Mark Twain supposedly said, “Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it.”
Today we could say, “Everybody talks about being overwhelmed, but nobody knows what to do about it.”
But we can do a lot about time – in fact, we can change our time management just by the way we talk about it.
In my experience, there’s one way you can tell when people are seriously ready to make a move, i.e., start a business, accelerate their career, take a sabbatical.
They begin to talk about time as an investment.
You know change is in the air when you do these 3 things.
(1) Calculate your rate of return on your time investment.
You find yourself saying, “This is not a good use of my time.” You might take time to relax and enjoy a movie or family meal — but your rate of return will be high because you get meaningful (though intangible) rewards.
(2) Assign a value to your time.
You find yourself saying, “If I hire someone to do this, I’ll come out ahead.”
Or you think, “My company could automate this process. Then each person wouldn’t have to spend hours, all doing the same thing over and over again.”
Too materialistic? You can assign units of happiness or meaning if you prefer.
(3) Focus on outcomes rather than process.
You’re talking about results – not effort. You won’t mention working hard or putting in hours. You’ll talk about how you transformed a situation, earned revenue or solved a problem.
And you probably charge your own clients a flat fee rather than an hourly rate (and prefer to hire
resources the same way).
If you’re already talking this way, congratulations! You’re probably taking charge of your career and maybe considering a business venture. You may be frustrated with others who don’t understand your new focus.
If not – no problem. Your value system may be different. You may be in a different life phase. Or
you may be one of those who defy logic and still win the game.
Often you won’t be aware of your own processes.
It’ll be easier to see changes in a friend’s behavior than in your own. Often others will notice but be too polite to share. They don’t want to say, “You don’t seem really invested in your career transition.” They don’t want to say, “Wow – you seem really ready to take action! What’s stoppig you?”
That’s why a lot of people hire coaches and consultants – to get an objective perspective from someone who will be honest with you. My career change website can be found here.