Category Archives: Planning

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.

 

 

Process Versus Goals

Failure, Goal Achievement, Habits, Planning

Back in December 2015 my Life Coach recommended that I set goals.  By the way I do recommend life coaching which is essentially having someone to ask you some great questions to make you think and also hold you accountable as you set out to achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Goals versus processI love setting goals and contemplating the future.  My life coach recommended that I set 5 year, 3 year and 1 year goals which I did.  I set goals for each of the categories shown above.  That is a lot of goal setting!  I later updated these goals in April 2017, nearly one and half years ago now.  The problem is that I have not looked at them since!  The reason that I never looked at them I think is because they were too many and too overwhelming.

Looking at these goals now is strange because my life today is so much different.  Only the one year plan has some resemblance to reality!  Perhaps that is because it is so difficult to see far into the future (even 3-5 years is far!).  The future is unknown and life takes unexpected twists and turns.    For example two of my close family members have passed away unexpectedly since I last updated the plan only one and a half years ago.   Career wise I have also taken an unexpected route and have learned new skills in developing and teaching online courses which I really enjoy and which is proving a successful side venture for me.  That was nowhere to be seen in my plans and just goes to show that we need to keep our antennae up at all times for new and unexpected opportunities.

Process

What I do focus on each morning and also review at the end of each week are my quarterly goals.  I have a maximum of three.  These goals are much more immediate and attainable.  Overall however I find that my success in life is related to how closely I keep to my process.  Your process is your daily set of routines and habits that drive progress in your life on a day to day basis.  This is where the rubber meets the road!  For example one thing that I follow religiously is my morning routine.  I find that as the day progresses it is harder to control what happens as there are more interruptions and also tiredness sets in.

Last quarter 2018

We are now in mid-September and 2018 is heading into the final stretch.   NOW is a great time to set yourself three goals maximum for the last quarter of the year  (October, November, December).  There are three months to make this your best year yet.  What three goals do you want to achieve before the end of the year?  Another question to reflect on now is how can you improve your process (daily habits and routines) which will drive progress towards your three end of year goals?

If you want to expand your knowledge and get great ideas on how to improve your process then check out my course “Experiments in Personal Change” which is packed full of ideas on how to improve your process.  The course also goes into more detail on the pros and cons of goal setting.  Please check out the free course preview.

Best wishes,

Tom