It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, (Almost sounds like I am making a confession) and I can only say that my priorities have been a little out of whack.
Of late it sometimes seems that my life is not my own. I have been pulled this way & that by different things in my life which have prevented me from focusing on my Internet Marketing endeavours. Things like work, family, tax, paperwork (my desk looks like a bomb has hit it), etc, have all contributed to not being able to focus on my goals.
It is times like this that I need to stop, refocus, simplify & prioritise.
I believe that this is good advise for anyone who is wanting to get ahead in this journey we call life. Things and events do crop up from time to time that knock us off path for a while, and then we get into a bit of a spin when we lose direction and don’t know which way to go.
STOP
The first thing we need to do in this situation is simply Stop. We need to get away, take some time out, and find a place where we can spend a few hours by ourselves where we will not be disturbed. I know this can be very difficult sometimes, but it is something that we must do. Even if you have to get up at 3:00am in the morning and just spend some quiet time every once in a while you should just make the time.
Spending some quiet time helps you to re-energise. When you have nothing or anybody making any demands on your time, you can relax and most importantly think about the things that are important to you.
I would also suggest that if you decide to go for a long walk or whatever it is you need to do to relax, do it in silence. Don’t take your iPod, Radio or Phone with you. The silence will help you to regroup & think. Also, don’t let your mind wander off to the things that you should be doing, or about the problems and challenges that you are facing, but simply think about your goals and for that matter your perfect life.
Refocus
After you have spend some quiet time, pick up a pen and some paper and start to write down what it is you want out of life. Write down your goals, and take some time to write them out in detail.
When you have your thoughts ideas and goals written down, think about how you are going to achieve them. Brian Tracy suggests using “Back from the Future” thinking. Imagine it is five years from today, that your life is perfect in every way. Now thing back over the past five years and think of all of the things that you have done and accomplished to get to where you are. Now write this down.
Your goals help to not only keep you on track, they also encourage you to stick with it. They help you through those tough times, and to do all of those things you don’t want to do, which are simply stepping stones to get you to your destination.
Having your goals written down, helps you to focus on what you want, and where you want to go. After all, as the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland says, “If you don’t know where you are going, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”
Simplify
Now is the time to start simplifying your life. There are so many things in our life that we deem to be important, that when you really put them in the right perspective and how they fit into your goals, they are not important at all.
Where possible, review everything that you do each day, and stop doing the things that are not moving you closer to your goal.
Obviously there are those things that we have to do, such as spending time with family and our jobs, but other things such as 20 hours a week of television can easily be reduced to 4 or 5 hours a week.
Make a list of a typical week, or even spend a week and write down everything that you do. Break your list down into 15 minute blocks, and at the end of the week, analyse exactly how you spend a typical week. This can be a real eye opener for most people.
Now simply, where possible, stop doing the things that are not moving you towards your goals. Start scheduling your days, your weeks and even your months and years.
Prioritise
Now you have a list of goals and an idea about what you need to do to achieve them, you need to prioritise.
Prioritise the things on your list, and rate each tasks importance on a scale of 1 to 10. (Be sure to include time with your family and some R&R on your list)
When you have done this rewrite your list and group them by importance or priority. Then write out a plan to start working on your goals straight away.
Now you know what is really important to you, and where you want to go, you now have a plan of action so you can move forward and start achieving your goals.
Action
Probably the most important thing to do once you have your list of goals and you plan, is to take immediate action.
Do something every day that moves you closer to where you want to be.
And in the words of Winston Churchill “Never, never, never, never give up”
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Rob,
Your post is so timely. I too hit “the wall” about a week ago and realized how important and productive it was to take a time out and re-evaluate, re-prioritize and reset my goals. I think it is something people do not do often enough. It was very helpful for me and my business and I now plan to ‘schedule’ this downtime monthly. Great post! -Norene
Norene´s last blog ..A Key to Building a Successful Internet Business: Maintain Focus
Thanks Norene,
I find it very beneficial to review my goals on a regular basis.
After all as we grow and learn more, our goals often change.
Rob