2. It’s unproductive to force clarity. Trying to get to clarity through doing is also unproductive. It’s more effective to stop before making transitions and assess your values and needs, timeline and budget. A good coach will have you restate your skills and interests and determine the environment you most desire to express them in. Taking time for this assessment will naturally reveal the action steps to do next.
3. If you’re distracted by details, rather than organizing your day to focus on what’s most important, then a to-do list with a timeline can be helpful. To insure positive headway, identify your main goals, including the time it will take to complete them and any lesser goals can fit around them.
4. Some form of tracking system for your goals is necessary. Use the pad at the back of your day planner or one large colored paper easily found on your desk, to jot down your ideas for the next day or week and then finalize your list in advance into your calendar system. Be sure to mark off the time needed for each task. Use one system, not two to three methods, with notes everywhere to annoy you and discourage planning.
5. You can effectively formulate a general yearly and monthly plan, working backwards from your end date with larger goals until they are broken down into smaller ones into a specific weekly or daily plan. Update your list regularly, checking off and noting your accomplishments.
6. Be consistent when you review your list, but don’t over plan. The dark side of the scorecard is that sometimes we get so busy measuring the size of the table we’re going to build, that we stop building it.
7. Resist other projects being added to your list until you’ve completed former tasks. If you have to substitute a more important task or goal, move the one you’re replacing to a later date in your tracking system. A rule to stick by is to move a project or task a maximum of two times before choosing to do it or drop it.
Laurie A. Sheppard is a master certified Life Coach and Career Strategist to mid-level professional women and women entrepreneurs who want to make quality career and personal changes.
Ready to change your life? Contact Laurie at info@creatingatwill.com or call her at 310-645-2874. Sign up to receive monthly career tips
c. 2005, 2006 This article is free to publish in its entirety, with a courtesy email to info@creatingatwill.com
