Have you ever been in a situation where you meant to do something but due to circumstances you have either forgotten or didn't have time? I have been dealing with this very thing and have come up with a few ways to help others get back on track. I won't claim to be an expert on the following as this is something I'm struggling with as well. Hopefully, through this post, I can become a better planner and keep my goals on track.
1) Organization
Being organized is key to keeping things on track. When you are constantly around disorganization you tend to be distracted by it. Take a cluttered room for example. This is something I've been struggling with at my home because I dislike the look of clutter. I read an interesting article on Zen Habits the other day about getting rid of clutter and found it very enlightening. We all struggle with this regardless of our situation. If you have a place to live and you have "things", I can almost guarantee you have clutter. As I've found out over the past years with my wife, clutter isn't always a bad thing if kept in order which is why organization is more important than removing the clutter.
2) Set Deadlines
An easy way to keep things on track is to set a firm deadline. "Sometime next week" is not a deadline and more often than not you will arrive at the end of next week and still have the task outstanding. The goal here is to keep things on track and having a firm deadline is key to making this happen. Rather than saying "Sometime next week", pick a day next week and stick with it. Also, when setting deadlines for things keep in mind your schedule and set goals that are easy to obtain and realistic to the situation. I wouldn't advise setting a goal to paint your entire house in a week. Give yourself some breathing room and give yourself a couple weeks to complete the project. If you're like me, you have enough deadlines and stress at work. Take it easy and enjoy it, but make sure you make that deadline.
3) Work at it a little bit each day
Some projects are simple and won't require this step but others are longer and may extend over multiple days. As in my example in step 2, if you're looking to do something like paint your house, try doing a little bit each day until completion. If you set a deadline for your project for Friday next week, you don't want to start working on your Project on Wednesday next week. Start today! Do a little bit each day and pace it out so you will be finished by Friday next week. If you complete early, great. By working on the project every day, you're showing progress in your project and every day you will feel driven to do more. In most cases, this will result in finishing before your deadline date giving you a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
4) Reward yourself
You've completed your project and you've done it ahead of schedule. Why not reward yourself for a job well done? Maybe order in some food or take that significant other out and spend some quality time together in celebration. Whatever you do, don't let this accomplishment pass you by without taking in some self gratification. Remember, if it wasn't for setting that goal and deadline, you wouldn't be where you are today and would still be procrastinating over the issue you meant to do last week. Hold your head high and take pride in your work.
5) Keep it Up!
You've finished your project, you've decided to kick back and take it easy for awhile. Looking around the place you live yields a dozen other things you "could" be doing. Take a note of each thing that requires work and write it down. Now, beside each task set a realistic date for completion. Keep this list handy like on your refrigerator or put it on a calendar. I find the calendar approach the best since you can easily look at it and see when your tasks are due. Every morning when you awake, take a quick peek at your list or calendar and take note of the top 2 tasks that are due first. Spend an hour that day working on those two things only. At the end of the month you will have accomplished so many things around your home, you will be able to sit back and enjoy knowing you haven't put anything off that needed doing.
Good luck with keeping things on track! Feel free to post any comments or additions you'd like to make. I always value the opinions of my readers who have helped make me who I am today. :)
Cheers,
Al
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