"Scheduling: a Major Key to Your Success"

(I received this email last night from my SED...thought I'd share.)


Scheduling: A Major Key To Your Success!



"They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol


Do you ever find yourself with so much on your plate between family commitments and your business that you feel overwhelmed? We can actually get so overwhelmed that we become immobilized. We walk around the house in circles, on the verge of tears, because we don't know where to start.

I know I do. I find myself sharing these feelings with my husband frequently. He always says, "Have you made your list yet?" I know this. Why do I forget? Because, I allow myself to get in reactive mode. As calls come in during the day, I keep adding more and more to my plate. I am sabotaging my success, if even for that day, by being reactive.

Most of us have found ourselves feeling like our business is taking over our life, or... like our life is taking over our business.

Some of you may have considered or even hired a life coach to help you find balance. There are many good life coaches out there. The problem is, you don't have to be certified to be a life coach. You can be, but you don't have to be. I've heard multiple accounts where life coaches have coached successful people right our of their business!

There is a very simple solution to balance. Understand your priorities and make a list of tasks you need to do today for your business and family, then schedule them into your day. We can make life so complicated can't we? Stress and overwhelm generally come from a lack of planning or the discipline to follow the plan we have created. I say we, because I often do the same thing myself.

Exercise is my biggest challenge. I dislike exercising a great deal! (Hate would not be too strong here!) I plan for it, then I let my day take over and skip it. The result? I'm out of shape, not as alert as I would be if I did, and don't have the energy I could have. The fact that I don't work my plan stresses me out. I am paying a price for my lack of commitment and discipline in this area. We all pay a price when we don't do the things we need to do, to get the things we want.

If there is one area I find myself and my coaching clients have the hardest time with, it is scheduling. A few weeks ago, I had scripts to write for one company (due by end of day), a weekly tip I needed to complete and get to our proofreader (due by end of day), materials to look over and edit for another company (due by end of day), and 4 coaching calls. I was close to tears. Of course I mentioned this/whined to Ron. "Have you made your list?" Oh.

I sat down, made the list and scheduled each activity into the day. Ahhh. This very issue came up in a coaching call that day. I shared with her what I was feeling earlier, and what I had done about it. Then we worked on her schedule. At the end of the day, not only had I completed all my tasks, I had completed them an hour ahead of schedule, and was able to proactively work on another project. Boy, did I feel different than I had that morning! I felt in charge, productive....successful!

Most of us find ourselves feeling guilty when we're working, thinking, "I should be with my family." And then we feel guilty when we are with our family, thinking, " I should be working." Does this sound familiar? Scheduling is the solution to all of these issues.

Here's how:

• 
  Make a list of the things you need to do today. Here is the sad part. When men make their "to do" list, it consists of 2-4 tasks on a sticky note. They are done in no time and do whatever they like the rest of the day. Women, on the other hand, will make a list that matches the size of the paper they are writing on. If it is a piece of notebook paper, we feel the need to fill it up. If it is an 11 X 14 sheet of paper we will fill it up. The man feels really good about completing all of his tasks. The woman says, "I didn't get through one third of my list!" We feel guilty, even a sense of failure, even though we might have gotten through a significant list of tasks!

Your list should have 5 to 7 tasks on it. You want to be able to celebrate completing your tasks at the end of the day.

As a side note, having a list allows us to physically check off completed tasks. This is very motivating. Admit it, don't we all add things to our task list that we did, that weren't on the list, just so we can check it off?!

• Schedule those tasks into your day. When will you do each task on your list. This is even more important than the list itself. You have designated time to do nothing else except the task slotted into that particular time frame.

1. Hostess coaching calls, 12 - 1 PM

2. Get everything together for party tonight, 1:00
-1:30 PM
3. Take the kids to the park 2 to 3 PM

4. Make booking calls - 3:30 to 4:30 PM

• I have learned that if it isn't on my schedule, it can get lost. I literally put "coffee with Ron" on my calendar every day from 8 to 9 am so I don't schedule something in that time frame and miss that opportunity to connect with my husband. When Carli was in high school, I scheduled 3:30 to 4:30 just for Carli. We played sequence and had tea together every day at that time.

Schedule all the important things into your day so you can be focused and committed to the things that are important in your personal life and your business.

• Commit! You've made a list. These are the activities you have promised yourself you will accomplish today. Don't let things get in the way. I sometimes hear my coaching clients say, "I scheduled booking calls in, but then we decided to watch a movie instead." If you had a party scheduled at that time, would you watch a movie instead? Of course not! You'd go do that party! Make the same kind of commitment to your scheduled activities.
  When your list is done, so are you! Walk away and do whatever you want to do. One of the highlights of my personal coaching was when Linda said, "I'm going to do my tasks this morning and then I am going shopping because Shari said I could!" She got it!

Scheduling puts you in control of your day and gives you the freedom to stop when the tasks are completed.

This was great! THANKS!

Hey there! Thanks for sharing this email from your SED. I can definitely relate to feeling overwhelmed with a never-ending to-do list. It's so important to prioritize and schedule our tasks, otherwise we end up feeling like we're drowning in responsibilities. I love the idea of celebrating completing our tasks at the end of the day, and also making time for important things like family and self-care. Thanks for the reminder to take control of our schedules and not let them control us!