Imagine walking into a friend’s house and seeing money scattered across the living room.
One dollar bills , $20s, $100s strewn everywhere.
At a glance, it looks like hundreds-of-thousands discarded without care.
You may wonder why your friend has all their money spread around the room (and probably their entire home).
You feel a bit frustrated at your friend for being so irresponsible with their money.
Then, your friend walks into the room. You have to ask them, “What’s with all the money?”
“It’s not a big deal,” says your friend and invites you in.
Here’s an unfortunate truth:
Most people treat their time like the money in the scenario above.
They let their time slip away, get used by others, and discard it flippantly, as if they can make more of it later.
But…
This is not how time works, for you or anyone else.
We all have the same 24 hours to spend each day. We can’t make more of it. And once it’s spent, it’s gone.
It’s true that we don’t have equal money to spend, equal opportunity when we’re born, or equal circumstances throughout life, but we all have equal time.
So when it comes to achieving more in life, we have to ask: How can you treat your time differently to create the life you want to live?
Set Your Goals
It’s important to set specific, measurable goals to achieve.
Saying that you want to “lose weight” is not specific enough.
Instead, you can say, “I want to lose 10 pounds by October 1st.”
When you set specific goals, you’re able to address your thoughts around that goal. If you want to lose weight, then some thoughts that come up may be:
- “I’m not worthy enough”
- “This is going to be impossible.”
- “What if I fail?”
These thoughts are only possible if you get specific with your goals.
Changing these thoughts are the first step (and key) to actually achieving your goals.
Track Your Progress
It’s nice to set specific goals, but are you tracking your progress?
According to Benjamin Harkin, PhD, of the University of Sheffield, “Monitoring goal progress is a crucial process that comes into play between setting and attaining a goal, ensuring that the goals are translated into action.”
Tracking your progress is the space between where you started and where you’re going to end up. If we don’t track our progress, we will get lost, off track, and eventually give up on ourselves.
But…
Being able to see how far you’ve come and how far you have to go will inspire and motivate you to keep going.
Schedule Your Day
Once you have your goals set and a way to track your progress, then it’s time to schedule your day.
This scheduling can be done daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. In any case, you want to map out how you plan on getting to your goals.
As you start getting results, you may need to adjust your schedule to reorient yourself toward goals.
This planned schedule will give you a path to take and a routine to follow.
Do the Important Stuff First
You’ve probably heard of the concept, “eat the frog,” right?
That means instead of doing the difficult tasks first thing in the morning, do the important stuff first.
In your planned schedule, you’ll want to choose the biggest levers you can pull to get closer to your goals each and every day. This important lever may be making 10 calls. It may be writing an article. Or, it may be outsourcing work to a virtual assistant.
Being able to determine what is important, whether it’s difficult or not, will accelerate achieving your goals.
Block Distractions
We’re inundated with distractions. From our phones to our computers, the internet, and the world in general. A lot of different people want our attention for one reason or another.
Distractions take away from your effort to achieve your goals. It can feel like we’re “busy” getting work done, but most of us are spending a few hours each day distracted.
When you block out distractions and focus on your daily actions, you make progress toward your goals and increase your likelihood of success.
Say “No” Often
“No” should be one of your favorite words.
Here’s why:
As you make progress toward your goals, opportunities will start to show up in your life. And while these opportunities may look exciting, feel great, and seem perfect for you, you have to ask yourself an important question, “Does this opportunity help me achieve my goals?”
If the answer is yes, then dive into the opportunity head first.
If the answer is no, then the opportunity is not great for you, right now. It may be in the future. But, right now, it’s something you’ll want to pass on.
Developing your ability to say no will come with time and experience, and it will become a very important tool that helps you achieve your goals quicker and easier.
Celebrate Your Wins
Finally, remember to celebrate your wins.
Taking the time to recognize what you’ve achieved, no matter how small or big, fuels you to keep going.
Many people make the mistake of never celebrating. They believe that they’ll celebrate when the goal is accomplished, but this is a mistake.
We’re wired to pursue what reciprocates. This means that if we celebrate, make ourselves feel good, and justify our decision to pursue a goal, we’re more likely to keep pursuing it.
Without celebration, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Celebrate your wins.
What You Learned
We all have the same 24 hours to spend each day. We can’t make more of it. And once it’s spent, it’s gone.
How can you treat your time differently to create the life you want to live?
- Set Your Goals
- Track Your Progress
- Prioritize Your Outcomes
- Schedule Your Day
- Do the Important Stuff First
- Block Distractions
- Say “No” Often
- Celebrate Your Wins
Why Your Time Matters
Time is your most valuable asset. It’s non-renewable. And how you spend it determines the life you’re going to live.
Here’s the truth:
You do not have time for everything, but you do have time for the important things in your life.
The best part?
You get to choose the important things.
Whether that be your family, friends, career, or a mixture of all three, it’s up to you.
And as someone who wants to contribute to the world, time is of the essence. Our time on this planet is finite, so it’s important we make the most of it.
One of the greatest contributions to the world is helping others improve their own lives.
Are You Ready to Become a Life Coach?
Every coach who’s certified through The Life Coach School’s Coach Certification Program started off exactly where you are today—wanting to find their purpose, but scared things might not work out.
Now they’ve built a career, and life, that’s beyond their wildest dreams.
It’s time to take a chance on yourself and see what results you can create in your own life.