Get organized! It’s that time of year again for all parents of young children….a new school year is just beginning. As the return to school approaches, parents are bombarded with back to school emails, schedules, commitments, sign-ups and shopping lists. Email boxes get full and calendars quickly get marked up. As this happens in my life, I am reminded once again of the benefits of planning and setting goals.
By nature, I am an organized person. I love to make lists, keep things tidy, have everything in place and have a plan. I like to keep my house organized, plan out my to-dos for each day, think ahead with goals and prioritize my time. However, I know that not everyone operates or thrives this way. I acknowledge that everyone has different systems and ways of getting things done. Yet even if organization is not second-nature to you, I believe that adding a few organizational changes to your routine will help improve your life. I think you will see the good in setting goals and having a plan.
Get Organized With a Plan
There are so many benefits to slowing down and organizing our thoughts into a plan. Many of us go quickly through our days, running from this to that and moving through the motions. We get things done and move onto the next. But if you don’t have a plan then the motions of your day are simply that…motions.
Starting each day with a plan is a powerful way to be productive and not feel overwhelmed. Take a few minutes at the start of your day to look at or think about your schedule. Make a list of things that you need to do, a list of things you want to do and then prioritize your time. You will find that doing this enables you to spend your time on the things, people and tasks that mean the most to you. Your time is precious…just 24 hours in each day!
How to Plan Your Day
Everyone plans their time differently. I love to make lists in the morning and physically mark them off as I go through my day. I keep a running list of to-do items on my phone and often take a written to-do list with me as well (I am a paper girl!). I also have a calendar on my phone that I share with my husband so we can keep track of social plans, meetings and appointments. I love all the advantages of technology when it comes to planning!
Other methods of planning include listing tasks according to priority and dividing tasks by blocks of time. When you order your tasks from most important to least, then you start your day working on the things that are most urgent. These are the things you will feel best about getting accomplished. Some people also find that they are more energized in the morning and want to devote their best energy and focus into their most important tasks.
Another option is to make smaller lists for each part of the day – a morning list, an afternoon list and one for the evening. This is an effective way to take into account things like hours of operation, family commitments and energy levels. Motivational speaker and lifestyle guru Tony Robbins has some great additional tips for planning your day (read them here). However you approach it, I encourage you to start each day with a plan and experience the benefits of being organized.
Get Organized With Goals
Have you taken time to think about and set goals? Do consider what you are working on and why? Without setting goals and having an endpoint in mind, then all of our plans are merely cyclical and not moving you forward.
Goals keep you focused and provide motivation to live according to your priorities (more on priorities here). For instance, most people have a plan for work because the end goal of their job is to be productive, to move ahead, to make a difference or to make money. Many parents have plans for their children because the end goal is for them to grow into happy, healthy and productive adults. Lots of people make plans to eat well and exercise because they have the goal of being healthy, feeling good and looking good.
Practical Advice for Setting Goals
For some examples and practical advice on setting goals, here are 3 goals that I have been focusing on. Each day these are 3 things that I consider high priority and put at the top of my list to get done. This means that even if I am busy or something else has to wait, these are the things I prioritize.
Goal #1 – Eating Well
Eating healthy and good tasting food is important to me. It’s also important to me to feed my family well, provide healthy choices and have opportunities for us spend time eating together. In order to make this happen in our home, I’ve figured out that I need to make this a daily goal and priority.
To make this goal happen, I take time each Sunday evening or Monday morning and plan meals for the week. I usually plan 4-5 meals depending on our activities and schedule. Next, I write down the meals including sides and any extra snacks and use that plan to make a grocery list. Once I get the groceries, I tape the weekly schedule of meals inside our cabinet in the kitchen so I can reference what I have to make. I also spend some time prepping food. This often includes cutting up grilled chicken for salads, chopping lettuce, and making cold salads. All of this planning helps me to keep my daily goal of eating good and healthy food and allows time to enjoy the food with my family.
Goal #2 – Spiritual Health
My spiritual health is important to me. I consider my daily devotions and time reading my bible a very high priority in my life. However, I’ve noticed that I am not consistent with this unless I make it part of my routine. I use my mornings before work and other activities to read my devotion and spend time in prayer. I find that keeping a consistent time helps with the discipline and that morning is the best time for me.
Goal #3 – Exercise
This one has been a struggle. I live in Minnesota where outdoor exercise is not a year-round option . Winters and rainy days are hard for me since I would much rather go outside for my exercise. However, I found that online exercise classes or videos from Instagram and YouTube work great. I keep a file of favorites so I have a variety of options to go to. With the weather nice right now in Minnesota, I make sure to get out for a bike ride or walk each day. I have to organize my time in order to get my exercise in.
Obstacles to Goals
What are the obstacles that keep you from your goals? This is important to consider and address in order to be successful. For example, one of my obstacles to exercise was showering afterward. It sounds trite and strange, but as someone who requires time to dry and style my hair after a shower, I often did not want to get sweaty and have to take the time to shower and redo my hair. Maybe it was just an excuse, but it was an obstacle that was holding me back.
I finally had to decide that I feel better getting my exercise done even if I have to shower more often and spend more time on the process. To address this, I bought some shower caps so I can shower after I exercise and not have to redo my hair. Small, practical things but they made a difference in my motivation and dedication to my goals.
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Challenge for this week:
- Consider your patterns of work and living to determine how you should best plan your day.
- Experiment with different methods of organization to see which one fits you the best.
- Take 30 minutes to think about your long-term goals and identify 2-3 that you can work on.
- Next, consider what your current barriers are to these goals and brainstorm ways to overcome them.
- Attempt to organize your time with a plan that will also work toward your goals.