Keep in mind that they are all finite resources:
- Time – plan and prioritise to prevent procrastination and not waste time
- Energy – ensure you sleep well, rest and look after yourself to maintain your energy levels
- Money – generate more money by spending time earning more
Many years ago, one of my clients needed help with her time management. I coached her to determine some actions to help with that and then later she would report that she couldn’t implement those actions because … she didn’t have time! Despite knowing what was important, she couldn’t give the project the time it needed. We finally found a way for her to free up that time.
The crucial thing here is to think about what’s important. Find yourself more time to achieve those goals by doing less of the unimportant things, like watching TV or spending too long exercising. All three things – time, money and energy – need to be in balance. Losing sleep over trying to fit more in is counterproductive.
Resources and How to Improve Them
Time
What’s the timeline for your goal? If it’s a short-term project, find some way to reallocate some time. For instance, if you always spend an hour a day reading, reallocate that hour to your goal. Doing this on a short-term basis – just a few days or weeks – will mean you’ll relish the time you get back once the short-term goal is achieved.
For long-term goals, those short-term sacrifices are not sustainable. Instead, make sure you have time allocated on a regular basis, helping it to become a habit, a natural rhythm, all part of your daily or weekly working patterns. For instance, if you need to ramp up your marketing, or you have a large financial project that should positively impact the business in a year or so, then start prioritising your diary.
Colour code your whole week to make sure that you do what’s needed, when. Give a specific colour to your goal and other activities so that you can look ahead and ensure there’s a good balance over time.
Energy
As soon as you set a goal, you get excited about achieving it. In that moment, anything is possible. Then reality hits as you put the effort in to achieve it. The initial excitement and energy wanes. Somehow, you need to maintain that excitement or re-energise yourself. It’s both a physical and an emotional thing.
Long-term goals can be particularly hard to keep motivated about. The longer it takes to receive gratification, the more demotivated you may become. That’s when some simple actions need to take place:
- Allow yourself rewards for achieving certain milestones along the journey to your goal.
- Think about what’s stopping you from taking action – coaching can help you work out what that reason is.
- Remind yourself of what boosts your energy and motivation and lifts your spirit – more sleep? A walk in the country? Going dancing? Or even a weekend break. Whatever it takes!
- Always acknowledge the progress you’ve made at regular intervals, weekly or monthly.
Money
Your goals have a worth, whether they’re business or personal goals. Personal goals tend to be more intangible. Keep in mind that your goals need to be worth more than any initial costs. It’s important to consider the long-term rewards as well as the value of the goal and put them into ROI terms.
For example, a business goal may be the need to invest to get new clients. You then need to earn enough money to make that investment. Try not to solely think about the cost, though; it’s important to look ahead to those long-term rewards.
When discussing goals with my clients, I always ask them if the goal is something they really want to work towards. If the rewards don’t exceed the financial investment, let alone the time and energy involved, then they may not be realistic goals.
