I’ve decided to quit my job.
It’s not that I specifically disliked my job, I quit because it wasn’t granting me any new experience.
That job was at Chick-fil-A.
I’ve recently been exploring my interest in writing much more freely. In fact, I’m starting a 30-day writing challenge once this post goes live! Now that I’ve found a passion for writing, I discovered that my job wasn’t all that beneficial.
The only difference between working at Chick-fil-A and writing for an unknown audience is that I get paid to do one and not the other.
However the pay doesn’t matter, what matters is that I take control of my time to pursue success inducing opportunities.
Here are the things I’ve learned about prioritizing time for success:
New Experiences Above Security
When thinking about our finite resource of time the first thing that comes to mind is the human experience.
With our limited time there only is so much we can experience. It’s important to go after as much valuable experience as possible.
For example, when I first started working at Chick-Fil-A it was a valuable experience for me. It was my first job and I was able to take a look into the working world for the first time. It was an indispensable milestone for me.
Overtime the new experiences I gained while working at Chick-Fil-A diminished. There was only so much experience I could get from one opportunity. I had to release my secure feeling of having a job for a better opportunity.
This applies directly from what Robert T. Kiyosaki outlines in his book Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing. Poor people stay poor (or unsuccessful) because they prioritize financial security over going after new experiences that would make them rich (or successful)
I didn’t quit simply because I didn’t like my job or because I became lazy, I quit because I had a game plan for what I wanted to do with my time so I could pursue building the skillsets needed to create better opportunities for myself.
Your Game Plan
An individual’s game plan can be as simple or as complex as they want. I prefer to go as simple and straightforward as possible.
For example, you could make a pros and cons list.
List all of the things that are good about your life now. Then list the bad stuff. Next, create a new set of columns and write down the pros and cons of taking a step towards a better career, lifestyle, or relationship.
Doing this simple exercise can give you a clear image of where you are and where you could be. Visualizing this can help. Here’s what mine looked like when I was considering quitting my job and moving on to writing:
Once you have something like this in place, you decide to make the step towards a higher human experience. Your time is limited, acting informatively with activities like a pro’s and con’s list can help you make the right decisions with your time.
Consider your Priorities
Is there something you feel called to do, but haven’t started? Is there an itch you want to scratch? Taking the time to check your priorities can help you eliminate wasted time.
For example, I used to play video games almost every day. I was digging a hole for myself.
I would start and only play 2 hours, then 4, then 6, then 8, and it didn’t stop. I would keep playing until I had no energy and just went to bed.
What did I get from playing video games that long? I was able to hang out with my friends and do something enjoyable. However, the cons heavily outweighed the pros. I would wake up late the next day, the projects I wanted to get done were never started, and my butt hurt from sitting so long.
I was interested in developing my own game but never started because I was so distracted by playing others. I was a consumer, not a producer.
This changed once I put playing video games a few notches lower on my priority list. I began to distract myself by doing more meaningful and productive things, like reading, writing, and developing applicable skills.
My horizons began to grow and I saw more opportunities outside of my originally narrow sphere.
Analyze your own priorities and figure out which ones shouldn’t be as high on your priority list as they are. For me, it was video games. For you, it may be something different.
Time Saving Tools
The internet has all sorts of resources for saving time.
For example, I use an app called Speechify to listen to books at about twice my normal reading speed. Speechify uses AI speech robots to read any text you put into the app.
I highly recommend using Speechify or an app like it to save time when you are studying, reading, or listening to books handsfree.
There are also other free apps and programs available for saving time. You can check out TextExpander if you are the type of person who emails clients common messages, or who wants to save time typing. You can also use Zapier, which can be used to automate communications between programs you use. I personally use Zapier to collect emails from the Morning Brew newsletter and organize them into a spreadsheet.
Use the automation tools available to you from around the internet to save more time in your life so you can focus on your top priorities.
Action, Action, Action!
Taking action is the most important thing you can do with your time. Simply put, if you don’t do something, it won’t happen. The more you off put what you need to do to become successful, the less time you have to do it.
Take action today! Not tomorrow.
With this said, what can you right now to become successful?
