Hello and welcome back to my series on making 2018 your best year yet. Today we’re going to talk about the 3 questions we must answer to make 2018 amazing. Here they are:
1. How can I as an individual get better in 2018?
2. How can I improve my business or organization in 2018
3. How can I work towards these things consistently in 2018?
Regarding the first question, I’ve been privileged to work with many people over the years and have spent thousands of hours coaching. Through all these experiences, people always ask me how they can improve with time management. That makes sense, as time management is the cornerstone of success in just about anything. Of course, this harkens back to the sense of urgency we discussed in the last blog post. If you want to get better with your time, start by figuring out its worth. How much do you value it per hour?
There are a few ways you can answer that. Some people can look at what they bill and go from there. Others can take their salary and divide it by the number of hours they work. Whatever you do, figuring out the value of your time is eye-opening. Sometimes, however, it’s less about how much your time is currently worth and more about what you want it to be worth.
I had a client who wanted his time to be worth $10,000 an hour. That’s a shocking number and he wasn’t there at the time. Most people don’t think that big. Yet deciding on a number that you might deem crazy changes way you think about how you spend your time. That was this guy’s benchmark and we worked together for years to keep getting closer to it. The number we aspire to is crucial because it changes how we handle our time, encourages us to delegate, and helps us discern our priorities.
When you know your numbers, you’ll realize that doing tasks that are worth less than the hourly value of your time is problematic. We’re looking for ways to free up time and focus on what’s important for making 2018 our best year yet. As such, we’ll have to delegate or cut out those extra tasks. We’ll need to outsource and build a team of people who can help us get things done. If that seems too daunting, consider the fact that your team members don’t have to live in America. Some of mine live in other countries. There are places where the cost of living is much lower and money stretches farther. This allows someone to work with you for a price that’s affordable to you yet comfortable for them. It’s a win-win for everybody.
In any case, I would definitely recommend outsourcing and delegating wherever possible, and this applies to tasks in your personal life, too. Things like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn take up precious time that you could spend on your business, family, or health. I understand that not everyone is at a point where they have the means or opportunity to outsource. Still, it’s very helpful and I want you to consider it whenever it becomes possible.
There’s still more to cover regarding this first question, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want to spend hours glued to your computer. We’ll delve further into question 1 in the next installment of this series. Until then, have a better than amazing day!
