Happy new year! I hope you are all as full of hope and aspirations for this year as I am? Did you read my post on planning? Have you made plans for this year? If you haven’t, you can start now. I have made plans for this year and set SMART objectives with action plans for meeting each objective. I believe the success of my plan or any plan depends heavily on how your top 4 valuable resources are managed. These are:
Table of Contents
1. Time
“There is so much to do and so little time”. This is a phrase I hear and often say myself. Working towards our goals and achieving them in the time stated, without burning out, depends heavily on how we manage time effectively. Do you ever look at some people and wonder how they do it all given that we all have the same 24 hours in a day? Time is a limited resource. However, it is one of the most valuable resources for success. This is why one of my reasons for pursuing passive income is to have enough money to buy back my time. Do you have the feeling at the end of the day that you haven’t achieved what you set out to do? Then you need to review how you spend your time.
My main challenges with time
Competing priorities
Managing competing priorities is one of my main challenges. Lots of urgent and important things to do or so they all seem. Time for my full-time job, family, business, personal commitments, other relationships, time to meditate and pray, reading and having fun, and lest I forget, sleep! My main challenge is how to allocate my time between these different activities with the least compromise. I am sure this will resonate with a lot of people.
Spending time on non-value adding activities
Any activity that does not help to achieve your goals is non-value adding. So “non-value-adding” can be objective. For instance, If fun/relaxation is a personal goal and you find watching football relaxing, that can be value-adding. However, a lot of the activities we tag as relaxing are not necessarily so. For instance, social media can be value-adding depending on what we are doing, but it’s good to recognise when it is not or excessive. A lot of people think they won’t have the time to pursue certain goals/side hustles. However, I realise that I can easily get up to 2 hours back to work on side hustles by organising my time and cutting out non-value-adding activities.
Good time management tips
- Do a time audit – Doing a time audit from time to time, can help you understand how you have spent your time over a period. Do this by keeping a log of your activities over a period, like a habit tracker. This will help you understand how you use your time and what you can do to make it more productive.
- Schedule – This has been a lifesaver for me, I schedule almost everything. Use your calendar, If something comes up that needs doing, schedule it, and set a deadline.
- Avoid multitasking – This is strange advice coming from an avid multitasker, but focusing on one thing and finishing is more productive than doing a ”million” things at the same time.
- Time management principles – Follow good time management principles, for instance, making lists and prioritising activities using the time management matrix (urgent/importance). This article by Brian Tracy states the importance of learning time management.
2. Money
If you haven’t yet, see the about me section where I explain my money philosophy. Money is a resource, a means to an end not the end in itself. So how you obtain it, use it, manage it is important and will affect the quality of your life.
Money is definitely one of your top 4 valuable resources for success. Do you know the old saying money can’t buy happiness? Probably so. However, money can buy you a lot of things that will make you happy. Seeing money as a resource will give you a balance of perspective. You will not be chasing it at all costs but as a tool to achieve your purpose, support your values, and so on. For instance, if one of your core values is giving, you need money to either give or money to free up your time so you can do a lot more for the causes you care about. This has been one of my “why’s” for being wealthy. To effectively use money as a valuable resource? Do the following:
Create value
This is all about what you do to generate money/more money. Instead of seeing it as a job, a business, or a hustle, see it as value creation. It is easy to see the value being added from doing some jobs. For instance, a medical doctor who saves lives is viewed by everyone as valuable but a lot of people don’t enjoy what they do because they don’t see the value they bring or link it to their purpose. When trying to make more money with whatever skills/product you have, be clear about the value you are adding and you should see income flow to it. You can apply this principle if you want to progress in a current job or apply for a new one. To demand a promotion in most organisations, you need to provide clear evidence of the additional value you bring to the table.
Ways to boost your income by creating value include;
- Improving and gaining new skills.
- Starting a business/side hustle to solve a problem you identified.
- Ensure you are documenting and promoting yourself or ensuring your sponsors are promoting your value.
- Recognise your value and charge what you are worth.
Preserve value
Preserving your financial value is all about following sound financial principles. Avoid waste/leaks from unnecessary spending. When you’ve created value and earned money for it, you need to manage your money well. Good money management ensures that you are not spending all your money and preserving some. Money management starts with budgeting, you can download a free budget guide here.
Increase your value
Increasing your financial value is simply investing to create wealth, in my previous blog post, I mention the principles of compounding and the importance of working on increasing the asset column of your cashflow quadrant.
“Money is only used for two things. One, it’s to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will become. And the other purpose is it enables you to extend the service you provide far beyond your own presence.”
― Bob Procto
3. Relationships
We are social beings, everyone has one form of relationship or the other. Whether it’s our relationship with our partner, immediate and extended family, friends, or navigating office politics. Managing healthy relationships is fundamental to living a life of success. Here is how I ensure the quality of my relationships:
Relationship Audit
As we begin the new year it’s good to have a good assessment of all your relationships. Healthy relationships affect our mental and physical wellbeing positively. It might be necessary to redefine some relationships and seek out new ones. I am not an advocate for only relating to people who are similar as it narrows your world view. You just need to define the relationships and set appropriate boundaries. The importance of a support network or group cannot be overemphasized. As an introvert, I often take this for granted as I can do fine without socialising much. However, a catch-up with a friend however short can do a lot to lift my spirit. We were made for relationships, and as the saying goes, no man is an island. So check your relationships, identify the dynamics and impact of each on you, and make adjustments where necessary.
Invest
If you have done a relationship audit, you will recognise the relationships that are most important to you. Be intentional about your relationships, set time aside to cultivate them. I found having moved to a new country and town that it takes time to cultivate new friendships, especially as working adults with young kids. It is hard work at times inviting people over for meals and investing time in activities, but all it needs is some patience. Even though I am often busy, I try to do the little things for people in my relationship circle. I schedule yearly birthday reminders, anniversaries, and so on. A lot of people appreciate it when you remember important dates and call regularly.
4. Yourself
Last but not least valuable resource is yourself. It is the most important, isn’t it? We need to be alive and well to enjoy our time, money, and relationships. So take extra care in taking care of yourself.
Health and wellbeing
This goes without saying, health is wealth as they say. Don’t just set new year weight and fitness goals that you only follow in January. Make keeping fit and healthy eating a habit. Start with small changes and focus on consistency then gradually increase the intensity. For instance, if you want to jog/run, start with 1 mile say 3 times a week. Be consistent with this, which means you keep to it come rain or sunshine, except you are ill or injured. Then you can gradually go from 1 mile to 1.5 and increase it gradually. You can apply the same to healthy eating. You can cut out anything you want from your diet incrementally. Creating and protecting time for rest and relaxation is very important. I find this very difficult with all I have to do but I am going to be very intentional about this.
Mind matters
One of the things I am most grateful for besides being alive and well is a sound mind. There is a lot more awareness now than ever about the importance of mental health. I realise that giving my mind some space is important. My mind is usually in constant overdrive, from when I wake up to the end of the day. I ram planning some quiet time just to clear my mind and rest it. Time to sit in silence, quiet and breathing. This is a broad topic that needs its own post and probably a health professional. However, make sure you guard your mental health against anything that affects it.
Personal development
The best investment anyone can make is in oneself. If you see yourself as a resource, someone holding value with a lot to give then you will find it important to hone your skills and strive to be the better version of yourself. As a qualified accountant, I have to engage in continued professional development so I do courses almost every year. Sometimes, you might feel you know everything but there is always something new to learn. Books, youtube, and a ton of free and paid resources are easy to obtain these days. Focus on the areas you need to improve on, you can identify this from self-reflection or feedback from a work appraisal, customers, or peers. If you are looking to read more, join our book club on Facebook where we will be reading one personal development book a month and reviewing it.
In conclusion
How you manage your top 4 valuable resources will determine how successful you are in achieving your goals. You can generate wealth by using time more efficiently and developing yourself. Then buy back your time when you are financially independent to enjoy the freedom to fully control your time. You need good health and a healthy mind to fully enjoy your time and money. It’s incredible how they all tie together! I hope this resonates with you and you will look for ways to efficiently manage the resources at your disposal. Have a valuable week!