Planning with a Purpose

It’s time to get real folks and stop wishing and start doing!

We all have a million and one things that we want to do each day, each month, each year, but how many of us actually sit down and put our thoughts on paper and plan how we are going to make those things a reality. I will admit, I too am guilty of it at times, but I like to think that I am getting better at it each year. I wanted to share with you, a few things that help me to acknowledge some of the things I wish to accomplish, and how I set them into motion. Hopefully you will be inspired to do the same!

#1 – Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!
I CANNOT, let me say that again, I CANNOT make it through a single work week without my trusty planner. Let me start by saying that its not just some plain ole planner……it is a life planner. I say life planner because I not only use it to keep my professional life organized, but it also helps me to keep my personal life in order as well.

I literally jot everything down in my planner. From work meetings, to doctor appointments, car maintenance appointments, bill payments, etc. I even go as far as to use my planner for keeping track of what grocery lists, birthdays/anniversaries, and even workout sessions. A planner is truly lifesaving if you actually use it. So many people buy planners, but for some reason never even crack them open. haha! The planner I am relying on to carry me through 2017-2018 is the Erin Condren Life Planner.

{photography courtesy of Erika Jean Doll Photogragpher}

This planner comes with so many customizable options so that you can truly alter it to fit your family, career, and overall lifestyle.  One of the main features I love is that you can create your own covers.  This year I took all of my favorites pictures of my husband and I and turned it into a collage of sorts

 

#2 – “He Listens Well Who Takes Note” – Dante
Always always, always carry a notebook, a good ink pen, and a mechanical pencil with you. Even though my planner has a few pages of notes for each month included, I still like something that is just for me jotting down thoughts and ideas throughout each day. With a notebook you can do some real brainstorming on those amazing million dollar ideas I know we all have swimming around in our heads! Its also a good idea to keep one on your night stand so that on the nights you find yourself tossing and turning, and the light bulb in your head goes off, you have something to at your fingertips to start writing in.

#3 – Be S.M.A.R.T.
Ok, now its time for me to put on my HR Professional hat, and have a session on goal setting. you’ve got your planner ready, notebook ready, so now what? Now its time to really think about the goals you wish to accomplish and the time frames you wish to do them in. One thing I always tell people when setting goals, whether personally or professionally, set any goal that you want, but make sure its a SMART goal. If you are not familiar with this term, let me spell it out for you.  Each goal should be:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

The best way to determine if you goals are truly “SMART” goals, is to put that pen and paper to use and jot them all down and work them all one by one.

#4 – “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities” – Stephen Covey
Fire Away!!! Put that pen and paper to good use and start listing out all of your current priorities. Whether big or small, if its important to you, then write it down. Then look at those priorities and list the hours you currently spend on each of them per week. From there, see which ones are taking up the most of your time.

#5 – “Success doesn’t happen overnight. Keep your eye on the prize and don’t look back” – Erin Andrews

In this step you have to figure out what is your most difficult and challenging goal of the ones you have set for yourself – tackle this one first! I’m not saying you will complete this one first, but you should get in the habit of working bits and pieces of it each day and figure out how to work it into your routine

#6 – “Motivation is what get’s you started. Habit is what keeps your going” – Jim Rohn

It’s always been said to me that it takes a solid 21 days before an action becomes a habit. In trying to execute your goals, it is vital to make good habits in order to achieve those goals. Everyday you should practice or complete something that is going to take you one step closer to meeting and even exceeding your goal(s)

#7 – “Starve your distractions, feed your focus” – Eric ‘ET’ Thomas
If you really want to conquer your goals, you must learn to eliminate any and all distractions quickly! Make it known from the very beginning that you mean business. This step is not for the weak. This can be a hard pill to swallow, especially for those who have a lot of “distractions” currently in their life. This means cutting out all of the extra curricular activities like sporting events, social groups, shopping, dining out, etc. Even putting select friends on the back burner or cutting them out of your life altogether. If something or someone is not adding value to your life, then they are not for you! It is vital to understand this quickly.

Once you have been able to complete all of the above things, that’s when your goals become more clear and you now have a defined path on how you will achieve those goals.

So who’s ready to start kicking butt and tackling these goals and making the rest of 2017 our best year yet? To make this whole goal setting thing a little easier, I created a workbook titled “Goal Setting with a Purpose: Goal Setting Strategies + Organizational Tips.” I figured, if it helped me, it can help you too! If you’re interested in checking it out, leave me a comment below with your email address and I will send it your way!!!

Let me know what some of your goals are! I would love to cheer you along the way! 🙂

xoxo,