While reading a portion of the book "Values-based Financial Planning" by Bill Bachrach, I was struck by the following quote:
"There are only 168 hours in a week, no matter your age, how much money you make, what you've invested, how attractive you are, or how much information you can access on the Internet. No exemptions. Your quality of life is a function of how you chose to spend that time."
Wow. This quote struck me because it articulates how fleeting time truly is. As a coach, I personally wear many hats. I myself struggle with those 168 hours per week. How I spend my time directly impacts my feelings throughout the week. In addition to meeting with clients, fellow coaches and altogether new people (the part of the job I love) I need to budget, blog, organize, read current trends and topics, study up on the practice of coaching, market the business, and do the nitty-gritty details expected of an entrepreneur. I enjoy this life, and it certainly can easily fill all 168 hours of my week.
In addition, I want to find time to spend with my family and friends and squeeze in a little relaxation. It can seem, at times, that the "me" in my week somehow seems less important than other matters. As a coach, I am continually discussing these 168 hours with clients. My clients come to me because all too often, their 168 hours have morphed into 52 weeks or 5 years of forgetting to make "me" time.
What can happen in these instances is that the lose sight of our goals, their passion and what makes them happy. I aim to refocus the direction of my clients by starting with the next 24 hours...I invite my clients to spend a moment with me placing themselves first. I am honored to spend a few moments, precious moments, looking at a subject they have overlooked: themselves.
After a long period of time forgetting to listen to that "gut feeling" it can take time to retrain yourself to tune back in. I encourage all of you to spend just 10 minutes of the next 24 hours experiencing an exercise I share with my clients. Take 10minutes to think about what you want.
What are your goals?
What do you want to accomplish in the next 24 hours...
just 24 hours...
start small.
What would achieving this goal do for you today and tomorrow?
Give yourself time and pace yourself. 10 minutes out of 168 hours this week doesn't seem so selfish, does it?
This is an interesting post. On one hand 168 hours seems like alot, but it always seems like there are not enough.
ReplyDeleteMy goal for the next 24 hours is to finish the last 40 pages of my book.
By getting it read, I would be less stressed about the time available to complete the written assignments associated with the book.
Stacy - I've taught Time Monitor/Time Plan process in a Student Success course. It's quite an eye-opener to see where your time is spent. I like the good news part of 168 hrs/week - you do have enough time for the things you want to do. All it takes is learning a few ways to manage time.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right - time is an equal opportunity resource; it is also an usual commodity; because it is so elusive, it is easy to ignore; it's a nonrenewable resource; and time seems to pass at varying speeds :-)
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! My focus throughout the program has been on building a course to help people with goal setting, and one of the things people have a hard time with is setting realistic time tables for what they want to do. Your exercise could really help people get an idea of how much can/cannot be done in a day. Thanks for sharing!
It is magical how 10 minutes of quiet time all to oneself can reveal so much! Good process. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLorrie Toni