Completing your goals in the first quarter of the year
Completing your goals is something that life often gets in the way of.
Wise Ways Eight D’s of getting things done
This is a catchy way to remind yourself that there are no ‘shoulds’ or ‘shouldn’ts’—there are only choices. And one of those choices is completing your goals.
To prevent procrastination, you must have a definite deadline in mind.
1 Decide
That means sitting with pen and paper to decide which goals you want to commit more time to and which ones can wait.
It also means deciding which of the other Ds you’re going to choose to make things happen.
2 Diminish
This can mean one of four things:
• Do it less often. Would it really add to your problems if you cleaned the windows every six months instead of every three?
• Do it more often. Something like filing takes one to five minutes if done daily, whereas if it’s left to pile up—oh boy!
• Diminish the volume so that there’s less to do. For instance, redesigning a garden by planting natives instead of high-care plants, or putting down ground cover or mulch to eliminate weeding.
• Do it faster. It may be worth investing in appliances that will help you get through the task faster or more efficiently. The test of a good gadget is: does it reduce your workload, or add to it. A sophisticated food processor may chop and mix food faster, but what about the time it takes to assemble it or wash up all the parts? If it still saves time, then it’s worth it. You never know quite how close you are to completing your goals.
Completing your goals is something you need to work on.
3 Delegate
Have you fallen into the common trap of thinking it’s quicker to do things yourself? It may be, but only because you haven’t taken the time to teach someone else to do it. So you end up being the only one who can do everything.
Another way to delegate is to consider paying someone to do the job.
This doesn’t have to be on a regular basis—having someone do the ironing once in a while can give you a breather. Delegate also means training your family from a young age to take responsibility for household chores. What would they do if you were not there? Have you taught them to be self-sufficient?
4 Defer
This is NOT the same as delaying indefinitely!
To prevent procrastination, you must have a definite deadline in mind.
Decide to defer the task, or the next stage of it, for a specific length of time while you finish something else.
When the deadline comes up, make it your top priority and defer something else to make room for it.
This is how well-organised people manage to keep up to date with several priorities at once—they simply rotate them at regular intervals—they don’t try to attend to them all at the same time.
5 Deadline
Having a deadline doesn’t only mean a deadline for the end of the project. It means setting a deadline for every small step.
Keep asking yourself WHEN you’re going to make that phone call, or tidy up that small mess before it gets to be a bigger mess.
Completing your goals
6 Double up
For everything you do, think of something else you could do at the same time. While you’re in the shower, why not clean the recess? You’re already wet.
Listen to education recordings while driving your car or do the ironing while watching TV. It doesn’t mean you can never relax, it means having more time to do nothing but relax!
Double-up also means preparing an alternative activity you could do instead if something prevents you from doing the one originally planned. This works well for people who like to be spontaneous. Do things as the mood takes you—you’re still progressing towards your goals.
7 Dump
For this one you might have to be ruthless. Grit your teeth, take a deep breath and get rid of all those half-finished projects. If they’re unfinished, you probably don’t want to do them anyway.
Don’t let guilt be your driver.
So maybe you have invested a lot on equipment, but your time is just as valuable, if not more. Is it really worth wasting any more time, energy or money on this thing? Dump also means it might be time to get off that sixth committee, or to refuse to undertake any more. Learn to say ‘No’.
8 DO!
Thinking about it won’t achieve anything—even planning can be taken to extremes. Get some mantra that works for you, such as ‘Doing it gets it done’ or ‘Just DO it!’ Completing your goals isn’t something that happens by accident.
If a coach could help you make this year your best year ever, contact me directly to arrange a convenient appointment time.
If you or someone you know would like a personal consultation, please call +61 439 969 081.
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