Running a business takes a wide variety of skills, many of which you’ll learn on the job. Traits like good time management and big-picture perspective are absolutely essential when it comes to business success. However, that’s not the only benefit of developing this particular toolset.

Many of the skills you’ll develop while starting and running a business can also benefit your life as a whole. Life is full of challenges to tackle and obstacles to overcome. The following business skills presented by Desired Effects have a ton of crossover when it comes to reaching your personal goals and living a happy, productive life.

The top challenge most managers share is not having enough time in the day. Between crises that need addressing, HR conversations, and new initiatives to roll out, (to name a few), it is no wonder managers feel they can’t make progress with goals or even finding time to plan.

There are a lot of different factors that come into play when it comes to being successful. Today, we are focusing on two often underrated factors (being organized and being on time) that can make a huge difference in your day. Think back on some of the most successful people you’ve met in your own life. The chances are they were skilled at both of these. There’s a reason why both of these factors will make such a big difference when it comes to being successful.

In 2020 remote work became prevalent everywhere. With it came feelings of isolation and, for some, feelings of not belonging. We all desire recognition for a job well done, especially as members of a team. As a team, each person works together toward a common goal. When we worked together in person, it could already be a struggle to feel a part of the bigger picture and not just a wheel in the cog. Now that we are mostly remote, we see people not knowing how to connect with people on their teams in fulfilling and meaningful ways. Instead of working together, team members often feel each person is only interested in their own, separate interests.

You’ve probably heard of vision boards, but you’ve probably never made or used one. If you are like I used to be, you may even think they are a waste of time. Oh, how wrong I was!

A vision board is essentially a large poster, or if you are tech-savvy, it could be a Canva or Photoshop poster that you construct to help you achieve your goals. It contains pictures that represent your goals. For example, if you dream of climbing Mount Everest, you might include photos of the mountain, your hiking boots, Sherpa, and famous mountain climbers.

It might sound like silly new-age nonsense, but a vision board can be useful!

We all have routines, but few of us actually chose our routines. We just seem to fall into them, and we keep our routines unless they’re obviously failing.

We cannot continue our 2021 goal setting to improve our leadership skills without learning how to cultivate and maintain our motivation for our goals.

Let’s start with a serious question. Do you feel that you lack discipline and grit? Well, it’s more likely you’re suffering from a lack of motivation.

In preparation for putting 2020 behind us, I wanted to focus on professional life goal setting for 2021. This is not your standard goal setting. You know what I am talking about. We write a few ideas down on paper that we never look at again, or we commit to a new goal (exercise program, personal finance goal, fill in the blank) that “we are really going to do this time!” and something stops us from seeing it through to the end. This is our professional goal list that we are going to set goals for. And if you are thinking, “I already make my budgeting and sales projections, what more is there?” or “I already spend enough time doing work I want to have more at home.” This is for you!

It’s hard to introduce new items, ideas, people, or skills into your life if you don’t have space for them. I often find that people looking to hire me as a coach feel overwhelmed by what they already have on their plates, and as much as they want to grow and gain the skills they are looking for, they haven’t made space to do so. Our lives are too cluttered and overflowing with things, obligations, and people that don’t provide enough value to be worth the time and space they require.

Adding more to your life requires making space. That space can be physical or psychological.

To have a bigger life, it’s also necessary to downsize.

Resisting change may come naturally to you. After all, you might be pretty happy with the way things are now. Why shake up what’s already working – right?

The fact is, though, that things will always change in some way.

When you recognize everything you have to gain by accepting change, you’ll be more confident about embracing it.

Effective communication is the cornerstone of great relationships. Whether you’re communicating with friends, family, coworkers, your partner, or even strangers, everything goes smoother with effective communication. You get more of what you want, and the other party is happier too.

Even difficult conversations – when handled with grace and composure – can be beneficial to your relationships.