Tag Archives: goals

I haven’t got time

Ask people to do something that’s crucial for their health, their stomach or their sex life and they’ll drop everything and do it right away.

Anything else? Good luck getting it done anytime soon.

There’s always time for scrolling and watching TV. Yoga classes and reading endless self help books. Another news notification or LinkedIn comment to reply to.

But something to work on that’s hard to achieve, really important and has a lifelong impact if you can work it out? Bottom of the list.

Lack of purpose

Those who say they haven’t got time for the important stuff in life don’t understand what avoiding it really means. They’re drifting through each day. They lack purpose and goals. They’re putting everyone and everything else in life before themselves.

If you tell everyone you’re always busy, you really need to have a look at how you spend your time.

Are you honestly flat-out for 8 to 10 hours a day working? I think not.

It sounds cool to be busy.

People act impressed when we say that we’re under the pump, but rarely is this busy with stuff that’s getting us closer to our personal goals.

We put all that off because, of course, we’re too busy. “I haven’t got time.”

Time is easy to find

If you were given a free, all-expenses-paid holiday for three weeks leaving in three hours time and you had to complete your work before you left, you’d get it done.

If someone close to you was about to die and you had the chance to see them before they passed away, you’d be there.

So why don’t you go to the gym and work out when you say you will?

Why do you eat the wrong stuff when you know you shouldn’t?

Why do you skip meditation, don’t clean your teeth, or go to bed an hour later than you know you should?

The priority is not you

It’s because to you, you’re not the priority. You’re bottom of your list and everyone and everything else is above you.

You have time for client calls and meetings about meetings and emails – endless emails.

But your growth and wellbeing? Your health and wellness? It always comes second.

And then you wonder why you suffer. Why you have issues with anger and anxiety.

Top of your list

Getting some order in your life will help. Start with a calendar and go from there.

But first, take it even further back. Ask yourself why you’re not top of your list every single day.

Solve that one and things will gradually get better.

What are you measuring?

Leave a reply

I never used to measure anything and loved living in the land of always being ‘nearly there’.

No matter what I was working towards, I was never that far away from completing it and the end was always in sight.

Until it wasn’t and the target was missed.

On a diet? Yeah, those pounds are coming off. How much have you lost this week? Oh, I think I had salads on Tuesday and Wednesday so I’m definitely going to be lighter…

Training for that marathon? It’s going brilliantly. How many miles have you done this month? Ahh, I reckon I could have run three this week already…

And when it came to business, I would always let my bank balance and the accountant give me the good or bad news. The day of that meeting was always high anxiety.

And then I started measuring. I really went for it.

I track as much as possibly can to make sure I’m heading towards my goals and it’s made a massive difference.

I can see clearly when I’m on track and improving. I can see the areas where I’m falling behind. And, most importantly, I can see the pieces of the puzzle that are missing as I work towards a specific target every day.

One of my metrics is all about meetings with contacts and connections. I would happily sit at my desk all day and meet as few people as possible but I know this is no way to grow a business and build a network. So I track the numbers of meetings I have through each week.

And the fun starts when I watch how much new business I close as the number of meetings I take each week increases.

It’s a clear and simple feedback loop that tells me that I’m heading in the right direction.

Measuring makes it clear what works and what doesn’t. I know what needs to change. I know what I can improve on.

In the areas that matter the most to you, this process can be invaluable. If you’re looking for work, for example, knowing that you have hit your target of five new applications every day will give you confidence that it’s only a matter of time until the phone starts ringing with offers.

Measure and track progress. Obsess on it.

It’s a step on the path to success, no matter what goals you have.

Celebrate your successes in 2016

Leave a reply

Before we get stuck into 2017 and all the joys of January and the start of a fresh year, it’s important to take some time to reflect on the year that has just passed and the things that we have achieved.

Celebrating the victories, large and small, is a must. We don’t do this enough in my opinion and it helps to motivate us to deliver on the next big thing in front of us. Don’t dwell for too long but pay attention to what was tough and what challenges you overcame to get the job done.

This year for me has been a big one – a change of work focus, a move to a new country, completion of some really great project work for clients in four countries and a couple more medals for running events that I didn’t think I’d be able to do when I ruined my knee in 2012. I also completed the longest bike tour I’ve ever attempted, up and down some of the hills of South Wales, so it’s been another good one on all fronts.

Just typing this out brings home to me the positivity around getting things done and making things happen, so why don’t you give it a try? And once it’s done, start your 2017 planning with some confidence that you can (and will) deliver again in the New Year.

What’s your next challenge?

Leave a reply

The daily grind can really get you down. Commuting followed by the same old faces in the office and the same old problems in your job leads us into the ‘living for the weekend’ mentality. Add some bigger personal goals to your life – challenges to your everyday existence of any kind, physical or mental – and use them to drive your life forwards and basically do more, live more.

My challenges are quite often related to sport. I have a challenge in April next year to ride 50 miles on my bike on a very hilly course in a race in West Wales. Now, I’m not a full-on rider so it’s going to take a lot of work to get fit enough for this. And I’m also not all that strong in the legs so hills just stop me stone dead, so the work is going to have to be really hard to make sure I can finish this thing.

The point I’m making here is that this bigger challenge – bigger than the everyday stuff we all have to do – is getting me focussed and making sure I train hard and put in the work to make the ride a success. It might also lead me to do more racing and get my legs strong enough to go up some bigger hills. Maybe even the French Alps one day. Who knows?

Set yourself a challenge and see where it takes you. Until you try, you’re never going to really know what you’re capable of. Use it to give you focus and create some energy and drive to achieve.

—

Ian Mountford is a global recruitment expert and strategy coach providing motivation and guidance to entrepreneurs, wannabe or fully-fledged. He draws from his own experience of building businesses from the ground up and spending many years helping clients to consistently achieve their goals and aspirations. Ian works with clients face-to-face and internationally.

What’s your target?

Leave a reply

As we head into the final quarter of the year, with dark nights, christmas present lists, next year’s summer holiday plans, etc, it’s time to think about targets for next year. They don’t need to be sporty ones (although mine mostly are – I do a lot of sport) but they can be anything you like. They can be a real help in motivating us to do something new, improve ourselves, find a new hobby or interest, meet new folks – whatever you fancy, really.

What are yours?

I’d love to hear from you. Even you lurkers out there, too. Come and join in, let us all know what you’re up to…

Mine? Well, the biggest one, anyway – Paris Marathon next April in a new best time for me that’s a long way off right now – 3.15. I’m going to throw everything at it!