Are you spending your time well?

The Time Well Spent movement made me wonder, “have I been spending my time well?” 

It’s much easier to know your time is well spent when you leave it in someone else’s hands. At the very least, you have the bottom clearly defined - “I’m not fired yet!” 

Most of us say we want more control over our time, but then find the ability to measure progress or satisfaction elusive.

For me this year has been about doing many new things - write a best-selling book, go on dozens of podcasts, speak around the world, and launch an online course. These all allow me to learn, grow and build capacity to serve others in my business. 

It is time well spent because, while it feels exhausting and can be embarrassing to put yourself out there to do new things, it is a great way to stay relevant in the crazy, fast, volatile world defined in my book, Future Proof. 

Often, doing something well requires starting without grace. As one friend who helps to edit my work said, “You’re an inspiration when it comes to going after things.” To put it another way, she is impressed by my ability to persevere despite seventeen edits to one single magazine article!

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We all feel the pressure to constantly upskill and reskill. If time well spent is time pushing beyond your comfort zone, how do you stay on the cusp of what is possible for you?

Here are three ways to kickstart some good “grit” and start learning something new without feeling like you want to give up.

1. Have a lighthouse goal - a long term goal of “telling better stories” inspires me to keep plugging along.
2. Mark your progress - celebrate small victories weekly or monthly like sitting down to write 100 words a day or reaching out for coffee with someone in a new industry. Even mistakes can be victories as lessons learned.
3. Manage your energy - going up a learning curve takes more energy than coasting. Schedule in more breaks to restore your energy when you are doing something new. This can be self-care or just going back to work that you can do easily.

What do you struggle with in staying motivated to learn and try new things?