“I don’t know what I want to do with my life.” I hear this all the time. Hell, I think this all the time. It’s a disconcerting thought, as it generally means you’re not happy with what you’re currently doing, and worse, you don’t know how to fix it.
But, the fact that you’re thinking about it is a good sign. It means you’re thinking and reflecting. The worst thing you could do is not think at all about what you want to be doing. Those are the people who wake up at 40, realize they’ve been sorting mail in a postal facility for the last 22 years, and wonder what happened to their lives.
If you can’t answer the “I don’t know what I want to do with my life” question, that’s fine. Most people can’t. Instead, ask yourself a slightly different question: “What do I want out of life?” Do I want a mansion and new cars and $10 million in the bank? Do I want to work 20 hour weeks and spend the rest of my time coaching my kid’s little league? Do I want to sail around the world? Do I want to never have to work again after I’m 30? Do I want to put criminals in jail or underprivileged kids in college?
Answering this question forces you to examine your values. Of course, everyone would like to do all of the above. Is it possible? Sure. You could make $20 million dollars, then work 20 hour weeks while you coach your kid’s teams, put criminals in jail and kids in college. But, unless you’re really lucky and very good, you probably won’t be able to do that before you’re 60. Mabye 70. And at that point its hard to shag flyballs. There’s only so many Mark Zuckerberg opportunities.
Be realistic. If you want to make $10 million, you’re gonna have to work your ass off for a lot of years. You’re going to have to sacrifice. You can still have a family, still be a good parent, still have a great life. But you’re not going to hang out all Sunday watching football. You’re not gonna take four vacations a year. You’re probably gonna miss some little league games. For many of those years, your relationships will be strained and you’ll be lonely.
If you want to work 20 hours a week, and have kids when you’re 35, you’re probably never going to have a mansion and new cars and a lot of money in the bank. Which is totally fine. You’ll get to see your kids all the time.
If you want to put criminals in jail, and you need to do it now, you’re not going to be rich. The DA and AG’s office doesn’t pay shit. If you want to raise money to send underprivileged kids to college, your desire for a lavish lifestyle will have to wait.
It all depends on what you want.
So, figure it out. I’ve already advocated tracking your time to improve your productivity.
But, there’s no point in being productive without working towards some goal. Figure out what you want, and set some goals to get there. Even if “what you want” is only a state of mind, or some material want.
If I want a new camera that costs $8000, I set goals on how to get $8000. I’m going to sell X number of prints this month. I’m going to contact X gallery to get a show. I’m going to call X people to see if they will sponsor X event. Once you identify what you want, it’s easy to figure out what steps you need to accomplish to get there. Once you know that, all you need to do is accomplish one small goal at a time.
Write these goals down. Write down the steps necessary to accomplish each goal. Update this list regularly. Every Sunday, as part of my time tracking, I do a weekly reflection with updated goals and plans. Then that weekly reflection goes into my daily time tracking template so I am forced to reflect on my goals every single day. It helps keep you on track, and reminds you what you’re working towards.
This reflection is one of the most important aspects of this plan. We’re busy. There’s a ton of shit going on in our lives. Even if there’s not, TV, radio, and the internet will certainly fill any empty spaces. Plus, I’m lazy. It’s easy to get off track. Having a morning or nightly routine where I reflect on my goals and plans makes it impossible to get knocked too far off track. Keeping those goals in my time tracking template, as opposed to another file that I would never open, means my goals are right there in front of me every day, and I can’t forget or ignore them.
Recap:
- Figure out what you want out of life
- Set goals that will get you there; set subgoals to help you accomplish your goals
- Update your list of goals regularly; I do mine weekly
- Reflect on your ultimate purpose and your goals on a daily basis
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