Happy New Year! January, the month of new hopes for the future… Some of you have probably come up with New Year’s resolutions. I don’t always do but I have this year. I want to live in the moment.
I am often told that I usually achieve my resolutions because I have a high level of determination. True, but I think determination alone is not enough and that time management skills, more often than not, play an important role in achieving our resolutions.
Let me show you why time management skills are more important than determination in achieving New Year resolutions.
1. Time is not expandable and you have to make choices.
My view is that you shouldn’t have more than one resolution for the year ahead! Don’t think I don’t have other aspirations for this year myself! The truth is that I am just like you, I want a lot of things out of life. But I have learned over the years that life is about making choices. If you want to make something happen, you have to be focused and let go of the things that don’t serve your goals. Easier said than done I know but nobody has come up with a magic spell to expand time yet!
2. Like any to-do’s, you increase your chance of making your resolution happen by writing it down.
Mind you, when it comes to resolutions, using a photo or making a collage can actually be more powerful than words. Whatever format it is, keep it visible. Place it in your wallet or your phone, on your wardrobe or fridge door, etc. If you can, share it with someone who will be able to provide encouragement when things get tough.
3. A resolution is like a project and has to be broken down into specific, measurable and achievable tasks.
Be in the moment! I really like the sound of it, but it’s quite vague, isn’t it? And I have many options to make it happen. I guess one of the most sensible things for me to do would be to manage social media distractions like emails, WhatsApp, Facebook and the like. More specifically, removing notifications by placing these apps into a less visible location on my phone and allocating time and establishing rules as to when to check emails and apps would definitely make a big difference. It may not seem ambitious but I would rather start small and build on it than set myself up for failure by being overly ambitious.
4. Once you know what you are going to do, you need to make time for it in your schedule.
This is very true for those of you who want to be healthy and exercise for example. If you don’t block the time for exercise in your diary, it won’t happen. You have to treat these personal appointments with yourself like any other. And stick to it for a while as it takes time to build a new habit.
So, yes, obviously you need some determination to make your resolution come true but to me, the key success factor really is time management skills. I am probably pretty well-equipped in this field, but these skills can be learned. I have just completed a fantastic training course to become a time management coach by Julie Morgenstern Enterprises (Julie is one of the gurus on time management and author of the book Time Management from the Inside Out).
So if you want to put yourself on the road to success and learn how to better manage your time so that you can achieve your goals, just feel free to contact me.
Oh and by the way, it’s never too late to make a resolution, even if it is in the middle of the year. So don’t wait for next year to make yours! And I would love to know if my tips above have made sense to you. Please do comment below.
Leave a Reply