Hello! How has your 2024 been? We’re already almost 2 weeks into the new year. As is commonplace, people generally start the year with a long list of things they want to accomplish, be, or have. There are already all kinds of adverts flying on social media about planning for 2024, vision board parties, goal setting and many activities to help you achieve your goals.
It is for this reason that I wanted to be the first person (hopefully) to tell you to chill and take stock before you plunge in, and also to tell you very early before the rush for your attention starts.
One of the issues we have with this age is information overload and with it comes FOMO, fear of missing out. When you go on social media and see different people doing different things, the thought is often that we need to be doing them too or that we are not doing enough.
With that feeling comes the rush to sign up for these different activities, online courses, projects and so on, even when they don’t align with our overall purpose or career goal. We think we need to do them so that we can also have something to say when others are “ooohhing” and “aaaahhing” about their own things.
One of the principles that can guide us each time is the principle of “focusing on less to achieve more.” I used to have quite a number of unfinished projects and online courses that I had gotten into because they were popular at the time. At the end of the day, I would have different and sometimes contrasting voices speaking on one topic which would lead to confusion when it was time to execute on those ideas.
Thankfully, I was shown the folly in that as I began to learn about the power of saying no and having fewer commitments. I saw how that helped me achieve more as I wasn’t spreading myself thinly all over the place.
The first thing is to identify your main goals in the key areas of your life and commit to 1 activity at a time. Depending on the expert, there are 7-12 key areas of life, and I would just list 10.
1. Health / Selfcare
2. Career/business
3. Family
4. Friends /Network
5. Finances/ Wealth creation
6. Spouse / significant other
7. Rest/ recreation
8. Social / community contribution
9. Spiritual advancement
10. Personal growth and development
Each of these areas requires attention if we are to live a healthy balanced life.
Most adults already spend most of their time pursuing careers and businesses to the detriment of other areas. How can we say No in this area so that we can achieve more in other areas?
Can we take on less responsibilities?
Can we negotiate flexible work hours and remote working?
Do we need accountability partners that help us overcome workaholism?
In the area of social/ community contribution, can we reduce our membership to a smaller number of organisations and clubs? Then we can give these ones quality commitment. It would mean saying no but you would have more time to invest in other areas.
What about attending parties? We are still in the season of parties, weddings and occasions. We don’t have to buy all the ‘asoebis’ or attend every occasion if we prioritise being present for the key people in our lives. It is okay to say no, send a gift or find a path of less pressure. Your finances especially will thank you for this. We hear stories of people who borrowed money to buy ‘asoebi’ for parties or to even throw parties. Saying no would have easily prevented these types of scenarios.
In business, reduce your list of things to achieve and rather choose 1 big goal and work on it. Having too many goals leads to anxiety, burnout, mental health challenges and procrastination. A wise man once said we should measure and evaluate our lives in 5-year bits because we tend to overestimate what we can do in 1 year.
Give yourself time. Stop. Think. Focus on less and watch yourself achieve more.
