The Power of Planning Series - Fourth of Five

YOUR TO DO LIST

Make your initial draft of your to do list before you leave work each day so you can work on scheduling and juggling what you need to do.  The next morning you will finalize the list, look forward in your calendar and add what needs to be squeezed in.

Mastering this discipline will help you become a master of spending your time where it counts most.

Try this for 30 days.

List everything you have to do today.  In the beginning I want you to list everything, including your morning and evening routines, that includes meals, showering, praying/quiet time, getting dressed, driving to the day care, driving to work, going to the store or the cleaners plus work-related tasks…in other words if it takes time it belongs on the list.

Next examine everything on your list to see what you left out, and then look at your calendar for appointments or meetings for the next two weeks that you need to include or prepare for and add those.

Now, you determine when each item needs to be done.   Each item on your list will have an A, B, C, or D to the right of it 

A          before noon

B          afternoon

C          evening

D          delegate

Place a time estimate to the side of the alpha character you gave the task.  Now, calculate how realistic your plan (to do list) is for the day.  This discipline helps to eliminate over committing and underestimating your available time.

Now that you have the real picture on what you need/want to do and have set deadlines for each and calculated how much time it all will take you are ready to prioritize.  Your next step is to number in sequence what you will do first, second and so on.  And next, drumroll please, check off the item as you complete them.

Get real, stay real, reduce stress and accomplish what matters most.  Let me know how this works for you.  

Still learning,

Honey

Coaching Yourself & Others - The Beginning

Having a personal development coach was one of the best investments I ever made of my time and money. For over three years, several times a month, my coach taught me key factors to put to use in all kinds of situations.  I had someone encouraging me, gently confronting me and teaching me the importance of planning, evaluating and progress.

I think coaching done well is life enhancing, if not life altering.  Today I coach myself and others.  I work passionately at teaching others how to coach themselves.  I've learned first hand you can coach yourself. It's not magic. It's not quick. It works. It helps create an awakening, accountability, compassion and the importance of self-evaluation.

Coaching Choices is a method I've developed and utilize myself. The method incorporates the teachings of William Glasser, MD who authored a theory on motivation called "Choice Theory."

Here is the beginning of the first of 5 steps to take to get Coaching Choices working for you:

Step 1. Wanting

This step is about learning what you want, what you want to have happen. Purchase a spiral notebook with five sections. The first section is about Wanting. List everything you want to have happen. Look at what you wish was different, look at what you have you want to keep, look at how you want to be perceived. Write all that down. Focus on your Wanting. Dig for what you've wished was different, examine what you frustrate over and about.  Ask yourself, "what have I wanted for a long time? What have I put off wanting?" Write everything down on your mind that comes up.  No rush, but do it.  Maybe do this for ten days.

Review what you've written. Maybe you have a relationship in jeopardy, maybe you want to quit smoking, maybe you want to go back to school or obtain a promotion. Maybe you want to quit worrying, maybe you want to lose weight or change jobs.

When you think you've listed your hopes, dreams, wants, frustrations, fears and ambitions, it's time prioritize what you want. Now create your Want list and begin to number them by priority, immediacy, need and your desire to achieve them. Your list could also include important facets of your life that you think are going well and that you want to keep doing well.

Coaching yourself begins with identifying what you want to have in your life, keep in your life, work for in your life, and discovering what you have that needs attention and what you might need to give up.

Coaching Choices continues...tune in to tomorrow's blog as we work on helping you get what you want through coaching yourself.

Still learning,


Honey