How often do you find yourself saying, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’, ‘maybe later’, or ‘not right now’? Time spent thinking about the things that you need to do, and want to accomplish or achieve will not get you any closer to having the results that you want in your life. That’s why it’s important to plan, so that you can make the best use of your time, for all you know a year will have passed, two years and then maybe five! The book that you want to write may still be unwritten, the weight that you want to lose may still pretty much be there, or the anxiety that you’ve been struggling with may not have been addressed. How much longer are you going to wait, procrastinate or even suffer? Five more years?
Are you maximising your time?
Time goes by so quickly. Kids grow up and fly through school, relationships start and end, and the years seem to fly by at a great speed. You can end up being in the same job and role that you once thought about getting out of and changing. When is the right time to take action, to change your life and to do what supports and pleases you?
Each year you may feel that time is moving quickly, and with that your mind may be filled more with doubt and fear as you ‘think’ yourself into staying in your ‘comfort zone’. The difference in not doing the things that you want to do, or healing the areas in your life that need healing, is that the action needed to make the changes that you desire gets pushed further away. You can end up building a wall of fear and excuses in between where you are and actually taking action.
- So why aren’t you doing the things that you want to do?
- Why isn’t your life where you want it to be?
- Why have you put it off for so long?
One of the reasons for this will be down to your lack of commitment.
Before you know it, you will be at the start of your new year and you’ll be reflecting on the things that you again want to change, achieve or accomplish. The next five years of your life will also go by quickly and upon reflection on that point, you may find yourself panicking or even giving up at the prospects of your dreams and desires. Don’t! Just maximise your time and plan all of the things that you want to do, so that you can then make them happen.
Making good use of your time is going to help you get the results that you want in your life, which will help you feel more fulfilled with what you’re doing, how you’re living, as well as improve your quality and outlook on life, your relationships with others and also yourself.
Take time to plan for the long term….
The reasons why it’s important to plan are endless. My advice to you from the planning and scheduling that I do with my clients is to plan ahead for the next five years of your life.
Why five years? Well this will encourage you to expand your horizons and to really think about the things that you want to do in life, the results that you want to achieve and the results that you want to actually have in your life.
You don’t need a new year, a new month or a new week to start. Just start. Start by making a list of all of the things you want to do and achieve. All of them. You can then space and spread them out over the five years and have a plan for what it is you’re going to do.
As you spread out your timetable of what it is you want to achieve, you can then get even clearer on the points that you’re going to take to make your goals you’re reality.
Giving yourself a projection and outlook of all of the things that you want to work and accomplish over the next five years will also give you a deeper understanding of the time that lies ahead. In five years your relationships will have developed, your colleagues and job role will have progressed, your children (if applicable) will have grown, the way you think will have changed, and quite simply time will have moved forward.
Five years goes quickly so why not get really clear now on the things that you want to achieve and the things that you will change and will do, to really maximise your time and enhance your life?
This will also help you gain more clarity over the direction of your life, what you want, what you want to change and what you need and want to prioritise to get the results that you truly want.
Take these steps to get more clarity over your life:
- Make a list of all of the things you want to achieve in your life.
- Look through the list and prioritise them in order. Is there anything missing?
- Draw out a table or list for the next 12 months. What could you make happen, work on, start, etc over the next 12 months? Set some work to do for each month and see how that feels for you.
- What from your list needs to go after the 12 month period? Extend your list out over the years.
- Notice if anything else comes up that you want to add, do, remove or achieve…?
- Notice how it feels for you to be planning and scheduling so far ahead. Does it excite you or fill you with fear?
- Work out what you need to complete and achieve for each month.
- Write a list headed ‘I Will Do’ and make a list of what you will do for each week or month. This will help you take action and commit to your goals.
- Reflect on your success and learn from what went well and what needed more work as you work your way through your year.
The effort that you put in will always determine the results that you have in your life. If you want your life to change for the better, take action. In taking action, choose to plan so that you get clear on creating and finding ways that allow you to make your dreams and goals your reality.
Even if you just plan for this day, this week, this month or this year, plan! Then use your plan to guide you to reach your destination.