I am about to tell you the number one thing you can do to get anywhere in life.

This applies to finances, tasks, goals, productivity. You have seen some of those other lists “12345 Productivity Tips You Can Use Today”. Try all you want chasing your tail doing everything those lists say. But I promise you that NONE of them will work without this one simple rule. Period.

Whenever you look at a calendar, or a stack of bills, or 15 todo lists each with 15 items here is what you need to do.

The VERY FIRST thing you need to put on any list, calendar etc is YOUR TIME. In other words - be selfish.

Next time you read a blog post about ‘planning your time’ or filling your calendar. The very first thing you need to put on it are tasks for you. Whether it be reading time, excercise time, do nothing time, etc.

Your time is the most important time and it should be the #1 thing you schedule. Before your dental appointments, before your work meetings, before your car repair time. You schedule the things that you need to accomplish your goals first, and then you schedule your other time around it. I know there are exceptions. But you should be scheduling your work appointments around your personal ones, not vice-versa. It is a hard habit to start. And people (at work, etc) will try to invade your time and sabotage you . They will ask you why you cannot be someplace at a certain time on their schedule. Your response should be “Sorry. I have an appointment then”. It is none of their damn business who the appointment is with or what the appointment is about. It is your time and you should get first pick at it.

The same rules should ABSOLUTELY apply to your finances (and this ties in will with this previous post of mine - The number one thing you can do right now to start saving money ). When you get a paycheck and have a stack of bills it should not matter how far behind any of them are. The first thing you should do is to move a portion your money over to your savings or investment account. It should come before ANYTHING. Do that and you are easily on your way to being financially independent.

xo,

Patrick