Monday, July 21, 2008

Eliminate Delay

This Week with Sara Fitts continues discussing Thomas Leonard's 28 Principles of Attraction with principle # 12: eliminate delay.

Delay is increasingly expensive - and very unattractive both personally and professionally. It is extremely stressful when we are waiting on someone for information, service, or just a call back. It is also stressful for the person who is causing your delay - because they are very likely overwhelmed and paralyzed by delay themselves.

Eliminating delay will create much more peace - personally and professionally - as well as increase productivity and efficiency at an incredible rate. Eliminating delay will create space in your day - and give you much more time for what is most important to you. Eliminating delay will automatically reduce your level of stress as well as the stress levels of all whom depend on you.

Eliminating delay will make you more attractive - more attractive to your colleagues, your customers and clients, your employer or employees, and your family and friends. When you are more attractive, more things will come to you - more time, more money, more fun, more peace, more space. If you will eliminate delay, you will attract more of everything you want in your life and in your work.

How can you eliminate delay? There are many ways to eliminate delay - and here are a few to get you started:
  • Refuse to "talk it to death" and just get it done.
  • Respond immediately to all requests, if possible. Otherwise, schedule specific times to return phone calls, emails, requests for information, etc.
  • Refuse to keep an inventory of "To Do" items. Instead, keep up with your list of to-do items and get them done.
  • Face your fears and reduce personal processing time to get things done. Perfection really doesn't exist - revision can occur later. Just start the project and refuse to fear the project.
  • Prepare in advance for possible delays. Have a plan to address them.
  • Filter out negative thoughts and words.
  • Automate and simplify your processes as much as you can.
  • Find out what you are waiting for - the real reason for your delay.

The most important way to eliminate delay is this: the mindset has to change. The paradigm must shift. We have to really want to eliminate delay in order for it to happen. We have to make all the changes that are necessary in order to be successful in this principle.

I really think that eliminating delay is one of the most important things we can do in our lives and in our work. We can eliminate delay in all areas of our lives and work - we can eliminate delay in forgiveness, in acts of kindness, in offering peaceful solutions to conflicts, in making simple phone calls or answering emails. How many times in any given day have we delayed doing what needed to be done? We all can eliminate delay - and we need to begin right now!

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