| Making the Most of Your Year | | | | this is going to get you. |
| By Christy Geiger, Business and Life Strategy | | | | -Identify what you will have to do and write that |
| Coach | | | | down. |
| Do you find yourself amazed at how quickly the | | | | -Identify what you will have to say "no" to and |
| months pass? Do you find yourself in a small | | | | commit to 3 things you will have to stop to make |
| panic over all you know you have to do and how | | | | this happen. Identify what this will "cost" and write |
| little you feel you are actually accomplishing? Join | | | | down how you will "pay" for it. (This is not just |
| the crowd! We live in a busy world where our | | | | financial, it may be something intangible like - |
| time, priorities and energy are constantly | | | | COST: time with the family, PAYMENT: work later |
| challenged. The reality is that there is simply not | | | | during week, but home Friday for dinner and |
| time for everything and we don't have enough | | | | family day all Saturday.) |
| energy to complete everything. Bummer, I know! | | | | -Identify 5 main distractions and how you can |
| If only God had created the world with 8 days in | | | | eliminate those. |
| a week or 30 hours in a day.... sounds good? | | | | Step 3: PLAN... |
| Maybe, but really we would just quickly absorb | | | | Next, plan what it will take to make this happen. |
| that time too and be in the same spot. | | | | You already have some Key Result Items from |
| What do we do? There are 5 simple steps to | | | | your Get Real Exercise. Take those and add to |
| create greater success by managing our time and | | | | the list other ideas of what you know you will |
| getting things done in business and life that are | | | | need to do to accomplish your goal. What are |
| important. | | | | specific action steps you will need to take? Stop a |
| 1.EVALUATE. What do I really want? Where am I | | | | minute and in your mind focus on your long term |
| headed? What am I doing now? | | | | goal. See it in full and complete form. What is |
| 2.GET REAL. What is really important that will | | | | there? What are you doing? What do you notice |
| impact and support your long term goals the | | | | about yourself and your actions? Now, in your |
| best? What is not important? What is distracting | | | | mind walk backwards what did you do to get |
| me? What is not really supporting my long term | | | | there? For example, if part of my long term goal |
| goal? | | | | is to have a thriving independent business, I may |
| 3.PLAN. What do I need to do to accomplish my | | | | visualize myself in an office with the flexibility to |
| goal? What are the KEY action steps? How will I | | | | be remote. Part of what I would need to do is |
| do this? What schedule or strategy will keep me | | | | establish an office, design portable systems, have |
| focused? | | | | a virtual assistant, have tools and resources for |
| 4.FOCUS. Who do you need to be and what | | | | office work, etc. This becomes one Key Result |
| structures do you need to have to accomplish | | | | Area: A functional Office. Then I walk backwards |
| this (mindset, attitude, accountability)? | | | | and plan steps I would have taken to create this |
| 5.MONITOR/EVALUATE. Am I doing little, | | | | functional office. Put dates on each broken-down |
| unimportant things? Am I procrastinating? What is | | | | action step and estimate what it will take to |
| working/ what is not? How could I streamline | | | | make each step happen (time, cost, etc.). Allocate |
| what I am doing? | | | | completion targets accordingly. |
| What happens with good intentions and goals... | | | | Step 4: FOCUS... |
| Plans begin as ideas in our head; we desire to | | | | Now that you have your plan flushed out and in |
| have or do something. The key to the success of | | | | place, who do you need to be to accomplish this? |
| the idea is a plan. You know the saying, "If you | | | | Going back to your vision of your completed goal, |
| fail to plan, you plan to fail." Sometime our ideas | | | | what mindset and attitude did you have |
| will make it to paper in the form of a SMART | | | | throughout the project? How did you do this? |
| goal and sometime not. If we do write a goal | | | | What schedule or strategy kept you focused? |
| people sometimes we will create some action | | | | What systems of accountability did you have in |
| steps, but rarely do they take the time to | | | | place? What kept you on track and focused? One |
| thoroughly think through what actions are actually | | | | of the most common errors people make is IF |
| needed at each stage to accomplish the goal | | | | they get their plan complete, they begin work and |
| completely. Sometimes people will start planning | | | | get caught up in the rush of life again and start |
| and get overwhelmed at how much work it will | | | | reacting and forget about their plan. When you |
| actually take or get overwhelmed with the | | | | created your plan you were looking at the big |
| process and give up. Often our goals remain our | | | | picture. When you are working in the trenches of |
| dreams because we fail to carve out time to | | | | life, you are limited to see what is in front of you, |
| make them reality. A management tip is to | | | | unless you stick to the plan. There is nothing |
| create a plan from start to finish. With this plan, | | | | wrong with evaluating and refining your plan as |
| decide if you have the time, energy, resources | | | | you go, but only when you are looking at it in |
| and desire to bring it to completion. Next, | | | | perspective of the whole picture and not the |
| estimate HOW LONG each task will actually take. | | | | short term moment. The story is told about the |
| It is common to underestimate how much time | | | | caravan crossing the Sahara desert. The desert |
| each step will take and therefore it never gets | | | | was barren and large. Many parties got lost |
| done. Remember, if you are going to add | | | | crossing the great plains as they could not see |
| something to your schedule, you must also plan | | | | their destination over the horizon. A team went in |
| to say "No!" to something else to make time to | | | | and put in markers for travelers to focus on as |
| accomplish your goal. | | | | they crossed so they would use each marker as |
| Step 1: EVALUATE... | | | | a point of reference until they could see the city. |
| To create an effective plan, begin with a careful | | | | This allows many parties to cross the treacherous |
| evaluation. Most people are constantly evaluating | | | | desert in the most direct and efficient path. This |
| their present state without much problem. We are | | | | is your plan. Plan it well, establish milestones to |
| constantly assessing, "What do I really want right | | | | focus on, trust them and stay the course! |
| now?" We look at things around us and talk about | | | | Step 5: Monitor... |
| what we would like to be different in our life. We | | | | Step back occasionally and evaluate what you are |
| talk about our goals, New Year's Resolutions, | | | | doing. Go back to step one. How are you doing? |
| current intentions, etc. We often state them as | | | | What is working what is not? Are you on track |
| fact and sincerely intend to accomplish those in | | | | or off course? Make adjustments to get on |
| our life. We see how they would make a positive | | | | track, re-design what is not working to new |
| difference and desire for them to happen. There | | | | solutions and refine the plan in area that would |
| is a small percentage of people who also evaluate | | | | increase efficiency or results toward your goal. |
| the questions, "Where am I headed?" and "What | | | | Keep your long-term goal in mind and check to |
| will it take for me to get there?" Evaluation is a | | | | make sure your short term goals are supporting |
| tool that allows you to anchor where you are | | | | the long term goals. Notice your behavior. |
| now, determine where you want to go and | | | | Accomplishing big goals is hard work. Plan first and |
| create markers along the way to ensure you | | | | keep your eyes on the pre-set short term goal |
| stay on course. Without a longer term vision, we | | | | that position you to reach your bigger vision. |
| tend to react to current situations, "I need to | | | | Bottom line... |
| make more money, I need to lose weight, I need | | | | None of these strategies are rocket science. The |
| to get this business off the ground, etc." This | | | | challenge is to maintain the discipline, focus and |
| leads to wandering through life without focus or | | | | clarity to implement these basic strategies. |
| purpose. Evaluate the present and then also | | | | Evaluate your long term goal, be realistic, plan, set |
| evaluate the future and what it would take to get | | | | structures for focus and have check points to |
| there. | | | | monitor. Invest your time in your plan and |
| Step 2: GET REAL... | | | | maintain the course once it is set. If you are |
| Then, get real. Does this fit in with where you are | | | | serious about these goals, take action today. |
| headed with your long term goals in your life? | | | | Insure your success by developing an accountably |
| What is doing this going to get you? What is the | | | | system for yourself. Hire a coach as your |
| cost (consider time, money, energy, emotional, | | | | strategic partner to run with you. Find a buddy in |
| etc.) Are you willing to pay it? If you do really | | | | a similar situation. Whatever it is, build |
| want this, what is going to be important that you | | | | environments to support your vision. Take the |
| do? What is distracting you from making this | | | | time to plan and design structures for success |
| happen? | | | | and you will see a difference! Here's to you and |
| Identify Key Result Items: | | | | your success! Have fun! |
| -Write exactly where you are headed and what | | | | |