Monthly Archives: September 2018

Time to Plan: Last Quarter 2018 is Upon Us

Goal Achievement, Planning, Reflection

Reflect and Plan and set Goals

As I write this post the last quarter of 2018 is nearly upon us. Tomorrow, Monday is October 1st and we now have just three months left in 2018.  In the part of the world I live in (Ireland) we have 12 weeks until we break for Christmas and the new year holidays.  In just 3 months we will all be starting a new year, 2019.  This is therefore an opportune time to reflect on how far you and I have come in 2018 and plan for the remainder of the year.

What did you set out to achieve way back in January 2018? What were your goals for the year and what new year resolutions did you make? How have you progressed so far in 2018 and what can you achieve in the last three months of the year? What one thing can you get done in the next three months which might just transform your life for the better? Another question is what can you add to your not to do list for the next three months?  Perhaps not eating junk food or watching mindless TV shows?

Time to plan

The good news is that there is still time to make some big positive changes in your life in 2018 – you can do a lot in three months if you set your mind to it.  My advice is to set one to three goals for the last quarter of the year.  Keep it simple and remember the planning fallacy where we tend to underestimate how long it takes to achieve a goal.  Even better set one key goal for yourself  to have achieved by the end of the year and make sure it gets done.  You will then begin 2019 on a very positive note.

Best wishes,

Tom

PS

Experiments in Personal Change Students

For more tips and ideas on setting effective goals and getting the most out of the last quarter 2018 check out my online course:  Transform your Life: 30 experiments in personal change.  The course is now on  sale at Udemy (1,699 students to date and a 4.6 star rating out of 5!)

Sunk Costs

Career, Planning

Sunk CostsSunk costs is a concept which I think about quite a bit.  We all make decisions about the future.  We need to make the best decisions that we can based on where we are today.  A sunk cost is something which has been expended and cannot be recovered such as time, effort or money.  You cannot recover these costs no matter what you do.  When making today’s decision we have to ignore sunk costs. Money and effort spent yesterday should have nothing to do with decisions today, because each decision is a new one.  That is a hard concept to get your head around.  This is because we may feel we must keep going no matter what “because I have invested so much in this already”.

Sunk costs and career choices

I often think of this concept in relation to my career and my future direction.  I have degrees and I even have a PhD which cost me a lot of money, time and effort.  My own education is a sunk cost and in many cases what I learned is no longer relevant in today’s fast changing world.  Decisions I make about my future direction need to be based on today’s realities and future opportunities and not on what I have invested in my education.  It’s a bit like a soccer team that has spent a lot of money on a player and then feels forced to play them regardless of their performance!  I need to ignore sunk costs and free myself to make better decisions today.

Best wishes,

Tom

PS. Check out my course “Experiments in Personal Change” which shows you how to set goals and plan your future direction.