Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Setting goals - Part II

Hello!

I hope you are very enthusiastic about your weekly and daily goal setting. Moreover, I hope you realize what an achievement it is, to have a successful day (and week!) where all your goals have been accomplished.

REWARD YOURSELF!

I am not in favor of depriving ourselves from what we want, especially if it makes us happy. Nevertheless, as a motivation, maybe you might want to shift the day you'll buy yourself that new scarf or the new laptop sleeve...Set it for the end of the week, after you've had a successful completion of your goals.
Let me know later how this made you feel!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Setting goals for the New Year!

E is for EFFICIENCY! By setting and achieving goals, we live a more efficient life!

Why is it important to set goals?

  1. By setting goals, we are making a compromise. We are emphasizing the desire we have to achieve something, and by simply setting goals that are believable and achievable, we may act and live our lives towards achieving these goals;
  2. Goals frame what we want to do. If one of my goals is to read 2 books about Personal Communication per month, it probably means I am interested in learning more about Communication. It could also mean that I want to increase my vocabulary and dynamic reading skills;
  3. When we set goals, we have more structure in our lives. We look for ways to achieve our goals, and organize them so that we can accomplish important steps each day or each week. This structure enables us to make efficient use of time, and finally,
  4. Once we achieve our goals, we feel proud, accomplished, motivated and happy!

How can I set goals for myself?

(1) Start out with daily goals that you write down the night before you go to sleep.
Make a list of the things you want to accomplish today. The list can be written on paper or can be inut into your smart phone or PDA. Make a list of the things you need to buy, people you need to contact (call or meet), places you need to go and things you need to do at home. Do these in order you will be carrying them out. Example:

Tuesday, December 30:
9:15a.m., CALL: Mary (about dinner next weekend), ABC Store (about an order I placed), Mom (about beans recipe)
1p.m., GO TO: Post Office to mail package to cousins, Target to buy New Year's decor
BUY (see above): New Year's decor
4p.m., AT HOME: vacuum all couches, take stain off white shirt, marinate chicken for tomorrow, water all plants

  • Carry your list everywhere you go! Make it easily accessible to you at all times.
  • By dividing things into categories, you save time!
  • Use colors to enhance your list and visually catch your attention.
  • To save even more time, don't forget to write them down in the order you will be doing each task.
  • Cross out each item once it is completed!
  • Avoid adding any new item unless it is of utmost importance and cannot wait until the next day.

(2) Once you've mastered setting and accomplishing daily goals, move on to weekly goals:
You may use a dry-erase board, an agenda, or a custom self-designed table on Excel or on paper.

Write down the days of the week as collumns, one next to another.
Devide each collumn into A.M. (morning), P.M. (afternoon) and NIGHT (you will set the time for what night means to you. For me, it would be after 8 p.m.)
On the top of each collumn you will write the "Goal of the day", which is the most important thing you want to get done.
In your A.M. section, you will write the most important goal for the morning and you will do the same for the P.M. and the NIGHT collumn.
You will increment your daily collumns with daily goals, so that your weekly goals list will guide you to create your daily goals list! An example:

MONDAY, December 29:
Buy a bigger car seat!

AM: Meet with the new pool cleaning company
PM: Go to the mall to buy a bigger car seat
Exchange Bday gift to a smaller size
Gym class
Walk neighbor's dogs

NIGHT: Premiere of the XYZ Show

You will write a brief weekly goals list for each day of the week, and from there you will develop your daily list. Your weekly goals list should be written on the same day/night each week, so that you can create some consistency.

The daily goals list for this (above listed) Monday, would be as follows:

9a.m., CALL: Guard gate to let the pool cleaning company in
9:30a.m., MEET,: John, from pool company
12p.m. to 3p.m., GO TO: Fashion Mall, to buy larger car seat / exchange my gift/ look around/ have a coffee
5p.m., GO TO: Gym, step class
6:15p.m.: WALK Susan's dogs and turn on her porch lights, get her mail/ get my mail/ sort mail out
7:15p.m.: Shower, dinner (eat Sub from last night!)
8:30, WATCH: Premiere of XYZ Show!!
9:30, MAKE LIST for tomorrow!

On a next Post, I will talk about monthly goals and yearly goals. This is very exciting, as I hope that by the next time, you will be mastering the weekly and daily goal setting, by enjoying and learning from it.

Let's all live a more efficient life! I am curious to read your comments and smile at your achievements!

May the New Year start off very well for you! I wish you all the very best!
Happy New Year!