If you ever hope to achieve the goals you set yourself it is fundamental to be prepared and develop habits that will serve you throughout your life. The key to preparation is to be organised.
This is a developed art and those who master this should recognise that you may not always achieve all your goals in one day. There are often unforeseen influences that will ultimately predict the outcomes.
That said, the more organised you are the better equip you will be to meet the challenges that present themselves and you will ultimately save yourself hours that would have been otherwise wasted on everyday mundane tasks. Habits are borne from internal conditioning processes that lead to the implementation of practical norms. Identify what works for you and act on them consistently and your half way to where you want to be.
Positive mental attitude
If you believe in yourself , then you are better placed to achieve. Be mentally aware of what you want to accomplish and consider, realistically, what you can achieve. Always acknowledge your achievements, even the small successes. This will reinforce your determination to make your life more manageable.
Be prepared!
Sort out the practicalities i.e. the easy stuff. If you deal with the everyday practicalities then you will free your time up and better place that wasted time on other challenges. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t ‘lost’ their keys in the morning, or ‘misplaced’ that file or ‘forgot’ to save that document at some point. Some of us learn from these avoidable experiences, while some of us continue to ignore the opportunity to put simple processes in place to prevent them happening again. If we implement simple methods, systems and procedures to combat these avoidable delays you will set yourself up to feel and be more in control of your day. Have a place for everything and put things back where you found them and just be more organized in general. Adhere to your self-imposed processes. Sounds simple, it is. The amount of time you’ll waste looking for things that you’ve misplace can be ridiculous.
Co-ordinate
You know what supports you have in place to achieve your goals, use them! There are of course times when you have to be the one to pick the kids up, or go to the doctors or meet that deadline, but be honest with yourself, if you plan ahead and manage your resources effectively this time could be reduced
. Take a minute to consider what you are ultimately demonstrating; that you can do everything actually shows that you don’t trust others and there is no doubt that this will lead to unrealistic expectations for you and ever increasing demands. Consequently you will be de-skilling others and dismissing their ability and responsibility. Of course we all need adrenaline to keep us going but at what cost? No one can or should be all things to all people its not realistic and you will undoubtedly be unable to sustain the ‘mask’. The more you give the more ‘they’ want, it’s a fact. Think smarter, trust me eventually you’ll feel more in control, rather than playing solo you’ll be orchestrating a band, much more powerful.
Develop your own systems
What works for you will vary from what works for others, find your way. If your IT competent utilise the systems or keep it simpler. Lists are excellent and therapeutic. Write what you need to accomplish and tick the tasks off as you complete them. This will increase motivation and reinforce in your achievements. It will take you a few minutes and has the potential to save you hours.
The Here and Now
When you start something finish it. Don’t procrastinate, just get on with it. Be strict with yourself you know what you have to do and when it has to be done by, so do it. Set realistic timescales. Sounds simple but most of the time it is. Be realistic though don’t set yourself up to fail, this is a downward spiral that only excuses failure. Be conscientious this reflects an efficient, goal orientated and self-disciplined attitude. Don’t be tempted to take on too much at one time, there’s only one certainty, you’ll fail.
Self-Awareness
Know yourself , what works for you and what you can reasonably achieve. In order for you to sustain these behaviors and attitudes you have to recognise the benefits and acknowledge your achievements. You know when you do your best work. Some of us are night owls, some are morning people. Plan around your best time. Perhaps you can only concentrate when you have completed the daily tasks; shower, kids to school, administrative tasks. Consider this and act on it. If your organised you’ll now when you work to your optimum. Remember to breathe, that may sound ridiculous but you’d be surprised. Look after your needs; drink plenty of water, eat, stretch, de-stress. Success comes from balance, find yours and attend to it.
