The Five Most Important Investments for Your Time in 2018
What you invest your time in will define who you are, your leadership influence, and how others view you.
Busyness is rooted in only one thing: saying yes too often, to too many things.
Successful leaders are intentional with their time. They don’t use it up or spend it, they invest their time.
1. Health
- Eliminate or decrease consumption of alcohol
- Limit caffeine intake
- Begin exercising 3-4 times per week
- Make a list of the foods you will no longer eat
- Put yourself on a strict sleeping schedule
According to Lincoln Financial Group, three of the top five reasons people suffer from poor financial fitness are:
- Lack of financial guidance
- Poor investment strategies
- Procrastination in starting a savings plan
- Spend less than you make
- Don’t buy something unless you can afford to pay cash
- Pay off your credit cards in full every month
- Put 10% of every dollar you make into an interest savings account- and higher interest bonds
- Give at least 10% of every dollar you make back to God. This is a spiritual practice Julie and I are committed to; every person’s choices and values are different.
- Set your own social standard. Buy things you can afford, and avoid trying to keep up with a certain social status.
- Inner-Circle Relationships: seek out people of high standards— people and leaders of greatness you admire and share similar values of significance.
- Mentoring Relationships: Seek out mentors and a coach to sharpen you and speak life and accountability into your life.
- Friendships: Rich and enduring friendships add a depth of goodness and joy into your life. Initiate time to hang out and enjoy life.
- Family Relationships: Family time is quality time. Invest in those you love because you’ll never regret time well spent.
- Read daily or listen to audio books. Be intentional by asking others for book recommendation and make your 2018 book list of at least 5-10 books.
- Get out and travel. Learn about other people, other cultures, and history. Explore your own city. Don’t get stuck in a rut.
- Take up a new hobby or recreation. Run a 5K, get a mountain bike, go target shooting (my personal favorite), paint, read a novel, go cross-country skiing, go hiking, and try new things (cell phone free).
In order to make your time matter, you cannot ignore the question, “Why am I here?” Below are the questions I ask myself during my purpose-investment time:
- Do I have confidence in my pursuits?
- Am I making full use of my God-given gifts?
- Where is my primary focus— is it on myself or others?
- What distractions are keeping my time from being truly maximized?
- Where should I put more of my focus?
- How can I better invest my time this month to live more fully aligned to my purpose?
As a master storyteller, Steve has unparalleled ability to communicate dynamic business and leadership truths through stories, anecdotes and humor. Harness the power of the “number one” predictor of professional success, impact, leadership, high performance and sustainable relationships in business and life. Steve’s highest rated keynote presentation.
To book Steve for your 2018 meeting or event, contact Michelle Joyce!
(For information on keynote presentations, team workshops, and one on one coaching.)
“The purpose of Leadership Quest is to help professionals develop their personal leadership, vision and emotional intelligence. Everyday I strive to help leaders and teams achieve their desired goals in sales productivity, leadership, time maximization, and life-balance. ”
About the Author
Steve Gutzler is the President of Leadership Quest, a Seattle-based leadership development company. Steve is a dynamic, highly-sought-after speaker who has delivered more than 2,500 presentations to a list of clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Seattle Seahawks, Pandora Radio, Boeing, Cisco, Starwood Corporation, the Ritz Carlton group, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. He recently was voted #1 by the readership of Huffington Post as the Most Inspirational Leader on Social Media.
A published author on leadership and emotional intelligence, Steve resides near Seattle with his wife Julie where they enjoy time with their three adult children and six grandchildren.
