Have you ever just wanted your world to change? For all the shit to go away and find your bliss. I know that sounds so cliché, but it’s what everyone wants. I know I want that. I want my cake and to eat it too. But that isn’t life. Life is messy and cruel. It has highs and lows. It’s making mistakes and screwing up. It is drama and quiet, life and death, day and night. You don’t get one without the other. I have a love/hate relationship with life. BUT that doesn’t mean it can’t change. What it changes into is up to you!
The question is what do you want to change and how are you going to make that happen? Well, that’s two questions, but they are so closely related, that you can’t really have one without the other. I know what I want to change about my life, sort of… I have goals but they are all rather nebulous right now. So, my first step is to get them down in writing.
I need concrete goals with a plan behind them and deadlines!! I need rewards and consequences. As I work on these goals: making them, planning them, implementing them… I am making worksheets. I want a plan for each goal, each with a worksheet. Step one… Step two… and when I’m done, I’ll have achieved my goal, whether it is a product, a service or even a personal change like losing weight.
There are four things you need to know to make your plan.
- What is your goal?
- What steps do you need to achieve your goal?
- What is your deadline for each step?
- What rewards and consequences are there for each step?
Each of these steps will be broken down into bit sized pieces. When I was a teen and had my first paper to write for a class, my dad told me about what he called the hole-punch method. I don’t know where he heard it, but he is still fond of talking about it even 25+ years later.
It goes something like this: “Take a 3×5 card and a hole punch. Punch a hole. Punch another hole. Again. Again. Punch 20 holes. Put the 3×5 card down. A little bit later, pick it up again and punch 20 more holes. Repeat until the whole 3×5 card is in holes. Now apply this method to your paper and you will finish it in no time.” He even demonstrated it a time or two.
I have taken this to heart. My plan calls for each step to be broken down into mini-steps. Each step has an amount of time it should take to complete it. Then if I have 5 minutes to work on a step, I know which steps will only take 5 minutes. Record how long it takes you to do something, especially if it is something that is repeated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Schedule that time.
Example: My Web Store
I wanted to redo my website to incorporate a store where you can buy my products. I gave myself one weekend to research and choose the software, one weekend to add it to my website and a third weekend to tweak it so that I know it is running. I’m on weekend number two and found that the theme I was using for my wordpress site won’t work with the store plugin I like. I found a new theme and have added it, updated my site and now I just need to tweak everything. I also was able to add all my products on my Etsy shop to my store with an import feature. Now, the store is live. My reward: I get to play video games tomorrow instead of working. Next step: The Launch! Continuing Steps: New Products.
This example shows all the steps in my plan. My goal, my steps, my deadline, my reward… Each idea or project can be looked at the same way. I have a lot more goals to reach this year. I know that everyone has goals they want to reach. What are your goals for 2015? I have made a simple worksheet where you can list your goals, give them a priority and a due date. You can find it in my store by clicking here.
Start a conversation about your goals by commenting below!