E4: Be The Buffalo

Here are 5 practical applications we can use to maximize our time and capture opportunities along the way. 1. Create a List (4:00)Determine value and urgency and tackle accordingly. The value determines the level of importance. Once we separate high value and low value tasks, determine what’s urgent and what’s not. The easiest way to differentiate the two is because there’s likely a deadline attached to the urgent. Now we have a list with 4 different categories, and we can prioritize accordingly. 2. Be The Buffalo! (7:38)There aren’t a lot of places in the world where cows and buffalo co-mingle together, but one area that you’ll find both of them in is the Rocky Mountains. Both of these majestic creatures have the innate ability to recognize when a storm is rolling in… and while they’re similar in a lot of ways, they have one distinct difference in how they each manage the storm. When a cow senses the storm coming in, they immediately begin to head east in an effort to outrun the storm. But we all know that cows aren’t very fast, and inevitably, instead of outrunning the storm they actually run right along with the storm, maximizing the amount of pain and time and frustration they experience from that storm. When a buffalo senses the storm coming in, they head straight into the storm tackling it head on, and ultimately right through it, by running west…minimizing the amount of pain and time and frustration they experience from that storm. Humans are the same way. We all face storms, oftentimes very similar storms to those around us, but the way we manage them and WHEN we manage them can be quite different. Put procrastination behind you and BE THE BUFFALO!3. Get a WIN! (10:05)Set the tone for your day by knocking out one big thing as soon as you can. In the book “Eat That Frog!”, author Brian Tracy suggests that if we had to eat a live frog any given day, we can rest assure that there’s NOTHING else in our day that would be worse than that, so get it over with as soon as possible. Getting a win can be huge for our psyche. Once we have one under our belt, it’s easier to get more. Avoid low value tasks. High value tasks should not be sacrificed for low value tasks. What gets celebrated gets repeated, so complete one big thing, eat your frog, and get a win! 4. The Alphabet Method (11:22)A for Accountability- Find an accountability partner! Whether it’s a friend, a mentor, a coach… find someone who’s willing and able to hold you accountable on the calls to action you’ve set out for yourself. If your call to action is to stop procrastinating… TELL somebody! The act of simply verbalizing it to someone else should help you stay accountable since it’s now public knowledge, but if it’s somebody who’s coaching you in the process… even better!B for Boundaries- Set them. Keep them. Protect your mind, protect your heart, protect your time by making boundaries an important part of your lifestyle. Boundaries aren’t for those around us. They’re for us. Boundaries define what we will tolerate and what we won’t. Every time we say “yes” to some ONE or some THING, we inevitably say no to something else, and that something else might be… ourself. Set boundaries. Keep them, and live your purpose!C for Consistency- Consistency is one of the major keys to growth, and we have to improve our time management in order to grow the way God intended us to. It’s SO easy to fall back into old habits and routines, but staying consistent helps us turn habits into lifestyles.D for Discipline- We HAVE to be disciplined when making changes. This comes down to the choices we make. Alarm clock goes off. Our mind tells us to go to the gym, but our feelings tell us to stay in bed. This is where discipline kicks in. Our mind tells us to read that book, but