Planning and organization

I hope you made a commitment to have a reflective time last week and examine, in more depth, how things went for you over the holidays in the areas of planning/organization, money, and relationships.  What needs more attention in your life in order for the negatives not to repeat themselves?  This week, I want to focus on planning and organization.  As I said last week, these three areas aren't exclusive to the holidays, but they seem to be exacerbated during the holiday times.

In moving forward with each of us examining our own strengths and our weaknesses in the area of planning and organization, let’s go forward with a mindset that we ALL need some form of tweaking.  Let’s also assume that each of us wants to make a change,

and we're not going to use the same old excuses of why we can’t change and improve.  Do we all have our own excuses and rationale for why we can’t be better organized or better prepared?  Of course!  That’s a given. But read on if you truly want to make some changes no matter how big or small.   

I recently listened to a CD in the January Success magazine, with Darren Hardy interviewing Laura Stack who is considered the “productivity pro.”  I began to listen with more focus and attention when Laura began with the question whether we were busy or productive.  Interesting.  The common “buzz” seems to be the word busy.  Her definition to busy is “we look the part but there aren’t results.  Activity vs. accomplishment.  Productivity, however, is not measured in the number of hours, it’s the value you create and there are measurable RESULTS and “documented” accomplishments! We all have 24 hours in a day, some days are more productive than others, yet in the big picture are we seeing results of our efforts?  Are we accomplishing the things which are THE most important to us? 

As a side note, I learned several new strategies of things I want to accomplish this next year.  We all don’t know what we don’t know which is why it’s important to constantly be reading, listening to CD’s, “picking other people’s brains,” in order to come up with refining, tweaking, or developing a totally new approach.  Looking beyond ourselves is NOT a weakness.  On the contrary, it’s definitely a strength.  It’s not settling for the excuses, it’s not settling for the same old ways, it’s realizing that in order for change to happen, we need suggestions and help.  The only way that can happen is to commit to personal growth and open ourselves up to needing help.

Laura pinpointed what is preventing us from being productive.  (And I include myself in all that I’m addressing in today’s blog.)  The list includes; not prioritizing, not being able to say “no,” not being organized, our plate seems already too full and we’re overwhelmed, we put other’s needs before our own etc. etc.  Busy?  Productive? 

   

In today’s world, there is a lot of our daily time that seems to be out of our control due to the needs of our small children, the needs of staff, our boss, technology etc.  Many of us have some kind of “to do” list.  It’s not prioritized so we will generally do the “feel good,” easy, fun things first.  However, emotions are a bad judge of prioritizing.  Second, some people do things in the order they appear FIFO – first in, first out, and a third is the order you think of them.  You’re multi-tasking and constantly reprioritizing but it’s all happening in your mind.  These actions are more focused on being busy rather than prioritizing with a purpose.

Instead of coming up with New Year’s resolutions that data shows only 8% of the people who set them are still working on them after 6-8 weeks, let’s set monthly goals instead.  In the next four to six weeks (you set the time line) focus on PRIORITIZING.  Pick an area in your life: home, family, work, health, spiritual etc.  Once you have that ONE area, now take a few minutes to ask yourself the question, “If things were the way I would really want them, what would that look like?  (We started with reflecting on how things went over the holidays, but as I also said, it’s really an all year issue.  The holidays just seem to bring planning and organization to a head.)  Breaking this down even further after identifying the area of my life (business) I want to prioritize (improving my organization), I now need to have a BIG PICTURE of what will the end results “look like” if I am organized in my business.  What will it look like for you in the area of life YOU want to improve?  This is a crucial step – the BIG PICTURE.  This is NOT the time to start a long list of “to do’s.”)  In a sense, it’s like having your own mission statement that is realistic, has your focus and desires all wrapped up in a couple sentences.  This is your “map” to guide you through each day, each decision of what to do next.  If you have that big picture, that mission statement, then your “to do” list for the next day, week, or month may only be two to three maybe four things.  For example, I know I need to communicate with my customers on a regular basis and to me regular means weekly.  (I’m specific and not general in the time).  If at the end of the week, I have only completed that one thing and it’s moving me closer to my mission statement then I have been successful.  I don’t need to lament over all the things that didn't get done which, in the past, would have been my tendency.  I still have the “to do” list of getting the laundry done, reading, exercising etc. but I’m not going to let the emotional, feel good tasks get in the way of my priorities. The laundry etc. gets my attention AFTER I've done THE most important item of communicating with my customers.   

The goal for myself and for you is to look at life in a different way.  Rather than being overwhelmed with all that you feel “needs” to get done, all the demands you feel coming from children, spouse, co-workers, bosses, the expectations of what you think others think etc. etc. keep in mind… if you have your BIG PICTURE goals and what you want to accomplish in your life then it’s NOT about the number of tasks accomplished. It IS about prioritizing that will lead you to accomplishing what is truly important and valuable to you.  The reality is if your boss tells you that you need to be at a meeting at 11:00, then you’re at that meeting at 11:00.  If you're meeting with a recruit and his/her family on Saturday morning then you're there.  If your little one is running a fever and you need to leave work to pick them up from daycare then you do it – no questions asked.  Growing a business whether it’s self-employed, coaching, employment by someone else still entails a personal mission statement, a BIG PICTURE, and prioritizing.  Starting a new business, starting a new job, raising small children has its own set of demands.  At first, that new job, the young age of your children, the new business may be more time consuming; that’s natural and expected.  Yes, the laundry may pile up etc.  but that’s only short term.  However, if your organizational challenges continue to be the same problem year after year then something does need to change. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

Obviously, there are lots of variables when dealing with priorities.  What I hope the take away here is one, in order for things to change YOU have to make a commitment to change; two, learning and growing as a person first and foremost will unlock the door to many ideas, suggestions, and avenues that wouldn’t be available otherwise, and three having a BIG PICTURE with a mission statement as your road map on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis is a necessity.

Now here’s the BIG QUESTION…are you interested in changing the way things have been?  Or are you already making excuses that you don’t have the time; you’re too busy?  We all have 24 hours in a day.  So let me rephrase the “I’m too busy” to “that’s not a priority for me.” If you know your priorities then you’ll never again use the “I’m too busy” excuse.

 

I wish you a reflective week and a positive mindset.