Process to Success

Last blog I introduced you to my vision board (aka. my daily values reminder). Now I’ll share the process that helps me turn my visions into realities!

You may prefer electronics, paper, etc. but I love my whiteboard! Whatever your medium, please don’t let my use of a whiteboard deter you – it’s the process that matters most. So let’s dive in!

This is my Weekly Planner and it keeps me focused on my vision. It includes my personal tasks, work tasks, and general healthy habits/recharging activities. Yes – if I don’t add healthy habits to my list, they sometimes don’t make it to my day. So adding them here is super important to help me stay balanced (well, my version of balanced 😉)!

Next I’ll break it down for you…

The Components

1. “Stay Active” List

My planner board is in my office, so if I have 5 minutes between meetings, I may drop and do 15 pushups, 10 rollups, and 10 squats. I can then check off Arms, Abs, and Legs and no matter how I may have been feeling about my day, I head into my next meeting feeling energized and accomplished.

Sometimes I swap out one of these categories for Stretching, 3 Deep Breaths, or Lay down for 1 minute of silence, etc. I mix it up every few weeks because, although this is an ongoing process, anything that feels too much like a routine – especially related to activity – will be boring to me and I won’t stick to it.

2. Weekly Goals

At the end of the chart, I list out weekly goals. They could pertain to my “Stay Active” List – like: Do yoga 3x or Jog 2x. Or they could be something completely different – like: Complete blog first draft.

3. Next Week’s Goals

Here I list out what I’d like to accomplish next week. Keeping this in mind may help me identify what this week’s goals need to be. Next Week’s Goals also help keep me on track for completing my weekly goals, especially if I’m not as passionate about them. Seeing what’s on deck next week is a nice nudge to get me through the less inspiring tasks of this week - knowing that once they’re off my plate, I can dive into the fun stuff next week!

(Disclaimer: Just because something is on my weekly list or next week’s list does not mean it always gets done! My Weekly Planner is a guardrail for my week – not a stressor. Please repeat that – Not…A…Stressor! No one is perfect. No one is a superhero. Don’t beat yourself up over not completing something. My motto is: Do your best, then take a rest!)

4. Weekend Goals

I divide them up into Personal (at the top!), then Work, then Household (at the bottom 😉). I value balance, but often in the hustle and bustle can forget about making time for it.

As part of my Weekly Planner, I incorporate personal things that bring me joy and make sure that I allot time for them. Things like:

• Read a few pages of a ‘just for fun’ book (Note: I don’t commit to a full chapter because I don’t want to set myself up for failure – this is a recharge task – no guilt allowed)

• Hike or

• Check in on a friend

Next is Work. This isn’t related to my full-time job. I dedicate my work week to that role. This space is where I focus on tasks for:

• any additional contract jobs

• volunteer work or

• creating courses

And finally, Household. Yes, I need to have Laundry listed or will avoid it as long as possible! Here is where I put the little things I think about during the week that I don’t have time to get to like:

• Water plants

• Hang picture

• Find hammer

• Tap down nail in floor (Dependency: Find hammer)

5. New Habit Chart

I think of a new behavior I’d like to establish and do my best to stick to it every day for a month with the goal of making it my norm. My very first New Habit was to look at my vision board every day for 30 days. Achieving that goal has made an enormous positive change on my life! (see accomplishments below)

I always feel terrible in the morning if I eat after 8pm – so Avoid eating after 8pm was a goal. I try to avoid verbiage like “Don’t” eat after 8pm, as I don’t like to be told not to do something – even from myself apparently. The use of “Don’t” created a negative feeling in me and I felt like I failed when I had a day where I fell off the wagon. For me, “Avoid” has done the trick.

6. High Priority

These are the items that have the highest consequences if I’m not successful at them like:

• Prepare taxes

• Mail bill or

• Order printer ink (I seriously don’t know where it goes!)

The Process

I write all content in black marker and then use blue to check off things I’ve accomplished. Then I can easily see all of the awesome things I’ve completed and which items remain.

Every Sunday evening, I review my list. For any items not completed, I first evaluate if they’re still valuable to me and relate to my vision.

• If not, I erase them as if they never existed!

• If so, I erase everything else and move them to my Weekly Goals section.

Then I update Next Week’s Goals. Depending on where I’m at in my 30 days, I either continue with my habit building or identify the next habit I want to work on. And finally, I set up my weekend goals – giving myself something superfun to look forward to (minus the laundry!).

ROI (Return on Investment)

And that’s it! That is the process I used in 2020 to check off every single goal I had set for myself in December of 2019:

• Create an online course (I created 3!)

• Start blogging more consistently

• Update my website

• Volunteer monthly in my community

• Re-do my office

• Read a ‘for fun’ book

I hope you found my Weekly Planner process helpful! At the very minimum, I hope it inspired you to set some guardrails around your days, weeks, and months to ensure that you’re spending your time and energy on the things that support your vision, align with your values, and – what I think is most important – bring you joy!

Looking forward to all of the awesome things we do in 2021! Let’s grow together!