Last Wednesday, my wife and I had our first baby! A baby boy, who goes by the name of Finley James O’Connor. He’s incredible. It’s such an honor and a blessing to be his father.
As I am writing this, he is laying across my mid-section and I am trying not to move my left arm while I type. He’s happy and asleep, and I don’t want to change that!
This past week has been rough, very little and not consistent sleep, changing diapers left and right, carrying him everywhere you go, making sure he is satisfied.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade him for anything. He is literally perfect. I love him so much, and I can’t wait to see the impact he will make on the world. But, when can I make the time to do the project that I am working on?
He does need the attention and time, and that time is a priority for me. My family is very high on my priority list. I want to make sure I am spending quality time with them when I do spend time with them.
I’m thinking the only way that I can find time to get the work done that I need to get done, is by further decreasing the time I spend on other things that aren’t on my priority list. I already get up at 4 AM each morning to do work, it’s not like I can (or should) sleep less.
I need to amplify the time I spend with my family, the time I spend working and the time I spend sleeping. It needs to be 100% me, all the time. When I am with my family for a few hours in the evening, I need to be all there. When I am working in the mornings, I need to be all there. And when I am sleeping, it needs to be deep quality sleep.
Cutting out the Cruft
There needs to be a line drawn in my life when it comes to things other than what is most important to me. I need to be able to consciously define whether or not the thing I am currently doing is something I should be doing.
Something like surfing social media, when I am sitting with friends and family, is an example of something I should not be doing. I honestly should never be surfing through social media, only producing it.
Something like reading the news and blog posts is not something I should be doing during my work time. I need to be able to sit down and crank. I need quality of time, not quantity of time.
When I am sleeping, I need to be in a place that I can truly rest. I need to be able to make sure I get the right amount of sleep by going to bed on time. I need to make sure I am prepping for the next morning properly so I can get the day started off right.
Any of the other stuff I might do is cruft. Watching TV, surfing social media, even reading the news. All of it has no impact on the things that I want to make, and it has a negative impact on the time I can allocate to the things that are a priority to me.
Daddypreneur
I bet a lot of people say that it is tough to raise a family and work on / follow your dreams. It is tough! But it is also simple. Cut out the cruft. It’s so unnecessary to you as a person. Your relationships, work, health and spirituality all need your best undivided attention. So give it to them!
One of the big motivations for me to start my own business, is to have more control over when and how much I see my family. I don’t necessarily want to work less, or even see them more, but I want that control. I want to make sure I am with my family at a time that I can focus on them 100%. I want to be working when I can focus on that 100%.
I don’t want work to get in the way of my family time, and family time to get in the way of my work. I don’t want to waste my time away by watching TV with my family, or by answering work emails, I want to be actively engaged when I am with them. I don’t want to be changing diapers and feeding kids while I am working, I need to be cranking hard on my work.
This is somewhat of an idealist way of thinking, but it’s a goal that I have for myself to get there. When I find myself indulging in things that take attention away from my priorities, I get ornery, confused and frankly depressed because things aren’t balanced correctly.
There is so much that I want to do in this life because of the legacy that I want to leave for my kids. I want my kids to think that I am a good father, as well as a hard worker. I want them to know that I value them over everything, but I still made time to make sure their futures are taken care of.
This is How You 10x Your Life
You can truly 10x your life by getting rid of the things that are taking you away from your priorities. This is how you can be a great parent, and a great entrepreneur. Every single person on this planet has the same 24 hours in a day, and everyone makes time for the things that are important for them.
If you never define what is important to you, you might waste time on things that aren’t bringing you closer to your goals.
It’s time for me to make sure I am 100% there when I am doing the things that are important to me. I just don’t have time for anything else.
Jordan