Secrets on How to Multiply Time and Increase Productivity Which I Learned from Bo Sanchez

 

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to learn from my spiritual mentor, Bro. Bo Sanchez, through his FREE webinar on Facebook. You may watch his webinar in full in the video below.

Everyday, for the past two months, I have developed this habit of watching his Fulltank talks on Facebook at 8am, while I get my regular dose of Vitamin D outside our home. This has provided me with the positivity that I need to get through each day.

He is also an author, a motivational speaker, a preacher at The Feast, have built various mercy ministries, a business owner, a husband and a father. Because of his many roles and because I have seen him in so many places -- aside from watching him everyday on Fulltank, I also read his books, listen to him at The Feast, attend his seminars and even support his ministries -- I believe that it is best to learn about increasing productivity from him.

The purpose of his webinar is to invite us to a kind of lifestyle that has direction, organized and productive.

According to him, you cannot manage time as you cannot manage the minutes and the hours in a day, but you can manage yourself. He calls this self-leadership as you need to lead yourself, so that you cannot be lead by video games, by kdramas, or by the things you want to do in a particular time just because you feel like it. You have to be your own leader.

He added that the problem is LACK OF STRUCTURE. And that the solution is CREATING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STRUCTURES IN YOUR LIFE.

How?

Step #1. Create internal structures

Think of a Ferrari. This Ferrari would be like the planning, the scheduling, the to-do-lists. But what can you do with this beautiful Ferrari if the gas tank is empty? Internal structures is compared to the fuel of the car. 

The Three Big Questions for your Internal Structures

1. Values

Do you love yourself? Take note. Binge watching in Netflix for six hours does not count if you love yourself. Because if you do, you would rather spend those hours exercising, spending time with your family, playing with your kids, meditating, or do something productive that will give you the results you want in the long run. 

Do you love others? Go deeper and discover your emotional why. 

Do you love God? Do you see Him loving you? If your answer is yes, then you would want to love God back through being a blessing to other people. Be God's love to the people around you.

2. Vision

Do you see where you are going? As Tony Robbins said, "People are not lazy, they just have impotent goals." You need to have a clear vision of where you want to go and have a long-term perspective. These will add fuel to your Ferrari.

3. Vehicle

Do you know how to get there? Your vehicle is your core gift. You feel excited, you have passion, you will alive when you do your core gift. Embrace and celebrate your core gift. Develop it further so you can achieve your vision.

Personally, my core gift is writing, which brought about this blog. 

Step #2. Create external structures

10 Tools for creating external structures

Tool #1 Make time to ask big questions. After reading this post, spend time answering the big questions above on values, vision and vehicle.

Tool #2 Make a list of short-term goals. Put it down on paper.

Tool #3 Make time to plan for each week. This is a game changer. Allot 30 mins of your time on a Sunday night, and you will be surprised at the end of the week how much you have accomplished.

Tool #4 Make a to do list for the week. 

Tool #5 Make a weekly calendar. 

Tool #6 Make a list of your "Pareto" activities. Focus on your top 20 activities that give you your 80 percent impact.

Tool #7 Make Four Quadrants (Stephen Covey). Focus on Quadrant Two -- not urgent but important -- which according to Bo, is the secret sauce of Champions. 

Tool #8 Make a to do list with A B C D E (Brian Tracy). Prioritize your long list of to do's based on the following: A - Must, B - Should, C - Nice, D - Delegate and E - Eliminate.

Tool #9 Make a focus funnel (Rory Vaden). You've got tasks, then look which ones you could eliminate, automate and delegate. Then the remaining tasks, you can either concentrate on doing them now, or procrastinate on purpose and do them later. 

Tool #10 Make a roles list (Stephen Covey). You write down all your roles, prioritize and plan the things you have to do for the week based on your roles.

Final Word

I watched his webinar last Sunday. I answered my big questions for internal structure and made my list for external structure on Sunday night. I am writing this today, on a Wednesday, and I can say that my productivity has significantly increased! I have stopped having those days when I say, "tinatamad ako" because I can't be "tamad" since I love myself, I love others and I love God -- and making the most of my time is the simplest way to show it.

I also have a clear picture now of how I want to see myself in the next 5, 10 and 20 years. And I know that my vehicle to get there is through my core gift, which is writing.

I hope you find this post helpful. If you do, kindly share this post to your family and friends, too.

Try these secrets on multiplying time and increasing productivity, and share your experience in the comments below or you can email me at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com.

Be very blessed!

7 Habits of Women Who Always Have Money

 

Women who are wise with money have mastered that it is not always about how much you make, but how much you spend and how much you keep. Being careful with your money -- from your monthly grocery shopping to regular Shopee budol, all that can have an impact in your finances.

Let us uncover the 7 Habits of Women Who Always Have Money:

1. She Budgets for Everything -- and Sticks to this Budget

If you want to always have money, you need to accumulate it. Read that again. Every time paycheck comes in, you must spend less than what you earn.

I have learned about the 10-20-70 rule when I began reading financial books back in 2013. Every time money comes in, you set aside 10% for tithes, 20% for savings and investments and live on 70%.

But later I realized that the above rule can be very difficult for most of us, regardless of how much we want to tithe, save and invest, because a sudden 30% cut on our current lifestyle can be close to impossible, especially if we are already struggling to make ends meet.

But we can always start somewhere. And for a start, you can set up your budget to live on 90% of your income and set aside the 10% to build your emergency fund and savings. When you have already saved enough, you can message your trusted Financial Advisor so you can start on protecting your future income, too, through getting a life insurance policy and automated savings plan. As for tithes, you can support your spiritual community by devoting your time to do volunteer work, or give in kind.

2. She is a Cash Back Queen

What cash back apps do you use? Personally, I double check if I have ticked off all available vouchers before I check out on Shopee, including the ones that give the highest cash back percentage.

Take advantage of cash back apps as this is an easy way to earn free money.

3. She Lowers Her Bills

Other ways of accumulating money is by making more and spending less. And one way of spending less is by lowering your bills. 

I cancelled subscriptions from apps I do not make the most of, and have availed of my favorite apps annually as they are cheaper compared to paying monthly.

4. She Uses Rewards Cards

Take the leap. Try earning cash back with a credit card. They are not dangerous as long as you intentionally spend less than you earn, and always pay your total amount due. That means no debt, no interest payments and no late fees. It becomes no different to spending cash, except that you earn points every time you use your credit card. These points can be converted to air miles, shopping vouchers, credited back to your card, or credited to your savings account.

5. She Automates Her Savings

You can't spend money you can't see. Good thing that there are companies that have set up an automated savings plan for their employees. If your employer has this, take advantage of it. You may also want to consider increasing your savings every time you get a salary increase. 

As for me, because I am not employed, my Insular Life policy does that through an auto debit arrangement (ADA) for my monthly premiums. Because this policy has an investment component, my amount saved grows over time, too.

6. She is Insured on All Fronts

If you are a  breadwinner and brings income to the family, insurance is a definite must. Your life insurance policy protects an insured's income from critical illness, hospitalization, disability and sudden demise. It makes sure that a breadwinner's family will not suffer financially in case he or she is no longer around or unable to work.

But if you are a stay-at-home mom, do you know that you also need to be insured? Believe it or not, you have tremendous value! Have you ever considered the cost of hiring out the work you do everyday? From child care to food preparation, to keeping the home clean, plus all of the errands. That costs a lot! And because of this, your life needs to be insured, too.

Protect yourself and your loved ones with an affordable life insurance plan. To ask for a quotation, click here.

7. She Tries

If you want to accumulate money, you cannot just sit around waiting for it to happen. You have to try. Try setting up a budget. Try earning cash back. Try lowering your bills. Try using a credit card with rewards. You can also try earning more by becoming an InLife Financial Advisor to increase your income. 

Final Word

These are all ways to accumulate money. But don't just read about it. Take action. Stay focused on your goal. Start planting these habits today, nurture them, and your harvest will come.

Be very blessed!

P.S. Got money habits to share? Post them in the comments below or you can email me at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com.

P.S.2. I hope you find this post useful. Thank you in advance for sharing this post!

What To Do When You Lack Motivation?

 

Have you ever felt like you lost that fire in your belly?

Or have days when you wake up and you do not know what to do?

You feel lazy and just want to stay in bed the whole day?

Honestly, I have days like that. As crazy as this may sound, it even reached that point when I Googled "what to do when you don't know what to do." Unfortunately, Google only gave me song lyrics of a particular song on the search results! 

And as I share my feeling of being lost with a workmate, she wonders because she knows that I have achieved the goals I have set for myself when I was still employed. These goals were that I wanted to quit employment at the age of 35, pursue my passion of being a full time InLife Financial Advisor, and do all these because I want to spend time with my very young kids. 

With God's grace, a simple financial plan (which has been a journey that I share through this blog), and my big emotional why which I shared in my blog Find a Strong Emotional Why, I was able to tick off those goals back in 2018, as planned, a month before my 36th birthday. 

But because I have always believed that there is more to life than ticking off short and medium term goals, I ask myself, "What now? What else?" These were the questions that have been going through my head for the past months now.

And as always, God has better ways of answering our life questions than Google! Because two days ago, I came across Bo Sanchez's Fulltank Video, and it was very timely. According to him, you need to have a BIGGER EMOTIONAL WHY that would last through your entire life, not just short term or medium term goals. And that discovering this will give you two gifts: DRIVE and DIRECTION. 

He also shared the story of Maves Angeles, his friend who lived in the slums for 9 years, and moved from one house to another 19 times! Today, Maves has a home of her own, and is now a real estate developer -- helping more people have their own houses. She discovered her bigger emotional why through her pain and her trials.

Another example he shared was Edward Lee, Founder of COL Financial, the biggest online stockbroker in the country today. Because his strong emotional why is that he believes that everyone ought to be rich, he builds businesses and teaches financial literacy aiming to achieve this goal.

And as for Bo Sanchez, his bigger emotional why is that he wants to help more people experience God's abundance spiritually, emotionally, relationally and even financially. This is the reason why he uses his gift of communication through writing books and preaching, and builds ministries to help the poorest of the poor.

Final Word

Watching Bo's video made me realize that my bigger emotional why is to help other working moms pursue their passion as a profession, while having the time to spend with their growing kids. Believe it or not, I do not only watch my kids grow, but I also grow with them. I do not only get to know them more, but they also get to know me! There are even times when they would mimic the way I talk, or know what I was thinking even before I say it. 

I may have lost the perks (the company car was my favorite!) when I quit my job, and the journey leaving the comfort zone was not easy, but my kids having that assurance that I am always here for them, literally and figuratively, makes taking that risk all worth it.

And my way of achieving this bigger emotional why I can do this by using my gift of writing in sharing what I have learned about money through this blog, and continuously learning so I can share more.

If you haven't found it yet, I pray that God reveals to you your bigger emotional why. Today, after a long while, writing this blog post is the first thing that I did this morning -- even before having my coffee! And from not knowing what to do for the day, I know exactly how to run the next days! 

Having a bigger emotional why is indeed a gift and that powerful! I thank God for creating me with a beautiful purpose. And I know that He has created you for one, too.

Be very blessed!

P.S. Do you know your bigger emotional why? Share it in the comments below or email it to me at financialplanningforpinoys@gmail.com.

Thank you and keep safe!