DAY 16...Sunday’s post
I arrive home after another long night at work with the will to work and no strength to do so. My goal of becoming debt free this year by June 1st is something I will have to work towards every day in order for it to happen. As I sit at the computer, knowing there is no time to waste, I realize that I must fight the feeling of exaustion to continue on.
It’s been said that successful people keep working even when they do not feel like it. They say that this is one of the major contributors to their success. The ability to carry on even though they don’t feel like it. Athletes also do this, especially when it comes to breaking a record, they must try harder than the last to make it happen. It’s easy to get comfortable in a daily routine especially when working a full time job. My goal is to work on new things every day no matter how tired I am from work. I also do not want this effort to affect my performance at work and that is a hard thing to pull off.
The question is, how does one complete the responsibilities at work while still having the energy to work on projects outside of the work place? I think the secret is being very organized. It has been a goal of mine for quite some time now to become as organized as possible. I think once we get a handle on all the distractions in our lives we can fully move forward on our dreams and goals.
When I say distractions I am referring to the seemingly million things that pop up when you try to work on something at home. You know what I mean, the dog starts barking, the phone rings, or you notice that pile of clothes is stacking up and you feel guilty for not working on your project instead of cleaning the house like you should be. There are many examples of things that take away our concentration and it is our job not to let them in.
Once of the main ways to combat the distractions is to set up a schedule. I have written down a daily schedule of what, when, why, and where. I know how long I need to sleep, how long it takes to get to work and back and all the errands I need to run or things around the house I need to do. I make lists and then schedule a time to take care of them. Doing this helps me tremendously and may help you too. A great tool I have found for this is using the google calander. I like google because all their products plug into each other, for example, my gmail contacts automatically sincronize with my google voice number. The google maps feature also is helpful and I can save and send directions to anything.
Google products are easy to use and the main thing I like is the data is all stored on google’s servers. This is helpful because I don’t have to be at my computer to access the info, I can use any computer anywhere with internet access and I can have everything I do personalized and accessible 24/7.
Another thing I like about the calander is the ability to set up notifications. It allows me to send text messages to my phone to remind me of appointments, this is very helpful because I can set it and forget it! I can also invite others to an event using the gmail feature, they can see the date, time, and even directions. They can respond and collaborate on any event I invite them to. This makes scheduling much easier and the fact that all this is accessible from the web and even my phone is greatly helpful.
Those are a few techniques and tools I use to organize my life. This helps me get a lot more done in the short amount of time I have and I also don’t forget anything, which is nice.
Once you are properly organized you can do a lot more then you would think. If you have a free hour on Tuesday nights for example, instead of watching your favorite T.V. show then, instead, record it for a later time and use that hour for something else. You could spend 30 minutes returning emails or doing research online or even making some quick phone calls on properties. Then you could schedule in a time to watch to show you missed before you go to bed or on another day. Using technology to your advantage will save you a lot of time and help you get much more done.
People tell me they don’t want their whole lives to be planned out but at the same time those are the same people who never get anything done. They are always swayed by the next thing that comes down the line when all they have to do is at least set aside some time to work on their goals.
I decided to plan everything out and then have the flexibility to change my plans accordingly when emergencies or un-forseen cituations arise. At least through planning I have an idea of whats going to happen so that I don’t waste time but I can always change it if I need to.
This is my focus today, to work on my scheduling and set up more automated systems that will save me time and get me closer to my goal.
Until the next post.....laters :)
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