Ever feel like you just can't seem to get it all together? Maybe you're caught up in the 'thick and thin' of daily life and somehow never feel like you're getting to things that are really important to you.
Ever feel like you just can't seem to get it all together? Maybe you're caught up in the 'thick and thin' of daily life and somehow never feel like you're getting to things that are really important to you. Like that big project you want to get off the ground or that note you want to send to your sick grandmother or those long-term career plans.
Or maybe it's that most of your life's dreams are still that...dreams.
You just feel that somehow things are not quite like you'd like them to be. Then it's time to turn that around!
Plato said, "The beginning is the most important part of the work."
So, let's start at the beginning with your mission for your life. This is very useful to know. Remember, your life mission is already inside you, so you're just detecting it, not creating it.
I first learned how to detect my life mission when I was at a workshop but when the speaker said, "In the next 45 minutes, you'll be writing your life mission", I thought, 'Is this woman nuts? I can't do that in 45 minutes!' Turns out I was wrong. Nothing new here
Now there's even an easier and faster way to do it online. It will take you less than 5 minutes! If you missed this in our last issue, it's worth going to http://www.franklincovey.com/missionbuilder/index.html where you'll find a short form and the rest, as they say, is history.
It's not required that you do this to go on to my 4-step process but it does help.
For many years, I used my day planner only for work. Sure, I'd put a few personal things on it, like meet someone for dinner or pick up a birthday present, but I'd still end up feeling like I was not getting to other important things in my life.
Somehow, those important things in my life got pushed to the bottom of my 'to do' list. But now I follow a process that addresses all the key roles I play in my life and gets me to focus on what's important EACH WEEK.
4 Steps To Help You Get It All Together
Here's a 4-step process that I use that will work for you, too. You'll never again feel like those really important things got lost in the details of daily life.
1. List all the roles you play in your life: These are ALL the roles you play in both your personal and professional life. Your list might include friend, spouse, mother or father, brother or sister, daughter or son.
Include your work roles. If you're a web owner, break that role up in sub-roles: content developer, ezine publishing, president, administratrative, etc. Do the same thing if you work full-time for a company and, say, you're in a manager job where your sub-roles would might be: staff development, marketing, administrative, etc. depending on your job functions.
Include volunteer and other personal commitments like: Sunday school teacher, PTA member, soft ball coach, pet owner.
Since you chose these roles in your life, they are important to you.
Try making your list now on a sheet of paper.
2. Select Goals On A Weekly Basis These are short-term, high-leverage weekly goals. This is NOT a task list. Your high-leverage weekly goals are those things that will give you the highest impact in that role.
Ask yourself, "What do I want to accomplish in each role this week?"
For example, if you wanted to be a more supportive spouse, what could you do this week? If you wanted to be a better softball coach, what could you do this week? If you wanted to make a 6-figure income in your web business or job, what could you do this week?
The key is one, and only one, short-term, bite-size, manageable step that you can do this week in each of your significant roles. Baby steps, not big leaps, leads to success.
3. Scheduling Now it's time to look at your day planner or whatever scheduling tool you use.
Secret tip: Schedule on a WEEKLY, not daily basis. Why? Because, otherwise, you're just putting out fires. With daily scheduling, the minute something else comes up, you're behind on your schedule. Ever feel frustrated by not getting to something on your calendar for that day?
No more, when you schedule weekly. Because now you know that you have the entire week to meet your short-term goals...and most importantly, in each significant role in your life. That's what's important: attention to all of your significant life roles, each week.
Weekly scheduling is not only more practical but you'll find it saves a great deal of emotional energy. The flexibility of an entire week opens up time that you didn't think you had. Try it and see for yourself.
4. Adapt Daily When you organize your roles, set short-term goals, and schedule them weekly, you'll discover that you can respond to unanticipated events and surprises without throwing off your entire schedule. What a relief!
It's a lot easier to make changes in any given day when you know that you have a plan that still works for the week and can be adjusted to meet your short-term goals for that week. This will give you peace of mind and it's practical, too.
If you're not clear on your life goals, see our free process "Goals For Life Planning" here http://peoplepoems.com/goalsforlife.htm or subscribe to our Free monthly newsletter "Just For You" at peoplepoems-subscribe@topica.com
About the Author
Joann Javons is a consultant and coach with a passion for helping people be all they can be. She is the owner of http://www.AttractClients.com, http://www.private-practice-marketing.com, and http://www.peoplepoems.com