During the course of the day there are so many things that we have to get done. Studies show that we spend 80% of our time doing other things and 20% of our time doing what we’re effective at producing. If you want to create more opportunities, you should aim to spend 80% of your time doing what you’re naturally gifted at producing.

Rearranging my schedule to spend more time geared towards my strengths has been difficult for me because something unexpected comes up demanding my attention. To overcome these challenges, I have to be intentional by tracking where my time is going, figure out what things I can cut out or cut back and create boundaries to protect this time.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned there may be several things I’m good at but I needed to determine what my best gift is. I have a gift for administration, event coordination, leadership, strategizing, and coaching. I was getting frustrated because I was putting my efforts into some of these gifts but I wasn’t getting any results so I invested my time into discovering that my best gifts are coaching and strategizing.

When I stopped dividing my energy into the other things that I was pretty good at and focused on what I’m the best at, I finally started making progress. So if you find that you’re putting the time in but not getting anywhere over a long period then I would suggest that you take the time to reflect and confirm that you’re putting your energy into your best gift. Then once you determine your best gift, rearrange your schedule to prioritize your time to develop it in order to create the opportunities you’ve been striving for.