still watched quite a bit whilst I was waiting for things to happen such as the food to cook.

2. Think about what this has cost you already.

Figure out how much time you have invested in wathing the TV so far in your life. How many years (?), months, weeks and hours have you spent watching TV?

Think what you could have done with that time. Think about how you’ve missed out. Think about all of the opportunities that you’ve already missed because of your love affair with the TV!

3. Decide what you’d like to achieve with that time.

Think about what you’re going to spend your newly found time on. What are you going to do? Why are you going to do it? How will you benefit by doing it? What will it mean for your finances, your social life, your hobbies, your prospects, your career and your personal wellbeing and fitness?

4. Visualize your new self.

Close your eyes for a moment and see yourself in 5 years time. Just imagine - 5 years without the TV. What will you have achieved and done in that time? Where will you be? What will you have that you don’t have now? What will you do that you don’t do now? Who will you become?

Picture yourself in your new life and let yourself “experience” it in panoramic detail. The more you do and have fun with this exercise the more powerful it will become for you.

5. Design your getting started action plan.

I’m bored of the hug a tree, rent a personal development coach, crowd banging on about how if you just focus on something it will happen.

Maybe it will just happen to happen for the lucky few but for 99% of people success requires action!

Here’s an important lesson for you… People who spout about success happenning if you think about it are at best mislead and at worst lying.

Mindset is critical, focus is critical but when you’ve done all of that you need to TAKE ACTION!

6. Turn off the TV and go do something else less boring instead!

And for most people, turning off the TV and going to do something less boring instead would be a good first step!