Motivation is half the battle

For some, time management is less about the need to get more done in a day then is is about doing what matters most.  You can have great systems put in place, but unless you are focused on a goal they will get you no where.  This is where motivation becomes a factor.  If you’ve read my previous posts, you know I love systems and I’ve learned to love my “to-do” lists.  But all the systems in the world will not help if you do not have the proper motivation and frame of mind. 

My most recent session with my business coach, Spencer Combs (www.spencercombs.com), was eye opening.  We looked back at an exercise we did about 6 months ago and I realized I met most of the goals I set for myself back then! It was now time to do the same exercise again in order to move my business forward to the next level.  You would think that would be motivation enough to light a fire under me and renew my push for building a successful virtual assistant business.  I was surprised that instead of being productive last week, I was totally un-productive and just went through the motions.  I think I finally realize what coach Spencer means when he explains that everyone has different motivators (what “moves” you).

My motivation this week came from a conversation about vacations I had with my husband this week-end and what we can afford to do next year.  We talked about how much we need to save each month to get us where we want to go and I realized THIS is my motivation.  That’s why it’s Monday morning and I’ve already written my blog for the week, heck I might even write TWO this week!

In summary, time management is very important and the more you work on implementing things that will leverage your time and energies the better, however the other part of the equation is you have to find what motivates YOU to put it all together and MAKE IT HAPPEN!  Systems alone will not make your business grow.  You must have focus and a goal that motivates you to keep moving forward.  That motivator is different for everyone (there is no right or wrong motivator).  It’s taken me a year of coaching to figure out mine, so don’t give up if you haven’t found yours yet!  It may even change over time.  Just believe in yourself and don’t be afraid of what you learn.