The Power of Y.O.U. and Committing to Your Time Boundaries
Power Quote of the Month
“The essence of self-discipline is to do the important thing rather than the urgent thing.” ~ Barry Werner
When you spend your time, it’s gone. But when you invest your time, you get a positive return. Time is your most valuable resource. Think of how you use your time as an investment.
I love coaching clients to make radical changes in their careers and lives to achieve what they desire. As part of our coaching relationship, I teach how to set clear TIME boundaries. I do this using my K.T.F. Planning tool which stands for “keep the focus”. This tool is simple to use and produces concrete measurable results. And it creates a simple process for gaining clarity, and accountability for making it happen.
Here are 4 strategies for valuing yourself and your commitment to your TIME boundaries:
1. Commit to a calendar date each week to plan out your entire week in advance
Once you’re armed with your high-priority goals and tasks, you need to create a balanced 7-day plan for what you’re doing and when. The one hour you invest upfront will reduce wasted time during the week and increase your flow state. When you put your plans down in black and white, you make your time a reality. No more vagueness or denial about where your time is going. Writing is a powerful tool as it energetically creates greater intention and clarity. Create time blocks for recurring weekly activities which you can control. For example, time with family, sleep, prayer/meditation, exercise, volunteer work, and a hobby or class. These types of commitments form the core foundation for your physical, intellectual, spiritual, and mental health.
2. Make calendar dates with yourself for high-priority goals and make them non – negotiable.
If high-priority tasks and projects are not assigned to your calendar, chances are something else will take precedence. To-do lists are not enough. With my KTF planning tool, you’re less likely to sabotage your efforts with low-value activities once your time is accounted for. If you get an “urgent” request from a pushy co–worker who has poor boundaries, state “I have an appointment at 10:00 am, so that time won’t work for me to help you. Perhaps you can ask Carol instead.” That 10:00 am appointment reflects your commitment to protecting that time for yourself. Creating guard rails to keep you on track is essential.
3. Evaluate your progress each week and celebrate your successes
At the end of each week, use your KTF planning tool to determine what went well, where you got off track, and why. It’s very important and satisfying to celebrate all you’ve completed. Give yourself that positive acknowledgment. This habit will improve your motivation, confidence, momentum, and productivity. Also, assess your progress, and evaluate which tasks you didn’t get to complete and what got in the way. Look for insights that can improve your relationship with TIME. If you consciously chose to shift certain tasks to the following week, that’s fine. If you avoided a task because it was hard, decide who and/or what can support you to tackle it for the upcoming week. Enlist help from your network or find a new tool. Finally, note what time of day your energy was optimal for completing more challenging goals/tasks.
4. Eliminate energy drains, emotional vampires, and other time sucks.
Thinking you lack the time for anything is an illusion. What’s more likely is that you are spending time on relationships and activities that you no longer value, serve you well, and have no real payoff. Most people are unconscious of how much actual time they waste in a day. How about you? Are you conscious of your time robbers and energy drains? Do you audit your time, like your money? Are you tracking your time deposits, savings, investments, and withdrawals? For example, if you waste 14 hours a week surfing low-quality social media content, you could use that time performing a random act of kindness through volunteer work instead. If you eliminate a relationship that was blocking your advancement of a key goal, you can replace that relationship with a new champion that can boost you to the next level.
I’m hopeful my POWER OF Y.O.U. article will inspire you to focus daily on using a few or all the power tools below:
Your 30-Day Power Challenge
Use the KTF planning tool for the next 30 days. Make a weekly plan, evaluate your progress each week, and make necessary modifications for the upcoming week. Repeat.
Power Resources and Tools
- Career Leverage KTF Planning Tool
- Read Atomic Habits: An Easy Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear
- Check out Melissa Urban Melissa Urban’s podcast Do the Thing, With Whole30’s.
You will learn the secrets of how some of the world’s top thought leaders make a positive difference by owning their uniqueness.
I want to hear from you. Send me an email and please let me know how you did with this month’s challenge and the power resources and tools. You can also connect with me via my email: nancy@careerleverage.net to learn how my services can benefit you and set up a complimentary discovery call with me.
Are you ready to take action and be accountable for your desired results?
Do you want challenge yourself to grow professionally and personally? If your answer is YES to both for creating sustainable change, then contact Nancy to learn more about the steps for getting there.
Nancy Friedberg, M.A.
Master Coach and President, Career Leverage, Inc.
Marshall Goldsmith Certified Stakeholder Centered Coach
Certified Now What? Facilitator