In September’s Monthly Goal Setting Hour we talked about getting things done.
Many members of the group identified that they will schedule things into their calendar but then not do the actual task when it comes time to do it.
The Root
There are many layers to this conversation but at its root, we are fighting internally and externally for our priorities. It’s easy to schedule things into our calendar but doing them is the part that takes effort. Sometimes it’s because we don’t want to do the work, or because we’ve let the urgency of the day take over. This leads us to procrastinate over the more important things that we need to do.
I feel it’s reflective of our fast-paced and reactive culture that it’s become normal to leave things to the last minute. I see a lot of clients doing things only when they become REALLY urgent enough that they can’t put them off a second longer. What this means is more and more stress. And if other people are involved, we are delegating work at the last minute too which piles on the pressure and on and on it goes.
Three Pieces
Working more proactively is how we get out of this cycle. Rather than purely reacting to everything that crops up, we can commit to our priorities and apply what we know about ourselves and preferences to our schedule to make it a reality.
- Step back once a month: regain perspective and get some clarity around what are your top priorities for the month ahead.
- Take time out to plan your week on a weekly basis: get yourself organised for the week and make sure that your actions are feeding back into that monthly purpose
- Put a plan in place on a daily basis: this is where your Top 3 comes in. The Top 3 is all about helping you focus and making sure that the urgency of the day doesn’t derail your efforts.
Front of mind
These three personal planning pieces are all about getting clear about what’s important. We’re then making sure that the right actions are scheduled and then we’re fighting for the attention and time to do them. Having our priorities so front of mind means that we’re not letting the urgency of the day push them aside so easily. Remember, every yes is a no to something else.
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