Remembering to Celebrate

I have not done a great job of celebrating my successes in goal setting since we started 2 months ago. I think it is because I can become very task oriented and I'm glad to cross it off the list and feel good about it but I don't take time to say "hey that was a product of goalsetting and I did it" I finally took the bike I have been borrowing into the shop, which doesn't seem like a big accomplishment but I had been intending to do it for 2 months. So it felt really good to get that taken care of on Friday and finally cross it off my to-do list. Also getting my bike fixed up got me to go for a ride on Sunday because the weather was so nice and the bike was ready to go. I was thinking this morning about writing a blog and wasn't sure what I was going to blog about that was when I decided to focus on something I have accomplished. But as I have been thinking about this blog I started thinking about what a friend told me 2 1/2 years ago when we were working at camp together. She was talking about her faith and about how we so frequently are focused on the "big events" or big moments of our faith. Which is interesting because big moments are such a small percentage of our life. She was trying to focus on living in faith through the mundane, because the largest percentage of our time is the day to day stuff. I have been thinking about this and how it applies to faith as well as success and goalsetting. It is the small decisions in life that I have struggled greatly with and at times of kept me from attaining different things over a longer period of time. It is something that is so easy to overlook because the are decisions we make so often but if I want to be healthy that small decision of eating meal after the bar or not made many times has a real impact. I think this idea of being intentional in the mundane is what I have been striving for. I want to increase the amount of good small decisions I make and the consistency with which I make a decision witht he view of "spending vs investing". I want to be someone who has an investing mindset because I think that its one of the keys to success and being a good steward of your personal resources. Consistency is what really develops something. Being consistent over a long period of time will develop whatever you are being consistent doing and who you as a person are. If I am consistently nice for a long period of time I will be a nice person because it will become part of who I am. I will be intentional with the rest of my day and be focused on making small decisions that are in line with my larger purpose.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Proverbs 13:4,

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied"

I might be the dumbest person on earth. Or as our recent favorite Greek yogurt commercial put it, "possibly the dumbest person on earth".

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, I know I am quite sane. However, knowing the results of my actions, while holding a deep desire for said results, and not doing the same thing over and over is just stupid. Let me explain.

Scripture has always been a source of life for me... Feeling close to God has lead me to the most prosperous periods of my life. I look at times in my life when I have felt the best of about everything that has happened to me, and I recognize that they all resulted from a spiritual tranquility/vitality. I know that spiritual fuel is more important than any other source of strength, however, it is often the last thing I think of needing when I feel overwhelmed or in need.

Reading my Bible this morning shed so much light on so many things in my life, and that verse hit me square in the face of what we're trying to accomplish. I know that so many of the things I do on a daily basis would be so much more effective if I took the time to pray and spend time orienting myself spiritually (In my mind this is a fact, not contested at all), however, I fail to do this every day. Stupid.

I know what I want, I am convinced of the things I need to do to achieve my desires, and I don't do it... I am really frustrated. I think about our goals, and part of me thinks that I should make it a goal to be disciplined more and commit to reading my Bible every day, however part of me thinks that mere discipline isn't the answer to this issue. If you have any advice or thoughts on this I would greatly appreciate it...

I do have some thoughts for this week...

I am going to try and spend time every morning or evening in scripture or dedicated prayer.

I want to get some groceries and commit to paying for prepared meals only once a day.

I want to try and drink beers at Hotsy only 2 nights this week, focusing on productivity for the other evenings of the week.

After spending some time here this afternoon preparing for the week at work, I want to have goals for this week at work ready to go, and attach them as comments to this post.

I want to clean out the garage and have it ready for someone to park in for the winter.

I want to exercise 4 times this week.

I want to have breakfast with Dave Applegate.

These are just a few of the things that come to mind at this point... More may follow, but I feel good having a handle on how I expect things to shake out.

I am going to try and have a vision of my day in mind every morning when I leave so I will be ready and prepared for all that I have to accomplish.

Lack of Discipline

The theme of K-life this year is "Obsessed". This is a humbling theme for me, because I am not Obsessed and frankly never have been. The idea behind the theme is obviously being Obsessed with Christ. Which is a very interesting theme for Jr. Highers and even High Schoolers. I get frustrated by the theme at times because I think that it sounds great but is poor in application. Maybe it is because I don't have an obsessive personality. I think it is because I don't think it is that reasonable and honestly I don't believe one kid in my ministry will become "Obsessed' with Christ. I think that belief comes from my experiences with falling short. How many times in life have I said I wanted to do something or was going to do something and didn't. For example recommiting my life to Christ and leave camp/conference/retreat with a fire to "Be a disciple of Christ" only we go back to business as usual in a couple weeks. My past of not achieving what I set out to has greatly impacted who am I and has affected my confidence in myself. Too many times I have started a bible study or accountability group with the idea of transformation to see it be very short lived. Those experiences has stayed with me. I'm someone who really struggles with commitment and discipline. I want to see myself overcome these weaknesses and develop those two qualities within myself because the failures have taken a toll on me. I know that to be the person I want to be I need those two qualities to be a part of who I am. I believe most people that have made great impacts have excelled at those two qualities. It is a scary thing to be so real and vulnerable about the things you have failed at. I have lived a pretty consistent unchanging life and I have a burning desire to see change. I refuse to give up on myself and my personal development. I do not want to settle for the path of least resistance or what is easy. I want to overcome great obstacles and persevere. I desire to see my capabilities being exercised and be able to look back on achievements. I am committed to working hard than I have by being more consistent blogging (entering another blog before next Tuesday), Setting aside more time to read the books that help motivate me, attacking my to-do list to keep my motivation and sense of progess high (I will have my bike in the shop and my computer in the shop by next tuesday), I will come to next Mondays meeting prepared and ready to push forward and I commit to praying for our time together and motivation on our own.

Healthy

Starting this blog post has been one of the most difficult experiences of the past couple of weeks for me. I've put a lot of thought into the initiation of this composition, and yet writing it has been extremely difficult. I don't know why... I think that the thoughts that are most weary are that by setting goals I am inviting the prospect of failure into my life. Something that is difficult to deal with...

I almost feel as though life has been rather stale as of lately. Not that I have anything to complain about, but rather in a sense that I have cut a lot of feeling out of life. I think that a fear of failure or thoughts of disappointment have crippled me to the point that I am no longer willing to set marks that result in neither bliss or disappointment. Life currently has its ups and downs but the ups are fleeting and the downs seem insignificant. It feels as though something is going on that is fundamentally flawed and I am stuck in the middle of a rut that has me avoiding the extremes of the human condition.

With these posts I want to create an avenue of experiencing life from one extreme to another, in a brutally honest fashion with both myself and Phil, whom I have entrusted as a brother in life.

I havent posted my goals, because I don't think my goals are the problem. In all honestly it would take a matter of minutes to assess my goals and move on... but yet I have avoided doing so for so long because I feel hesitant to own up to the progress I've made on the things I determined to be important. I feel as though the thing I've been neglecting is not my own aspirations, but rather my own feelings. I go through life convincing myself that all is well and will be well, with no other authority to contest such thoughts.

I know that the reason for meeting with Phil was not to accomplish our goals, but rather to keep each other accountable for setting goals and striving in life to be focused on whats important.

I will not list my goals on this page, because I will speak with Phil about them tomorrow. But rather I will promise myself and Phil that before next week I will post another blog. I will write about my life in an honest fashion and address the things that together we ascribe value.

My only real goal is to buy into a life lived intentionally. That to experience the fullness of life you must pay the ante, I must put myself in a position of vulnerability, in which failure is a very real option.

By 8:00 PM next Tuesday night, I will have listed things that are important to me. Things that have potential to hurt or disperse great joy in my life.

I don't believe this blog to be a goal oriented blog. I believe it to be a life oriented blog, which is why this evening I chose to bring up the things in my life that have been hindrances to real progress. I feel confident now that I am sold out on what is happening here, and will strive to uphold the commitment to continue to contribute to this process, and hold my end in the upkeep of this record.

Common Time Management Mistakes

How well do you manage your time? If you're like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing. Many of us know that we could be managing our time more effectively; but it can be difficult to identify the mistakes that we're making, and to know how we could improve. When we do manage our time well, however, we're exceptionally productive at work, and our stress levels drop. We can devote time to the interesting, high-reward projects that can make a real difference to a career. In short, we're happier! In this article, we're looking at ten of the most common time management mistakes, as well as identifying strategies and tips that you can use to overcome them. These ten mistakes are: Mistake #1. Failing to Keep a To-Do List Do you ever have that nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do an important piece of work? If so, you probably don't use a To-Do List to keep on top of things. (Or, if you do, you might not be using it effectively!) The trick with using To-Do Lists effectively lies in prioritizing the tasks on your list. Many people use an A - F coding system (A for high priority items, F for very low priorities). Alternatively, you can simplify this by using A through D, or by using numbers. If you have large projects on your list, then, unless you're careful, the entries for these can be vague and ineffective. For instance, you may have written down "Start on budget proposal." But what does this entail? The lack of specifics here might cause you to procrastinate, or miss key steps. So make sure that you break large tasks or projects down into specific, actionable steps - then you won't overlook something important. You can also use Action Programs to manage your work when you have many large projects happening at once. (Action Programs are "industrial strength" versions of To-Do Lists.) Mistake #2. Not Setting Personal Goals Do you know where you'd like to be in six months? What about this time next year, or even 10 years from now? If not, it's time to set some personal goals! Personal goal setting is essential to managing your time well, because goals give you a destination and vision to work toward. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there. Goals also help you decide what's worth spending your time on, and what's just a distraction. To learn how to set SMART, effective goals, read up on Locke's Goal Setting Theory. Here, you'll learn how to set clearly defined goals that will keep you motivated. You might also enjoy our Book Insight into "Long Fuse, Big Bang" by Eric Haseltine. This book teaches you how to focus on your long-term goals without overlooking your short term priorities. Mistake #3. Not Prioritizing Your assistant has just walked in with a crisis that she needs you to deal with right now, but you're in the middle of brainstorming ideas for a new client. You're sure that you've almost come up with a brilliant idea for their marketing campaign, but now you risk losing the thread of your thinking because of this "emergency." Sometimes, it's hard to know how to prioritize, especially when you're facing a flood of seemingly-urgent tasks. However, it's essential to learn how to prioritize tasks effectively if you want to manage your time better. One tool that will help you prioritize effectively is the Urgent/Important Matrix. This helps you understand the difference between urgent activities, and important activities. You'll also learn how to overcome the tendency to focus on the urgent. The Action Priority Matrix is another useful tool, which will help you determine if a task is high-yield and high-priority, or low-value, "fill in" work. You'll manage your time much better during the day if you know the difference. Mistake #4. Failing to Manage Distractions Do you know that some of us can lose as much as two hours a day to distractions? Think how much you could get done if you had that time back! Whether they come from emails, IM chats, colleagues in a crisis, or phone calls from clients, distractions prevent us from achieving flow, which is the satisfying and seemingly effortless work that we do when we're 100 percent engaged in a task. If you want to gain control of your day and do your best work, it's vital to know how to minimize distractions and manage interruptions effectively. For instance, turn off your IM chat when you need to focus, and let people know if they're distracting you too often. You should also learn how to improve your concentration, even when you're faced with distractions. Additionally, our article on managing email effectively teaches you how to gain control of your email, so that it doesn't eat up your entire day. Mistake #5. Procrastination Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on right now. When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that you haven't started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually, everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time. Start by taking our Procrastination Quiz to find out if procrastination is a problem in your life. If it is, then learn the strategies you need to beat procrastination. For instance, one useful strategy is to tell yourself that you're only going to start on a project for ten minutes. Often, procrastinators feel that they have to complete a task from start to finish, and this high expectation makes them feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead, focus on devoting a small amount of time to starting. That's all! You might also find it helpful to use Action Plans. These help you break large projects down into manageable steps, so that it's easy to see everything that you need to get done, and so that you can complete small chunks at a time. Doing this can stop you from feeling overwhelmed at the start of a new project. Mistake #6. Taking on too Much Are you a person who has a hard time saying "no" to people? If so, you probably have far too many projects and commitments on your plate. This can lead to poor performance, stress, and low morale. Or, you might be a micromanager: someone who insists on controlling or doing all of the work themselves, because they can't trust anyone else to do it correctly. (This can be a problem for everyone - not just managers!) Either way, taking on too much is a poor use of your time, and it can get you a reputation for producing rushed, sloppy work. To stop this, learn the subtle art of saying "yes" to the person, but "no" to the task. This skill helps you assert yourself, while still maintaining good feelings within the group. If the other person starts leaning on you to say "yes" to their request, learn how to think on your feet, and stay cool under pressure. Mistake #7. Thriving on "Busy" Some people get a rush from being busy. The narrowly-met deadlines, the endless emails, the piles of files needing attention on the desk, the frantic race to the meeting... What an adrenaline buzz! The problem is that an "addiction to busyness" rarely means that you're effective, and it can lead to stress. Instead, try to slow down, and learn to manage your time better. Tip: "Do More Great Work", by Michael Bungay Stanier, is full of ideas and tips to reduce the "busywork" that you're doing, so that you're more excited and engaged in the work that matters. Mistake #8. Multitasking To get on top of her workload, Linda regularly writes emails while she chats on the phone to her clients. However, while Linda thinks that this is a good use of her time, the truth is that it can take 20-40 percent more time to finish a list of jobs when you multitask, compared with completing the same list of tasks in sequence. The result is also that she does both tasks poorly - her emails are full of errors, and her clients are frustrated by her lack of concentration. So, the best thing is to forget about multitasking, and, instead, focus on one task at a time. That way, you'll produce higher quality work. Mistake #9. Not Taking Breaks It's nice to think that you can work for 8-10 hours straight, especially when you're working to a deadline. But it's impossible for anyone to focus and produce really high-quality work without giving their brains some time to rest and recharge. So, don't dismiss breaks as "wasting time." They provide valuable down-time, which will enable you to think creatively and work effectively. If it's hard for you to stop working, then schedule breaks for yourself, or set an alarm as a reminder. Go for a quick walk, grab a cup of coffee, or just sit and meditate at your desk. Try to take a five minute break every hour or two. And make sure that you give yourself ample time for lunch - you won't produce top quality work if you're hungry! Mistake #10. Ineffectively Scheduling Tasks Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and energetic. You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and low-energy work (like returning phone calls and checking email), during your "down" time. Our article, Is This a Morning Task? will teach you how to do this. Key Points One of the most effective ways of improving your productivity is to recognize and rectify time management mistakes. When you take the time to overcome these mistakes, it will make a huge difference in your productivity - and you'll also be happier, and experience less stress!

Phil's Goals

Goals: 1 Year (Sep. 25) • Professional- Have full-time employment in a Real Estate position. Own 1 property. • Physical- Compete in an Olympic triathlon. Be Healthy. • Spiritual- Be part of an intentional one on one disciplining relationship • Financial- Live within a budget. • Social- Maintain relationships with current friends. Be an active member of a church. Maintain Goals and goal setting. 6 Months (Mar. 28) • Professional- Be active in due period diligence for property. Be a Full-time employee. • Physical- Be Healthy. Cook Meals. Develop recipe book. • Spiritual- Involved in Church. Involved in consistent service. Be in discipleship relationship. Be involved in a bible study. • Financial- Live within a Budget. Have a credit card. Have 3 savings accounts (Savings, car and emergency). • Social- Use calendar to stay in touch with friends. Identify friendships to maintain. Maintain goals and goal setting. 3 Months (Dec. 20) • Professional- Make decision on employment. Update Resume. Build Connections. Be intentional about meeting with business men. Meet with everyone from Michael’s list. • Physical- Be disciplined in a workout routine. Play in a b-ball league. • Spiritual- Involved in church. K-life. Join a bible study. Read Christian literature. • Financial- Meet with banker. Read Financial planning book. Use mint.com. Automate bill pay. • Social- Maintain goals and Goal setting. Hang out 1 on 1 with Ryan, Ian, Josh, Grieser, Colby and Scott. Have lunch with everyone on list. 1 Month (Oct. 25) • Professional- Learn to polish dress shoes. Get internship job description. Update resume. Update linked-in with current resume and info. Read professional dress article. • Physical- Begin workout routine. Sign up for living history farms race. Decide on health club membership. • Spiritual- Maintain commitment to K-life. Start attending church. Select new book to read. • Financial- Update Budget. Get started on mint.com. • Social- Maintain goals and goal setting.