Screw It. Let’s Do It.

Quit wasting time and start setting your goals now. No need to wait until January.

Before writing this post, I collected notes from last week regarding projects I have in the works for next year. I’ve made it to June 2013. Before the end of this year, I will having my working blueprint for next year.

Today I share my plan with you to jump start your endeavors or simply offer ideas to get you back on track.

Screw It. Let’s Do It. Starting Now.

THE PLAN:

Begin today by writing your goals. Your list should include three columns, family, personal, and professional. Try something new this time regarding your goal setting. Dream bigger than ever.  I fell in love with the words of Richard Branson in an interview with Inc. Magazine:

[quote style=”boxed”]”I sometimes think in life you’ve got to dream big by setting yourself seemingly impossible challenges. You then have to catch up with them.” [/quote]

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

A pen and paper, timer, scheduling app like TeuxDeux or Evernote, and FOCUS!

THE STRATEGY

1. Maximize the time you do have. Create a schedule for the day. Currently, mine looks like this:

5:00AM – Pray/ read /meditate.[30 minutes or longer]

5:30AM – Review to-do list for the day. Check email. Respond to messages, delete trash, flag important correspondence. [30 minutes]

6:00AM – Wake and dress twins, cook breakfast, prepare lunches, put on school bus. [1 hour]

7:30AM – Social media efforts for my business [15 mins]

7:45AM – Draft ideas for upcoming blog post and/or writing assignments. My best writing time is in the morning. [15 minutes]

8:00AM – Shower, dress for the day, have breakfast.  Think about list while in the shower. [1 hr].

9:00AM – Designing, meetings, shopping, sourcing, writing assignments. Task depends on the day. This week I will start assigning days for specific tasks. [3 hours]

12:00PM – Lunch and catnap if possible. [1 hour]

1:00PM – Back on the grind. Designing, meetings, shopping, sourcing, writing, etc. [2 hours]

3:00PM – Get kids off the school bus, snack time, settling everyone down. [30 minutes]

3:30PM – Kids start on homework, work on dinner prep [1 hour]

4:30PM – Make last few phone calls, answer more emails, write to-do list for next day. [30 mins]

5:00PM – Cook dinner and pack lunches, sometimes. [1 hour]

6:00PM – Eat dinner and clean kitchen [1 hour]

7:00PM – Bathe kids, read stories, cuddle, put to bed. [1 hour]

8:00PM – Get ready for bed and spend time with husband [ 1-2 hours varies]

10:00PM – A bit of social media, then lights out.

My goal is to at least be in bed, if not asleep. I generally awaken in the middle of the night. I’ll give myself about 15 minutes to fall back asleep. If that doesn’t work, I will get up an work for at least an hour. More than that throws off my schedule for the next day.

Print your schedule out on paper, put it in your smartphone, do whatever you need to do to make it visible and easily accessible. Protect your schedule from time sabotages and procrastination, i.e. Too much time on social media, taking personal calls during business hours, answering emails that can wait. 

As a busy mom, I have to make EVERY minute count.

2. Take time to set ambitious goals for the week. When I do this, my mind instantly goes into problem solving mode thinking of ways to get it done. You’d be surprised what you can accomplish in a week. Do it now.

If you don’t have time to write down your goals, when are you going to find the time to accomplish them?

3. Before getting anyone else involved in your venture, think about what you can do alone. You’ve got way more talent than you give yourself credit for. For the things you cannot do, make a list of people who can and would be willing to help you.

4. Be committed. Learn from your mistakes and make them stepping stones that’ll take you to the next level. Realize that setbacks are inevitable so don’t quit. Consider a wheel barrel. It’s heavy and takes much effort to get it started, but once you get going it’s the momentum that helps you continue to move forward with less effort.

5. Be disciplined. I love this quote from Jim Rohn:

[quote style=”boxed”]We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.[/quote]

I’d much rather take the pain of discipline which in turn leads to growth, than the pain of regret which leads to disappointment and resentment. No shoulda, woulda, coulda, happening here.

What steps will you take this week to improve your productivity? I’m assigning certain days of the week to complete certain tasks. How about you?