Do you spend your time doing meaningful tasks (or at least they seem that way) but they are really meaningless tasks? You feel that if you do anything at all you are moving forward even if it’s sharpening pencils?
This can be a real eye-opener at the end of the day when you discover that you haven’t really accomplished a thing! Then, you get discouraged day after day when this happens and wonder why you aren’t moving your business or your life forward.
You have to know what you want and the end result first. Yes, that sounds backwards but how do you know what you need to do if you start a task without knowing the end result you desire?
Does what you are doing currently fit into the bigger picture somehow? Or does it have absolute no purpose other than killing time? Why are you doing this task?
Now that you have taken a look at the last four questions, what steps are you going to take to make this happen?
Did you know that JK Rowling had the end of her story written first before she ever wrote the first book in the “Harry Potter” series? Think I’m wrong? Google it and you will see it’s true.
So with that in mind, what are the things that you want to see accomplished or the end results you want to see? Work out this answer on everything you do and you will be amazed at how you can turn around your meaningless tasks into actionable goals.
Don’t stop at just one day. Once you see how easy it is to complete this setup phase, you will be doing this on a regular basis so that your days, weeks and even months are filled with meaningful tasks to reach an end goal. Think about how that will make you feel when you see all that you have accomplished.
Do you feel your life is a drudge full of nothing but work? What is work? Work is actions taken without a clear outcome or sense of purpose.
Do you feel like all you do is work all the time? People who love what they do have clear targets and a purpose so that they feel like what they are doing is more “play” than work.
Are you living in a “reactive” life? What does that mean? You go around putting out fires all the time because everything is last-minute and you have no clear sense of purpose or goals.
If you have no system to figure out how to get where you want to go how do you think you are going to get there? Most likely you won’t.
It doesn’t take much effort to start your own system and put it in place. Make a list of ALL your major goals. Next, add the tasks that it will take you to accomplish those goals.
Start scheduling!
Get a calendar, Daytimer, use an online system—basically anything where you can schedule items. Make sure it is easy to use because if it isn’t you will get burnt out on just the mundane task of figuring it out.
Whatever you decide to use, break it down into bite-sized, doable pieces. Don’t try to overextend yourself because if you happen to run out of time for the tasks on one day you might feel defeated.
Instead, allow yourself plenty of time. Take each of the major goals, take one or two of the tasks and add it to your daily calendar. If you end up finishing a goal ahead of time…great!
If you feel like it, go back and add a small, menial task. There is no one instruction on how to do this. Do whatever you feel comfortable with for you.
If it requires breaking the tasks down into Personal and Business, do that. Your calendar is not going to be the same as the next person’s. You know what you need to accomplish. If some of the tasks require coordinating with others, by all means work that into the plan.
The goal is to make your life easier, not harder. Make sure your plan is easy, simple and effective. Focus on what you want in the end and you will be much happier and feel extremely accomplished.
Take control of your life and your calendar and don’t let life and an out of control calendar control you.
