For many, time management is a tactical practice.
There are a series of actions and events tied to a schedule or calendar. To do lists are created and done to varying degrees of success. Meetings are booked and appointments worked. These intentional but maybe reactive activities populate our days and represent life in the near term. It is a little bit like joining a movie after it has already started. On the surface, you understand the actions and dialog, but lack the full meaning and objective because you missed the beginning.
“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
Proverbs 20:5
As I collaborate with clients, I enter the picture well into their narrative. I immediately work to help establish a time management plan that moves from immediate and spontaneous efforts, to venturing time programming more into the future. However, at some point I need more, not necessarily the genesis of their life story, but I seek to understand their life purpose.
Participants in the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA) are asked, “Whether retired or not and removing any influence of a job/career, I have a purpose in life right now, defined and written, that I can articulate and share with others.” Fifty percent disagreed. What about you? Do you have a specified purpose in life?
Establishing a rationale for life might seem like a hard exercise. However, most companies have mission and vision statements that define their function and aims. No matter your age, it is worth your time to do the same. Here are some ideas to create a Life Purpose Statement (LPS)
- Think about what dreams you have in life. Reflect on what you would like to do in life if money and time were no object. Have fun with this and don’t limit yourself. Record them all. If you have a spouse or significant other, ask them to do the same.
- Edit the list to what seems realistic. Keep your fill list, but target what you feel is worth your time.
- Looking at the revised items, imagine how your life would be different if those dreams come true.
- Next, evaluate your core values, what is important to you, and what are areas you will not compromise.
- Compare your dreams against your core values and check for conflicts. Adjust the dreams if necessary.
- Now, ponder on what fundamental changes might need to be made in your life to achieve the dream or dreams.
- Consider your strengths and see how they tie back to the dream.
- Gaze out five, ten, and even twenty years? Can your dream become a reality?
The LPS method is very much a heart approach. It is a deep exercise, causing you to pull on more reflective perspectives. Nonetheless, as noted in the Proverbs 20:5, it will hopefully draw insights out of you and make you think differently.
Hold on though, you are not done. Now you need to take all the information you have compiled and write a declaration. Like business mission and vision statements, you need to craft your purpose statement. Typically, it needs to only be a sentence or two. Here is an example template:
My goal in life is to [state your long-term vision], believing I can accomplish this by [insert core values or most important core value].
Or another.
My purpose in life is realize my dream of [insert dream] by utilizing my [insert personal strengths].
A true purpose will change your entire time management dynamic.
At Kairos Management Solutions, we offer the “Life Resource Statement” and “Retirement Purpose Statement” resources to our clients. If you are interested, email me at dave@kmstime.com and I will send either one to you, no obligation.
Dave Buck is the Chief Executive Time Keeper of Kairos Management Solutions.
Learn about your time management opportunities by taking and getting a free Time Management Analysis (TMA) summary report. Schedule an appointment with Dave Buck to discuss a full-time management improvement program for individuals, teams, and companies.