Let's talk about evaluating the amount of effort we actually put in to accomplishing the things we need to do. Is it just enough to feel like we've met our goal, or did we decide to just change our goals to meet the amount of effort we want to give at the time? Did we really give it our best efforts in ways we are truly proud of? Have we overcome our fear of failures by simply being eager enough to get up and try again? What are we willing to do to see ourselves succeed and standing in the reality we once thought of as only our dreams?
When you wake up in the morning ask yourself if you are going to do the work that needs to be done while you are there in order to spend time doing the things you love later with the people who matter most, or should you just stay home now and make the best of your time by creating priceless memories with those people. It seems like an easy choice to make, yet somehow it's made out to be so much harder than it is, because that is the beauty of figuring out balance in your life. You can't get time back, it passes regardless of what you are doing, so you have to make the most of it EVERY MOMENT that you possibly can to genuinely maximize your life to its fullest potential.
Realize there is more than one way to achieve your goals, but that it only takes one way for you to make it happen. It only happens by making one step in the right direction and not allowing all the steps in the other directions to compound and slow you down from focusing on your progress instead. You have to constantly evolve which tools you choose to utilize effectively and recalibrate your efforts to yield productive energy to avoid burning yourself out. Being able to track your own efficiency with brutal honesty of how you spent your time is going to enlighten you to know how you need to adjust to bring your dreams to your reality.
You have to be real with yourself first though. Identify your goals and how you are going to measure your progress in order to see yourself bringing them to life before your very eyes. Know that anything is possible as long as you want it enough to give it your very best efforts. You can't do it all at once though, you have to still be realistic when you envision yourself in your future. Make your days structured in manageable ways that require patience, yet remain diligent in moving forward in the direction you need. See yourself succeed beyond even your own wildest dreams, you at least owe that to yourself.