Five-minute Strategies: Making the Most of Your 2018 Planner
It’s March, Spring is coming, and the first quarter is nearing an end. If you are like me, you probably bought a new planner for the new year. “Here I come 2018, I got this!” Color-coding, stickers, short & long-term goals, all conveniently located on your mobile device or for those of us who are old-school, a desk or purse-sized notebook.
Today’s Five-minute session will help you to implement a few strategies to get the most out of your planner as you work towards reaching your goals.
Placement – Place the planner where you see it, where it is easy to access, and you can update or add to it easily. This may mean finding a digital planner, a planner that has both digital and off-line access, or something that is purely analog. Out of sight is out of mind, so keep it in plain sight.
Set-aside a weekly appointment – Set an alert, an alarm, or a sticky note as a reminder to update your planner consistently. Every significant journey starts at mile zero. Previewing your week, reviewing progress on your goals, and choosing new challenges will keep you from getting stagnant.
Start small – Begin by planning one week at a time. What small goals can you achieve? Is it waking up 30 minutes early to set your intentions for the day, stretch, or just enjoying a quiet cup of coffee while you center? Adopt an attitude of anticipation, excitement, and possibility for the week. Celebrate the small successes on your way to achieving your larger goals.
Review – Review daily, making adjustments as needed. Look for patterns. Are you constantly looking to the future or maybe you are stuck in the past / A planner can help you to identify patterns that are holding you back. Before starting new goals, look at the ones you have previously set. Why did you miss certain goals, why did you achieve others? Don’t overlook the lessons.
Make it yours – Do you love to scribble, use highlighters, stickers? Dare I say, Glitter? Do it! Are you precise and only use pencil so that you can course correct without making a mess of the calendar? Use a pencil. Your planner is yours, make it work for you. Bedazzle it or make it Spartan. No apologies. Reaching your goals requires you create, work, and tweak your plan. You got this! Let’s chat: carrie@leadershipdistillery.com
