WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT?

If you continually ask yourself, "What's important now?" you won't waste time on the trivial.

–Lou Holtz

Last week I told you about the advice my sister and mother-in-law gave me when I had a lot of responsibilities and was feeling overwhelmed.

I’d like to continue exploring the feeling of being overwhelmed because it is very prevalent in our society today. Every day I hear people, especially women, say that they are overwhelmed. What is overwhelming us?

Please take a minute and think about what is important. If you know what is important, it will help you to make better choices about how you will spend your time. Personally, I find it way too easy to waste my time, especially on the computer, and before I know it a few hours have passed.

So, when you are faced with a busy day, ask yourself,

• What’s the most important think I have to do today?

• What is the best use of my time now?

• What absolutely needs to be done by the end of the day?

Once you’ve answered those questions, do those things and you will end the day with a sense of accomplishment. By determining what’s important to you, it helps to decide the steps to take.
Here is an exercise many people have great success with. You might want to try it.

1. Make a list of things you need to do.

2. Download the Prioritization Chart. (If you didn't receive it with your blog update, email me and I'll send it to you)

3. Look at the first thing on your list and put it in one of the quadrants in the chart above. Ask yourself:

a. Is this important? If so, how urgent is it?

b. If it isn’t important – how urgent is it?

4. Put every item on your ‘to do’ list into one of the quadrants.

5. Now, study your completed diagram.

6. Focus on the two areas on the right: Important & Not Urgent and Important & Urgent

7. Decide what in those two areas you want to complete first – which is the most important?

8. When you’re done, cross it off and give yourself a high five. Take a few minutes to reward yourself.

9. Work your way through your list and remember that it is important to reward yourself each time you cross off something. Own that feeling of satisfaction.

It will take a bit of time the first time you use this tool, but it will be well worth it. I hope this tool will help you so you can have more peace in your day, less stress and forget about feeling overwhelmed.

Next week, I’ll help you to explore your values and show you how knowing those will impact your life in a surprising way!

Please leave your comments about how using the tool helped you. Please leave your questions as well. Someone may have an answer.

It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, 'What are we busy about?’ ~Henry David Thoreau

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. Lin Yu Tang

LOOKING AHEAD

For Christmas I received two prints for my office wall – one from each of my daughters. One says, “Keep Calm and Carry On” and the other one, “Live What You Love”. They are both red! I love red – I think it’s my favourite colour – it’s so vibrant and full of energy and life!
A friend came for lunch last Friday and gave me two little books and a Jim Rohn sampler CD. I couldn’t have been more excited! The books are: SUCCESS – Quotes for Achievers and The Treasury of Quotes, both by Jim Rohn. When I told her that I heard Jim Rohn speak in person, she couldn’t believe it! She is an obvious fan of his. (http://www.jimrohn.com/)

It didn’t take me long to read through the booklets – so motivational.

On one of the pages, this quote caught my attention:
With the beginning of a new year, it’s a good time to really think about that quote. Am I going to leave my future in someone else’s hands, or am I going to make plans for a future that I want?

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.

We’ve all heard this proverb:

Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened.

What are your goals for 2011? What do you want to celebrate at the end of this year?

I have a list of questions which will help me reflect on 2010, and think about the year ahead. I received them from another coach and am looking forward to taking some time today to reflect, set goals and plan for my future. If you email me (bettygood@shaw.ca) I’ll send you a copy. (I couldn’t figure out a way to attach them to my blog post.)

I wish for you a wonderful and happy New Year!

Please feel free to share your goals and reflections with me and others by leaving a comment.


What are my goals for 2011? What do I want to celebrate at the end of this year?

I Have a Plan!

At the end of every coaching session I ask the client what value they created for themselves. Do you know what the most common answer is? "Now I have a plan." "Now I know what to do first."

We all know the saying "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Have you ever thought of how true that is? Just take a minute to think about it. In order to achieve your goals, you need a plan. When you go on a trip, you have a plan of how to get to your destination. But how many of us actually go through life without a plan?

Think about your dreams and aspirations. How many of them have you accomplished? We don't accomplish them because we don't have a plan to do so. When we are faced with a problem, how do we solve the problem? Without a plan to actually solve it, we just focus on the problem. We have to focus on the solution and in order to do that, it involves making a plan.

Here's an action step for you for today or this week. Think about a challenge you're facing or a dream or project you'd like to pursue. Don't focus on the issue itself, but start thinking of a way to meet the challenge and solve the problem. Decide what you're going to do first! A journey begins with the first step. Even if you aren't sure what the second step will be, you can still start with the first one. Go for it!

If your challenge or goal is huge, you might need some help sorting out your thoughts. Talking to a friend might help. You may even need a coach - if that's the case, let me know :)

Please leave a comment and let us know how making a plan is helping you.