Month: June 2020

In my last blog we discussed breaking through the stop/start pattern and ways to stick to your plan. In this post, we’ll be looking at this more deeply and structuring your plan on getting things done.

More often than not, a lack of plan will have a hugely negative impact on achieving our goals. How do you know where you’re going if you don’t have a map?

This plan in itself can be overwhelming if you’ve not tackled this before, but no need to worry, I’ve broken it down into sections for you below.

Step 1: Brain Dump.

Set some time aside and sit somewhere peaceful with a pen and a notepad or sketchbook and write down everything. Your goals, what you need to do, ideas you may have. Everything. Get it all out onto paper. Remember this is just for you so it doesn’t matter what it looks like (although I know a lot of people who like to make their brain dumps visually appealing by using different colored pens etc.).

Step 2: Organize the information

Create categories (such as ‘Personal’, ‘Family, ‘Work’) organize each thing into these lists. Try to be as specific as you can. You may add more at this time as well as find that one task crosses over into more than one category, I suggest highlighting these particular tasks as you’ll want to prioritize them.

Step 3: Calendar it

Whether this be on a physical or electronic calendar, make a guess as to how much time each task will take and put it into a slot. DO NOT PACK TOO MUCH IN. LEAVE WHITE SPACE. If you are not used to doing this, the propensity is to underestimate how long a thing will take and also to not allow for the unexpected. This results in NOT putting anything into our calendar and is a giant pitfall.

Step 4: Review regularly

Things change so you may have to change your plans. I would recommend a weekly review so you can tweak as necessary. Your business and/or life may warrant other decisions so a regular review will help you stay on top of the continuity and progress. This review also allows you to take stock of your progress, tick things off your list and see how far you’ve come.

Final Bonus: Combatting Fear

Fear is the number one thing that holds us back. We all experience fear in one shape or form, and it prevents us from really achieving what we want to. Sometimes we don’t even notice it is fear that’s the culprit, but distraction, procrastination, and self-sabotage are all forms of fear manifestation.

The very best antidote to fear is to face it!

Recognize the fear when it manifests and admit to yourself this is a form of fear. Then take action. One small action to overcome. If you’re distracted or procrastinating, take a small break to reset then do one thing from your list that will help you on your journey. You’ll be grateful you did.

Don’t look back. Before you know it, you’ll be ‘doing’ it!

• Do you find you are always starting and never finishing?
• Do you love the spark of an idea when it’s fresh and new, but loathe moving a project all the way through to completion?

You are not alone. In fact, a friend of mine just today told me that she is a “ignitor” or “spark” – not an implementor. She had a great idea to raise chickens. Who maintains the coop? Her husband. This friend has gone through a few career changes also and is in the midst of a beautiful change right at the moment.

So, what can be done?

First, love yourself as you are. Know that this is your strength. You are an idea person. The world needs you! So many people out there are “blah blah blah.” They go to work each day and power through life, barely looking up. They are so disconnected with themselves that new ideas don’t have chance. And you are NOT that person!

Why do we berate ourselves?

Society has a very strict agenda. You must do well in school, get your degrees (undergraduate then graduate, preferably) then go out and get a job. If you are an idea person, if you have a vision bigger than you know what to do with (or many, often all at the same time) – you feel odd, wrong, you don’t fit in…and The Traditional Path does not reward you. Time and time again we are told we “just need to…” and we fail. If this sounds familiar, I have got you!

Getting Back on “Track”

First, agree with your makeup. You are a superstar, ignitor, illuminator, and big idea person. You are an artist, a visionary, and you come up with “crazy ideas” all the time. What might happen if you allowed yourself to embrace these gifts??

Second, do create routines. Routines are not schedules. Routines create freedom. You have a routine whether you know it or not. Hitting snooze 3x and running is a routine. It is most likely not your outwardly desired one, yet, it is. What do you WANT the routine to look like? Play with it, keep it close (yes write it down!) and be okay with tweaking it. Do a routine in the morning and the night. It’s a game changer.

Third, outsource and externalize. You aren’t going to keep everything on track “in your brain”. In my next blog we will go through steps as to how to catch the butterflies and allow the beauty at the same time.

If you know you have AD/HD, this probably makes tons of sense to you. If not, you might notice something that sounds promising. Either way, if you procrastinate, get off track, or consider it “normal” to finish 80% of a project, stick with me as we are going to nail down some of the squirrels and smile all the way to progress!

In my next blog we will discuss the secret to getting things done – and the number one thing that holds us back!