Think As Inc

BUDGET AND TRACK

November 21, 2009 on 1:58 pm | In life coaching | No Comments

Whatever your goal you need an outline to follow and a log of what happens to keep you accountable.  You need to both budget and track.  You are budgeting the time, money and energy you are dedicating to the goal.  You are tracking how you actually end up using these resources and the results you get from these efforts.  The budget helps you see if your plans are realistic and if you are using too much or too little of each of your resources.  The tracking helps keep you honest so you can do more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.

For a job search, your time budget may cover research, networking, job interviews, mailings and follow-up.  Your money budget may cover stationery, postage, interview wear, trade dues, and coaching.  Your energy budget should plot out when you are at your peak (so you can do your meetings and calls then) and when you are not (so you can use this time for mailings or less demanding tasks).  A journal or Excel spreadsheet can track your daily activities, sources of job leads and subsequent results.  Be honest about how much targeted networking you are doing versus responding to blind ads.  Maybe one feels safer than the other, but it may not be yielding the leads you need.  Or, maybe your tracking will prove that you are doing just fine and affirm that you need to stick to it.

For a career change, your time budget needs to account for time spent on your current career (if you’re keeping it), as well as the specific activities for your transition (e.g., coaching, informational interviews).  It is easy to get overwhelmed by the day-to-day and push off the transition work for a “less busy” time.  Your money budget may be the cost of your transition activities or it may be the savings target you set to buy yourself some time off.  Remember to budget your energy.  If you are serious about switching careers, don’t use up all your energy at your current one.  Finally, track every idea, suggestion, activity and result.  Big changes take time.  Without a system to track progress, you may think you are standing still and get discouraged when actually things are happening.

For other goals, remember that time, money and energy are your personal resources.  Other resources include your space, equipment, family and friends.  Track your progress and how you’re feeling.  Note what you did each day towards your goal.  Note any results and see if you can account for the source.  Jot down ideas to try or unanswered questions to research.