Get A Head Start On The New Year & Crush Your Goals

The New Year is upon us and I want to help you get a head start.

Many of us want to get a head start and set goals for the New Year. And while we all have the best of intentions, it’s a struggle. We start off strong and then something happens over the next three months and most of those goals become a memory.
 
I’ve already set up my 2020 Busy Woman’s Daily Planner (Get yours in the Ultimate Productivity Bundle January 2nd-8th — Click on the link below.)! I’d love to help you set up yours, but before I do, I felt it necessary to properly prepare you for your New Year planning. So, today’s message is about setting expectations and intentions for the year as they pertain to our time and how we interact with other people. It’s also about learning to discern what are essential and non-essential tasks.

You see, I recently read the book, Essentialism, by Greg McKeown and learned about setting intentions, expectations of others, and how to separate essential from non-essential.

Essential is defined as: absolutely necessary; extremely important.
Intention is defined as: a thing intended; an aim or plan.
Expectation is defined as: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

Set Your Intentions

Over the years, many of the people who come to me for coaching or with questions somehow got out of the habit of sticking to their plans, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. They allow either their whimsy or other people’s schedules to dictate where they will spend their time.

One of their top issues is trying to stick to a routine, but feeling that they have to change that routine because someone can only meet during that time. For whatever reason, they concede and the next thing they know, their planned block of time goes by the wayside so they can accommodate someone else’s schedule.

When you have a 9-5 or similar job that requires you to be there, or you have a family with plans and schedules, it’s often easier to tell people who request your time that you are busy. Either you are at work or you have to take your daughter to ballet.

If you work for yourself or are retired, why is it so hard to set the same standards and expectations for YOUR time?

Get A Head Start By Asking These Questions

1. Is it essential? Some think that they might gain business, so they correlate that to being essential. If someone wants to work with you, they will respect that you plan your time and are organized. If you run every time someone calls, they may walk all over you.
2. Is it my intention – part of my plan? If gaining business is part of your plan then it’s imperative to have hours you can adjust to meet the needs of clients. However, it is also imperative to set hours that are non-negotiable so you can get everything else needed, completed.
3. What expectations do you have for a relationship, meeting, or time spent? Is breaking an appointment with yourself defining an expectation that you or your time is less important? 

Setting the expectations and intentions for your time and how you want others to treat you, is key. If you don’t hold yourself and your time in high regard why would someone else? 

I know that you think that because a meeting is for potential business, it is essential, and you have to go. I do the same thing on occasion. Yet, it’s not always the best course of action. Your time is precious. Teaching others that your time is precious sets the tone (intention) for the entire relationship.

Also, having a set routine doesn’t mean every single minute of the day is planned. It means that you do certain things at certain times each day. When I allow someone else’s schedule to bend my schedule, I get off track.

If you know that some people can only meet in the morning or evening, set aside one or two days a week for those morning or evening appointments.

Preparing For Next Year

These are just some of the things I’m going to be discussing in 2020. Keep watching for more productivity and planning information.  I’m so excited I can hardly wait!

Ohhh, I can’t wait! So, here goes…

I’m a part of something HUGE! It’s called The Ultimate Productivity Bundle, UPB for short, and my very own Busy Woman’s Daily Planner is included! There are a lot of details I can’t tell you yet, but I can say that I’ll be doing live videos and walking you through how I use my planner. I’ve even updated the version of my planner you’ll receive in the bundle and added a special bonus!

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Until next time…
 
Cheers,
 
Susie
The Busy Woman