I’m sure that your busy (crazy busy) with lots on your plate, so how can you keep yourself focused and following through on your key projects and goals?

Doing a few things well and consistently is better than doing lots of things not so well and inconsistently. It makes sense, but I keep seeing myself and others fall into the trap of getting spread too thin and loosing focus. This can also happen when you chase every guru’s new ideas while constantly “collecting information”, but not taking any action. You need to have a clear plan on how to make progress on your goals.

You should find a few core goals and then focus your time and attention on the steps that will move you toward achieving your goals. Aim to make consistent and regular progress towards achievement. Break down your goal into achievable steps and tackle them one-by-one, and then cross them off of your list as you accomplish them.

Remember the 80/20 rule, keep working towards your desired goals, and you can achieve them!

photo by Danny Olanes

This week I would like to share a personal story.

As many of you know, I recently left my employer of 10 years and went to work full-time on my Internet Marketing / Web Design business (http://www.wdu.net). This has been a transition phase of my life as I learn to do many of the things that were done by others when I worked for my former employer. Being a business owner means that I am 100% responsible for everything from accounting to sales.

Time management techniques for planning and control are paramount to keeping ourselves on track. If we don’t feel like using the techniques, we often allow ourselves to stop using them. One day slips quietly into another without seeing measurable progress.

Many times we know what to do, but getting ourselves to do it is the challenge. We’ve all been there. It’s the week that we didn’t plan; it’s the day or days that slip by without giving it our all. This is often caused by our feelings, emotions or by the mental state that we are in. If we allow ourselves to fall into a funk, it can be hard to crawl out of that funk to do what we need to do. It takes real discipline.

So just like a bad day, a bad week has to be shaken off. You must tell yourself that this week is a brand new week that is full of promise. As Anthony Robbins writes, “The past does not equal the future.” and so it is up to us to decide to start fresh again and go back to our course of action, which is pushing towards our goals. Just because you had a bad week doesn’t mean you’re done; it just means that you had a bad week. It means you’re human and you have temporarily lost your focus.

If you’re at the same place in your life as I am, I encourage you to do what I am doing. Learn something from what went wrong, where you went off course then re-establish yourself within a framework of success. What worked best for me was taking a pad of paper and a pen and getting deep into nature with no one else around. I spent time quietly reaffirming my goals, thinking about why I do these things that I do, and creating new action plans.

Allow yourself time to come back around and get moving again. You can do it!

To get productive, you need time to think, to reflect, and to plan. This week I’ve been getting some great thinking time by getting out of the office, and getting away from my computer. I’ve been taking some long walks and letting my mind get creative searching for ways to increase my reach and how I can provide you with even more quality information that you can put to immediate use in your life.

Something came to mind, that is, many of you may need one-on-one help with your business or personal life in order to achieve greater productivity, or maybe you need help getting organized, or knowing what to work on. So I’m going to offer a free 30-minute phone consultation to help you. With 15+ years experience as a professional, manager, and consultant, I want to help you achieve your goals and dreams.

When you email me at comments@tipsontime.com, leave your name, a callback number, and the best time of day to reach you. Because of my busy schedule I’m going to limit the number of callers, so act quickly if you want to talk to me for free. You will see results

This week I have spent some time focusing on the things that I want to accomplish in my life. I have so much experience in business and in life, that it excites me to think about sharing it with you.

TipsOnTime.com is more than just “time management”, it’s really about life management, where you harness your energy, time, and creativity in a way that is purposeful to accomplish your goals and dreams. I think that most of us want to have accomplishments in life, whether that is in your business, organization, or favorite charity. We also want to have time to spend on activities that stir our souls like art, music, poetry, and time with friends and family. These two feed each other and balance one another.

Think of what life would be like if we always worked, we would let our friendships die, our outside interests would grow small, and our lives would grow small (this can even happen when we allow television and the Internet to overtake our lives). On the other hand, if we spend all of our time, without regard of accomplishment, we may stop growing and stretching ourselves beyond our point of comfort. Once again, when we stop growing our lives become small.

Are you living your life in a state of balance? If not, what do you need to do to change? You may need to slow down, learn to take time away from work to spend with the people that you care about the most, or you may need to get your rump off the couch and start doing something that is meaningful to you and to others. How can you give back to your community?

I think this is what Zig Ziglar talked about not being a wandering generality but rather a meaningful specific. Having a plan for your life is what can help keep you on track throughout your day and give you time for what is most meaningful to you.

This week, I challenge you to start looking at what you want to accomplish, write it down.