You start to take action now by planning with actual days, not “Someday.”
We all have dreams, goals, and plans that we want to make happen. Some of us will never make our dreams reality, reach our goals or accomplish what we plan. Others among us will go from dream to dream come true, surpass our wildest dream and accomplish all our SMART plans. One of the biggest differences between the two groups of people is that the latter group realizes that “Someday” is not an actual day on the calendar.
Read More: Take Action Now and Don’t Wait for Someday
One of the first things we must do if we want to succeed with our dreams, goals, and plans is to set them to actual dates. This means we must pull out our calendars and schedule the steps along the way on actual dates what we see on the calendar. It is good to have a to-do list. Even a to-do list with a hundred items on it is a good thing, under the right circumstances. The to-do list is just the start of things. Once you have a to-do list, you must start giving each item on the to-do list a place on your calendar.
Read More: Do It – Spring Into Action – Don’t Wait
For example, in the graphic above, you see a printout of part of my actual to-do list. One of the first things you will notice is that each item has a due date attached to it. There is nothing on the list that will happen “Someday.” Each item is assigned to a specific date on the calendar. Another thing you will notice when looking at the to-do list is that no date is overfilled with things to do. There is time enough each day to do the items assigned. In addition, there are still sufficient hours each day to do other things that may come up or that are done as part of your daily habit. If you place too many items on your to-do list, several problems will arise. These problems include:
- Sense of failure for not being able to complete list
- Exhaustion and stress from being overworked
- Frustration at the sheer amount of work that must be done
It is important to understand that no matter how carefully you plan your to-do list, there will be times when you do not get everything done that you want to get done. There will be days when you have so many surprises and so many fires to put out that you do not have time to complete your to-do list. That does not matter. You must still create the to-do list and you must still add each task to a specific day. At the end of each day, look at your to-do list. Cross of the things you have accomplished. Then move the things that have not been completed to another date on your calendar. I keep my to-do list electronically. The electronic to-do list makes it easy and neat when I have to move items from one day to another.
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