As we enter December, we creep ever closer to the end of 2020. I know we are all doing a happy dance at the thought of this crazy year being over, in the hopes that 2021 we will have some return to normalcy. For some people the end of the year means thoughts of the upcoming Tax Season and what that means for them. This will be the opportunity to see what their return on investment has been.
The end of the year is also the opportunity to see what the return is on the Personal Development Investments you have made. When we start to analyze our Personal Return On Investments (PROI) we need to understand that the currency that we exchange in our lives is more than just dollars and cents. This is the chance we have to objectively look at how much energy we have invested, along with how much time we have invested as well.
Very often we are more concerned with how much money we have spent on different areas of our lives, failing to understand that time is a far more valuable resource. Tomorrow you have the opportunity to get up and go to work again and make more money, but what we need to understand is that we cannot recoup the hours that we spent the day before. No matter how much we bargain, we can't buy back our time. This is why it is so important to be diligent in where we are investing our time.
I know personally that most years I look at what my income for the year has been and wonder where on earth all of the money went. Very recently though, I have started looking at the time that has passed and have begun to question where my time has gone. Where are you spending your time? Are you investing hours on social media, just swiping your screens as a way to distract you from the everyday stresses of life? Or are you investing your time on improving your life through learning new skills, connecting with loved ones, or working on Personal Development. When was the last time you picked up a book that could help you improve your life?
So what can do? When it comes to finances it's pretty easy, you sit down with a financial advisor and go over your income, and look at where you can make some changes and where you can traffic your money in hopes of achieving a higher rate of return. When it comes to time you have some less clear options.
The most important thing that you can do is to honestly Self Audit your time. Start tracking where you are spending your time, because just like finances, if you don't know where you are spending your time you can't make any changes. If this is something that you are struggling with find yourself a Life Coach or Life Strategist. They will be able to work with you and help you objectively look at where and how you are investing your time.
So before we slip into another year that once again flies back, take some time to reflect on the investments you are making in your life, and always remember that the Greatest investment you can ever make, is in yourself.