You’ve probably been following this series for a while and know how important it is to understand your “Life” style, challenges and goals. Your discoveries can be used to create a road map for a more organized and simplified life.
Today, we will be focusing on “The Plan!” This is the best part! This will hopefully motivate you to stick with your plan and achieve your goals. It’s fun!
Take Action
These guidelines will help you to perform this action: Be authentic, keep an open mind, make it simple, be realistic, learn to say no, make it fun, and reward yourself.
THE PLANS
The PROCESS: Making your goals a reality is like a funnel. Your goal is to create a “Working list” of them. As you go down the list, prioritizing, sorting, and prioritizing your goals, they are refined and reduced into more manageable tasks. This will allow you to plan your week and days (the tip or narrowest part of the funnel).
1. Set up a time management program
- You might prefer a large whiteboard or paper system if you are visual.
- You might also color code your days if you love color and are creative.
- Do you love technology? There are many planning/calendar options, such as MS Outlook and Google Calendar.
- Find something that suits your style and works well for you.
2. Your “Big List” (Master List), should contain your goals.
- You can organize them into broad categories that make sense and are specific.
- Here are some examples: Finances, Home, Household, Family, Work and Personal Development.
- Do a “pre-sort” for each category as you sort them. Your top three or four goals should be your focus. This is your “Working list” – you’ll refer to it often and change it as your goals/needs change.
3. Prioritize
As you work through your “Working List”, you will be able to identify your top priorities goals.
- If you have not done so yet, do a budget and time review. You can eliminate goals that you are not able to achieve at this point.
- Your “Working List” will help you identify your top goals for each category. Make sure they are within your time and budget.
- Consider your alternatives. Consider this: What if you want to lose weight but can’t afford a gym membership? You could consider buying a pair of running shoes to start jogging. You will make it a priority to exercise after work, as this is good for your health.
- This sounds feasible, given your time and budget. It is your top priority.
4. Monthly goals
We can now be more precise in setting goals.
Specific and time-bound goals are important. does not mean that you can lose weight if one of your March goals is to do so. However, can be a goal to lose 5 pounds by March 31st. Another example is “to begin jogging, and run up to 30 minutes every day by March 31st.”
Determine the maximum number of goals that you can achieve in a given month from your top priorities. The following factors will influence the number of goals you choose:
- Your list of specific goals
- How difficult – how long is involved
- Your preference/personality/approach
- Perhaps you would prefer to choose just one or two goals per month in order to be able to focus on them and make them a part of your daily life until they become a routine.
- You decide that you want to take on smaller tasks that were ‘hanging above your head’ and just want them out!
- You can take a different approach each month depending on your goals.
- These can be entered/pencilled in your chosen monthly calendar. This will let you view your Month At A Glance’.
- Do not forget to include any obligations, appointments, etc. that you know will be coming up in the month.
5. Set Your Goals in Stone
Weekly: Add more details to your goals, and then enter your weekly planner.
- Break down your monthly goals into small steps that you can accomplish in one week.
- Let’s take the example of the “get in shape” goal (lose 5 pounds). Jog for 30 minutes for a week. Here’s an example of how it might look:
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Jog for 20 minutes after work
- Thursday evening – Make a grocery list and plan a healthy meal or snacks for the week.
- Saturday morning: Grocery shop and prep for weekly meals/snacks.
- You decide to increase your jog speed by 5 minutes each week and then another 5 minutes each week.
- Yay! You can now see your goal becoming a reality week by week.
- Do not forget to include any obligations, appointments, etc. that you know will be coming up this week.
Daily: This is really where you fine tune your goals/projects/tasks.
Use your preferred calendar/planner. Create a detailed To Do list for each day. It is better to start it the night before, and then adjust it in the morning.
- This is how your Monday might look like
- Wake up at 6 a.m.
- Do laundry
- Quiet Time
- 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
- Get home by 6:00 p.m.
- Jog 20 minutes
- Clean the kitchen and make dinner
- Help your children with homework/family time
- Tidy up the family room
- Preparation for the next day: To-do list, lunch at work, clothes, bookbags
- You should make sure to schedule time for work, appointments and kids’ activities. Also, remember to do daily household chores like paying bills.
Suggested: Incorporate systems that empower you into your plan. You could set aside a time each day to clean your house, plan your meals for the month, or create a schedule. If you can, think about what you really need and incorporate it into your plan. This will have a huge impact!
This concludes the series on Lifestyle toppings Organizing. I hope you found this series helpful and that it inspires you to create your own plan for your personal life. Enjoy! You can take apart your daily life and organize only what is necessary so that you can maintain your life. Re-evaluate if something doesn’t work. Your Life Mission Statement should be aligned with your goals.
Making the plan will not make you more organized to lead a simpler, more peaceful life. YOU MUST IMPLEMENT IT AND MAKE IT ACT!
For Your Success!