Organize, Organize, Organize!

When you go on a diet, are you “good” every single day?  If you blow your diet by going out one night, do you give up on your goal?  The answer (hopefully) is ‘no.’ Likewise, if your goal is to get a master’s degree in theology and you haven’t done anything about it today, do you give up on your goal?  The answer (again, hopefully) is ‘no.’ Most people focus too much on the long-term goals or too much time on the day-to-day tasks and ignoring the long term all together. They expect the long term things in their life to work themselves out.  The truth is that you must focus most of your concentrations on the in-between, look past the day-to-day tasks, but not get overwhelmed with the long-term goal. Concentrate on the intermediate goals that need to take place in order to accomplish the long-term goals.

 

Think about how you walk.  If you can physically do this exercise, then try it. If not, then just imagine yourself walking. Only walk by looking down at each step you take.  You have been walking for so long now that you may not stumble, but you will certainly lose track of exactly where you’re headed.  Now, try to walk by looking at a destination far off; you might reach your goal if you don’t fall down the stairs or get hit by a car as you cross the street!  To walk effectively, you must look forward – not a mile forward, but just a few steps ahead. It is vital that you treat your goals and the effective use of your time the same way that you walk.

 

To effectively achieve your long-term goals, you must first break them down into intermediate goals, goals that can be reasonably achieved in a week, couple of weeks, a month, etc.

 

You will want to keep a detailed monthly calendar. This will allow you to see your goals in print. Day Timer has a two page calendar system that you can get that allows you to keep track of goals, journal your progress and break down tasks. I like physically applying my goals to paper; something about writing it down makes it more solid in my mind. I also can physically mark a line through it, so that I can still see it, but I know it is finished, which gives me a since of accomplishment. If you are, however, so inclined to be a part of the modern world and take things digital, there are numerous digital calendars out there. I personally like Google Calendar myself. You will also want to keep track of appointments, meetings, and other business action items on this monthly calendar as well; this will enable you to quickly see how packed or free any specific week will be.

 

Daily Planning

 

Having long-term and intermediate goals are the first two steps to “managing time.”  The third step is to ACT!  As the saying goes, “The longest journey begins with the first step.”

 

Many people – all with good intentions – ignore the realities of the day when they first start integrating their intermediate goals in their daily regimen.  They forget that they have meetings they’re supposed to attend, job commitments they’re expected to fulfill, and other things that pull at their available time.  As a result, they become frustrated with their lack of progress on their goals and become angry about the things like work and/or family obligations that are taking up all their time.

 

Here are 3 steps to take that will help you to organize your schedule better, so take a few minutes each morning to plan your day like this:

 

1. Identify your appointments, meetings, and other business action items.

 

Your first step in planning your day is to transfer appointments and other business action items from the monthly calendar into the daily calendar (most digital calendars will do this for you automatically).  These are the non-discretionary things that  you have already made commitments to do. 

 

2. Plan your daily duties.

 

Your second step is to plan your daily duties such as phone calls, mail, inbox items, etc.  These are activities that are less defined than action items but still require a portion of your day.  By planning these duties, you allot time for them without letting them drive your entire day. Many people find themselves answering emails up to 4 and 5 times a day. Let’s not even get to how much time is sucked away by social media sites.

 

3. Make appointments with yourself.

 

Your third step is to ‘make appointments with yourself’ by identifying which intermediate steps you wish to tackle today.  Transfer these discretionary activities (intermediate steps) from your Goal Planning page.  This makes discretionary items non-discretionary by the simple act of recording the item in the daily plan.  You move the future into the present so you can act upon it now!

 

By simply taking more control of your daily schedule, you will find that you have gained more control over your time. Here are just a few more tips to help you “manage time” and achieve long-term success:

 

• Limit the number of activities you plan for a day.  Commit to, and complete, a few activities rather than over committing yourself. This will lead to frustration, irritation, and self-deprecation when you miss a targeted goal.

 

• Make a habit of planning for 15 minutes every day. I generally suggest that you take 15 minutes the night before to plan the next day’s activities.

 

• Do your priority items first.  Period.  Include a quiet time with absolutely no distractions in order to accomplish your top priority for the day.

 

• Take a long-range view of your commitments.  Does your calendar fill up quickly?  Should it?  Space your non-discretionary time carefully week to week. Just because you can squeeze another project in, doesn’t always mean that you should.

 

• Take a medium-range view when planning time for your intermediate steps. “What is the number one thing that I can do THIS WEEK that would have significant and positive results in my department, career, and/or personal life?”

 

• Use your time management system to keep important information such as your department, career, and personal goals and intermediate steps; your appointments, business action items, and other commitments; as well as your contacts; this will give you your entire day at your fingertips.

 

Next time I want to discuss Pareto’s law (the 80/20 rule) as it applies to time management. Talk to you then.

 

The purpose of these blog posts is to help you strive to be more successful and to create a life worth living, so I never want to end a post without giving your some sort of “power question” to ponder over. Answering these questions will help you to take action.

 

Power Question for the day:

What are three things that you are doing regularly that doesn’t support or serve you? In other words, what are three things that you selflessly do for others on a regular basis?