How do I make the most of my time?

Do you realise that we are two thirds through 2018? Only one third of the year to go.

What a thought. And if that had not occurred to you, and it has now because I have mentioned it –

 – sorry.

How did you start out at the beginning of the year? And what would it mean now to finish the year well? This is really about asking:

How do I make the most of my time in what is left of the year?

There is a new trend for starting Autumn resolutions. This fits with the idea we have been musing about of a new term, new season, and often a new start if we are linked in any way to the academic calendar.

I am not a fan of resolutions, be they new year or new term. They often simply set us up to fail, and heap blame and guilt on our heads without achieving any productive, effective change.

But what if we simply asked ourselves:

How do I want this year to end?”

Both in terms of who we want to be, and what we want to have achieved or accomplished by the end of 2018.

There are less than four months left, so I am not talking about major character changes, or re-writing our whole mindsets. Nor am I talking about major life changes – career, house move, achieving long-held ambitions.

Those are all important and worthy, but generally take a little more thought, reflection, planning, time and effort.

No – instead, pick one thing that if it had changed by the end of this year, that would put you in a great place to finish the year well.

• It might be exercising more consistently each week.
• Changing one eating habit.
• Watching less TV and instead using the time to read/catch up with a friend on the phone/do something arty.
• Get up consistently at the same time each morning.
• Write a thankfulness list.
• Take half an hour each week to deal with piles/clutter/emails.
• Divide up the household chores more equitably between family members.
• Start a class/activity that is life-giving and soul-restoring.
• Create and stick to a budget.
• Look long and hard at your over stuffed schedule, and at what is most important to you, and give up one thing.

In discussion with some dear friends this week, what became apparent again is that our lives are very busy and very full, and the weeks just whip past at a phenomenal rate. If we do nothing, nothing will happen. We have to choose to be very deliberate, very intentional, very proactive about our WHY, WHAT, HOW, and WHO:

WHAT do we want to change?

What is one thing that changed, would make a good and consistent difference?

WHY is that important?

This is key – what difference is this change going to make? What will we gain from this change? How does this tie in with what is most important to you, your values? Unless we have a clear WHY, we will not have the internal motivation to stick with change.

HOW are we going to do this?

What specifically does this change involve? Creating as specific an action as possible increases dramatically the likelihood that we will persevere and succeed [make it SMART to use real coaching/management jargon! – read more here].

What are we going to do, when, how often, and how will we keep ourselves on track.

WHO can help encourage us?

We work better together (I am sure that is an advert for something!). Don’t do this alone. Find a pal, make a commitment to support and partner with each other to stick with the one change you want to make as we head towards the end of the year.

Perhaps, for you or someone you know, as you seek to answer the question, How do I make the most of my time? you come to a realisation. You are a bit lost and at sea with who you are, how you use your time, and what is going on in your head. The time has come for you to seek help. If that help would be most useful in the form of life coaching, get in touch and we can work together to craft the life that you really want.