In my coaching practice the use of time is a constant subject. One of the obstacles in the way of reaching every goal is time management. It seems that there are just never enough hours in the day to do all the things on the to-do list. All day long we face distractions and circumstances that eat up our time and keep us from getting where we want to go.

The well known Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, says that 80% of our achievements come from 20% of our efforts. This suggests that 80% of the time we are not being very productive.

Every day you are given 84,600 seconds of time and you spend every second, every day. You can not borrow from tomorrow or save time for a future date. No one gets more or fewer seconds than you do. There is nothing you can do to acquire more time or less time. You have no control over the amount given to you every day. So, how do you manage your time? The reality is YOU DON’T. To call your obstacle time management is to assign accountability to something that you have no control over.

Let me suggest that you decide, to CHOOSE to look at reality and realize that you do not manage time, you manage your choices. You cannot always choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you will respond to them. You can’t control the broken water heater, but you can choose when and how you will deal with it. You can’t control who calls you, but you can choose to take the call or let them leave a message. You can’t control how many emails you receive, but you can control when and how you deal with them.

You can choose to eat healthfully or poorly, watch three hours of TV or exercise, numb your pain with alcohol or drugs, or get help that will empower you to obtain true healing. You can choose to respond to distractions by letting them take you off task or make the choice to not yield to the distraction. You have control over your choices. You have the option to ignore your responsibility and let life take you where it will or you can elect to take responsibility and proactively choose to go where you want to go.

Choice management is the difference between success and failure. Choice management is the difference between you being in charge of your life or letting someone or something else determine your present and future.

The Choice is yours…CHOOSE WISELY!!!