To begin this week, let’s start with a little lesson on business. When running a successful business, most people would agree that the way you utilize your assets and control your expenses will in large part determine the ultimate success or failure of your business. Assets are commonly defined as any property owned by a firm. They can be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are balanced against liabilities.
I won’t get too technical here, but the most common forms of assets are cash, inventory, property, and equipment. If you have substantially more assets than liabilities, your business will be in a very advantageous position, but the opposite is also true. To quickly move our conversation from business to life, let’s consider the one thing that no matter how successful we are in either sphere, we will never have enough time.
In my experience leading my business, I learned that time is much more valuable when I view it as a resource (asset) than something to be spent. In other words, the more we value time, the greater our return on it. If we spend time each day waiting for the weekend, our next vacation, or our next promotion, we are liable to wake up one day and discover that much of the value in life has passed us by.
It is no secret that all of us are more pressed for time than we have ever been. Many of us were tasked with balancing our priorities due to the pandemic over the last year and a half. It seems the smarter and more advanced we get, the less time we have to enjoy our mental, technological, and personal advances. I suspect I don’t have many dissenters; however, I do want to give you some suggestions this week on some small ways that you can create more time to do the things you want to do while doing the things you need to do better.
Time blocking has become a prevalent topic in personal development and time management circles in recent years. It is simply identifying the top two to three most important tasks that you must complete each day to move you in the direction of your goals and dreams. It is scheduling the time into your calendar to complete those tasks with little to no interruptions. I have experienced the benefit of time blocking myself and highly recommend it to my followers and clients. It is remarkable how productive you feel if you accomplish your big three tasks each day, even if that is all that you accomplish.
As we all know, many days we have a perfect plan for how the day should go, but then distractions and unexpected diversions get in the way. So while I do suggest you take time the night before each day to plan and time block your biggest tasks, I would also offer a few more suggestions on how to manage your time best each day and minimize those distractions.
First, give yourself time to think – preferably early and first thing in the morning. Maybe it’s through prayer, meditation, or journaling, or all of the above. However you do it, you need time to set your intentions for the day, to visualize the things you need to do, and plan for the obstacles that are likely to get in the way. I watched with glee this past weekend as Phil Mickelson became the oldest golfer ever to win a major championship in golf. I was strictly by and completely impressed with the focused determination he had before every shot. It made me realize the importance of planning ahead and seeing the future I want to create.
Second, give yourself time to worry. Ok, I may have you scratching your head a bit on this one. But I mean exactly what I am saying. Instead of allowing worry to overtake your thoughts throughout the day, schedule a time each day when you are going to worry. Then as thoughts pop into your mind throughout the day, jot them down on your worry list. Then take 15-30 minutes at a time you have already scheduled to take out your worry list. I am guessing that most of these worries will have either completely become irrelevant or much less troubling than when they originally popped into your mind. Even better, you can eliminate distractions that come to you throughout the day and be much more productive on the things that matter most.
Finally, give yourself some grace. And feel free to share a little with others, too. Nothing and no one are perfect. Suppose you are like I used to be. You spend (the opposite of investing, as a reminder) far too much time blaming yourself and others for things than you think about problems you can solve for yourself and others. If there is one habit I could encourage you to take from this pot, it would be to accept and offer grace freely. We all need it, we all deserve it, and we all will be more like the Author of grace once we practice it.
I hope that these assets will become a part of your daily routine and that you will become the most successful and best version of yourself that you can be. You are invaluable, and you have significant assets and gifts to offer the world when you do.
Did you enjoy this article? If you haven’t already, please be sure to subscribe to this blog, where I post every Tuesday. You can also get additional free content by subscribing to my YouTube channel or following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
I also invite you to review my coaching page on my website here. I have only a couple of spots left in my Personal Development Coaching Practice. Each week I offer two free strategy sessions on a first-come, first-served basis to people interested in exploring how to become a person who pursues their goals and dreams. These special hour-long sessions prove again and again to be invaluable to those who participate. You can book these directly on my coaching page – I look forward to serving you.