How Are Those New Year’s Resolutions Going?

How are those New Year’s Resolutions going?  While it’s only Mid-February, it’s hard not to fall off the horse.  In case you’re needing a little booster, here are some things to help you keep to your goals.

 I have found that truly being organized and put together can be hard work.  In my years of attempting to be a well-oiled machine, I have found that one of the most important things I can do is be honest with myself.  I suggest you do the same.  Know your habits, your sleep patterns, when you work best and create your improved organization goals around you.  For example, I realized that Monday nights I’m pretty useless and inefficient so I plan to do nothing.  I know that it’s rare that I’m actually relaxing over a weekend – whether I’m working on a project, researching or organizing details for work, spending time with family and friends or running errands. Plus Monday usually isn’t too busy – events, networking opportunities, business dinners, even catching up with friends are rarely as frequent on Mondays, which makes it easier to keep consistent.  I have found that scheduling time to relax lets you not feel guilty about it (if you’re anything like me) and then when it comes to cleaning, writing, networking, etc. days, you’ve got the energy to do it!

Want to better your organizing approach?  Read these articles about being organized.

http://zenhabits.net/27-great-tips-to-keep-your-life-organized/

http://psychcentral.com/lib/32-of-the-best-ways-to-get-organized-when-you-have-adhd/00010398

 

Now that you’ve figured out how to organize your life, make it easy for yourself to stay healthy.  Integrating little, manageable things makes it easier to maintain and eventually build upon.  If you refuse to walk more than 5 city blocks anywhere deciding to do P90x may be overkill for your New Year’s Resolution.  (Although to be fair Polar Vortex parts 1-10 have been a giant deterrent to go anywhere or do anything if you’re anyone who depends on normal body temperatures to survive).   So perhaps substitute your morning cereal for a yogurt – start with the easy stuff that doesn’t make you question the purpose of  life and why the hell you thought this would be a good idea in the first place.  I’m no health or dietary expert, but here are some great articles to help you stay healthy this year!

You heard me.  Go assess yourself.  The only way to know how to improve yourself is to think about what you want, how to get it and what you need to do to get there.  I feel like I have valued the things I’ve made an effort to learn more now than the things I was told to learn in school.  The main reason is that I understand the value of knowing it.  I never considered myself a “numbers” person – I always preferred writing, even in school, but in order to make it in the business world you have to be able to explain yourself, your goals and what you need to get from point A to point B in numbers.  So I learned.  Giant, highly-integrated spreadsheets (as in these 46  rows across actually go a 1000 columns down) still make me cringe, but I have since learned how to get what I need from them.  While that may sound easy to many of you, I assure you there were several levels of denial and then acceptance involved in that process.

It’s hard to say I need to get better at this, but it’s a start.  Yet, sometimes it may be harder to figure out what you actually need to do to improve.  Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, this may be something you need to integrate into your new organized schedule.  Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do EVERYTHING at once.   I say this because I have done this and then at some point, you implode.  You have to prioritize your improvements.  What do you need to master first to make you the best at all the other goals you are looking to achieve?  Once you figure that out you are well on your way towards self improvement!

Ever notice how when you have a million things to do you get more done?  You HAVE to answer those emails while you’re waiting for the bus/train/gas to fill in your car.  You have to do just a few little things because when else will you do it?  Busyness is the antidote to procrastination.  Now that you know how to organize your schedule, you can fit more in – including those things you are looking to improve.  So stop staring at the TV (DVR those shows on the weekend and marathon it).  The most successful people are the ones who do things, even if they don’t do it right all the time.