How to Be a Master of Time

How to Be a Master of Time
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Are you a master of time? Here are the signs:

You have a 10am meeting. You walk into the meeting room at precisely 10 a.m. Not 9:58 or 10:03, but 10 a.m., exactly. And this happens regardless of the countless random events you experience along the way, like getting stuck in traffic, trapped at stoplights, hunting for parking spaces, and getting into an elevator.

You have to wake up at 6:23 a.m. You don't use an alarm clock, and when you first open your eyes in the morning and look at the clock, it reads 6:23 a.m.

You're on the road and your friend calls to invite you over. You tell them you'll be at their house in 23 minutes. You get to their house in exactly 23 minutes. Not 18, not 30 but 23.

You're never past deadline on anything.

It's a skill you can develop

I've been practicing this form of "Time Alignment" for well over a decade. Ask anyone that works with me and they'll confirm that you can set your clock by when I show up for an appointment. Once you understand what's really going on, you too can be a master of Time Alignment.

Surprise! It's all about you

Similar to keeping a zero inbox, your relationship with time is a reflection of your life. Developing high Time Alignment is really about mastering (and changing) your life. Depending on how chronically late you are in life, you're about to embark on a serious change that won't be easy and won't come overnight. I assure you, however, that by practicing these techniques and embracing the concept of Time Alignment for a 40-day period, your life will be transformed for the better as you become a master of the most precious resource in the universe: time.

Time is a pattern and you are a pattern processor

Like a heartbeat, time is a pattern. We've divided it up into years, days, hours, seconds, etc to make the processing easier, but like a pattern, it regularly repeats. Your subconscious mind is the greatest pattern processor in the universe and naturally seeks to identify and harmonize with patterns. Habits are patterns. Breathing is a pattern. The route you take to and from work is a pattern. Your morning ritual is a pattern. Pattern processing is what allows one part of your mind to operate on automatic pilot while your conscious mind can focus on the current thought at hand. Time Alignment is about tapping into the natural ability your mind is already using to process the pattern of time.

Try this: feel when its time to leave for the next appointment

Here's the secret on how to arrive precisely on time for anything, regardless of random environmental elements that affect the time it takes to get there.

  1. Hold a strong intent of what precise time you need to be at an exact location. You have to want to be in some place at some time for this to work.
  2. Maintain an awareness of what time it is right now. Keep a visible clock on your desktop, for example.
  3. Be sensitive to the idea that there will come a moment when you will get a strong feeling (sorry, that's the only word that describes it) that you need to stop what you're doing right now and do the things related to step #1, whether it's getting dressed, shutting down your apps, saying goodbye, whatever.
  4. You will arrive at where you need to be at the time you need to be there. And you won't have to stress out on your way there either. When you get good at this, you'll show up at precisely the time you chose, many times to the minute.

While this might sound weird to some of you, I have over 10 years of personal stories to confirm that achieving Time Alignment is real and it works. Ask my colleagues. It takes a little getting used to and requires a slight leap of faith, but there is no question that it works.

Like anything else, Time Alignment is a skill that needs to be developed in order to improve but like a skill, the more you practice, the better you'll get at it.
Try this: how to wake up without an alarm clock

Because pattern processing is a subconscious function, it works while you sleep. You can leave your alarm clock on as a backup, but set it 5 minutes later just so you can see this technique working.

  • Keep the alarm clock on and near your bed.
  • Allow for adequate sleep time based on your personal, healthy needs.
  • Hold a strong intent of what precise time you need to wake up. This works best if you develop a clear visualization of what the clock will look like at waking time, i.e. "see" the clock displaying the time you want.
  • Sleep.
  • You will awaken at the precise time you intended.

One thing you'll love about this technique is that waking up is much more pleasant. If you're the type that sleeps "dead to the world" and needs a siren to wake up, you'll be shocked when you wake up completely naturally.

Your Time Alignment reflects your life

Because these techniques use your natural ability to harmonize with patterns, they are invaluable tools that give you an objective feedback loop on your own state of mind. Few things are a better indicator of a healthy mind, body, and spirit than stepping over the meeting room threshold at precisely the minute you planned on being there, despite going through an endless train of random events, each affecting your timing. Conversely, when your life's patterns are in disarray, they will quickly manifest as disrupted Time Alignment and that's the real secret benefit of developing this powerful skill: it tells you when your life is out of whack.
Use it as a gauge to maintain harmony

Over the years, I've learned to use my Time Alignment (or lack of) as an objective feedback loop to gauge my degree of inner peace and how well I'm literally living "in the moment". All too often, we get wrapped up in the ups and downs of life and before you know it, things have gone so far off course that your only way back is through massive corrections. But by gauging your degree of Time Alignment with every appointment and every meeting of every day, you create a nearly constant feedback loop that immediately tells you in no uncertain terms how well you are harmonized with all the things around you. For the first time, you'll immediately find out when you're going off-track in your life and have the opportunity to take action.

Be the Master of Time in 40 days

For the next 40 days, I want you to practice Time Alignment techniques and resolve to:

  • Never be late for anything ever again.
  • Show up at precisely the moment you planned.
  • When your Time Alignment is off, interpret that as a signal that you're going off course in life and work hard make a correction.
  • When your Time Alignment is right on, savor the moment and celebrate a victory that not only are you on time, but your life is in harmony.
  • Share your success and techniques with friends and loved ones.

Try it! It will change your life

I can confidently state that mastering time is one of the most satisfying skills you can ever develop. The constant feedback loop of Time Alignment will strengthen confidence in that you not only have your act together, but you will also immediately discover if there is something you need to work on. Practice this: You will never see a clock the same way again.

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