Key Takeaways

• The concept of “flow” is a highly focused mental state that is something you want to bring in to your workplace to increase and streamline your productivity.
• Through The Strategic Coach® Program’s Entrepreneurial Time System®, you can use a system of three kinds of days to help prioritize your time and get in to a good flow.
• It’s important to remember that taking time to relax and rejuvenate helps you increase your overall productivity and slides you more easily in to your work flow.

Back in the 1970s, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychologist at the University of Chicago, came up with the concept of “flow”. Flow is a highly focused mental state. It’s like watching Michael Jordan when he gets in to the third and fourth quarter, getting the ball in the basket no matter what happens, and it’s just a thrill to watch him operate because he’s in that flow. It can be amazing to watch anyone at work when they are in their flow.

We want to strive to be in flow every day in the workplace. This is easier said than done, especially in today’s busy, super-connected world. However, through The Strategic Coach® Program, there’s something called The Entrepreneurial Time System®, and it’s a great way to help you get in to your own work flow. How does it work?

There are three kinds of days in this system: free days, focus days, and buffer days.

Free days are what they sound like. Everything you are doing that day has nothing to do with work. This kind of day is all about rejuvenation, relaxing, and taking time for yourself, and they are the most important days in terms of keeping yourself operating at a high level.

The next day, focus days, are done at work and it’s about doing whatever it is that is unique to you, no one else can do it. It’s your best use of time and energy, it’s your flow. You want these days to be packed from beginning to end. If you have a 10-hour day, you want at least 8 of those hours to be spent doing things that only you can do. This way, you are bringing a lot of value, creating more revenue and dollars for you or your company. You get better and better throughout the day, just like Michael Jordan does later in his games.

The final kind of day, buffer days, are about preparing either for free days or focus days. This is so that when you are on a free day, you aren’t thinking about all the things you have left to do at work, which would result in a waste of a free day and not getting that rejuvenation you need to be at the top of your game. These buffer days also help your focus days, so you can prepare for the work you want to do on those focus days, and you aren’t stuck thinking about more mundane tasks or doing work that could be done by other people.

It’s a great system that happens to work well for entrepreneurs, but it’s also applicable to anyone who has control over their time and what they can do with it in the workplace. It’s a great way to focus your productivity and it can help you accelerate your growth in both the workplace and other areas in your life. Until next time, enjoy.

Gary

TransformingWealth™ , our proprietary approach, designed to get your arms around the big picture so you can make informed financial decisions. As part of our process, we use mind mapping – one of the most powerful tools available for bridging the communication gap between different generations. Mind mapping is visual and helps all parties gain a clear picture of all aspects of the financial equation. Ask Gary about mind mapping and Coyle’s TransformingWealth Preview Meeting, and schedule a complimentary consultation and start living the Good Life Managed Well™.

Gary Klaben is in our Glenview, IL office and serves our clients who are now located all over the country. He has over 30 years of experience and is the author of Changing the Conversation, The Wealth Sanctuary and co-author of The Business Battlefield. Whether advising his clients, mentoring his team, or coaching entrepreneurs, he is always simplifying complexity and motivating others to take the next action that’s right for them.

www.coylefinancial.com
800-480-7913 | coyle@coylefinancial.com

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