Get It Together
Every new year we make promises about how we're going to eat healthy, save more money, be outdoors more, and pet more dogs (the last one might just be me) but I believe in making changes that would better yourself at any point in time, not just at the beginning of the year. Something I've learned about reaching goals is that you just can't do it, if you're not organized. I was the person in class that wouldn't write down things because I'd think, "no yeah I totally will remember that" and then would cram it in last minute simply because I would forget about it. There was no organization to it. Needless to say, I learned the hard way that organization is the key to success (adding this to DJ Khaled's lessons). So I'm letting you in on my organization methods, maybe it'll help you out too.
I'm a sucker for aesthetically pleasing things, so the more pleasantly looking something is, the more I'll want to use it. This leads to finding a planner that you'll use. I became an adult the minute I invested in a good monthly, weekly, and daily planner with pages for notes. It was like I had stepped into adulthood. This planner is from Sugar Paper Los Angeles, which you can now find at Target!
Here's how I use it:
Have a payment due on a specific day every month? Go ahead and input that into the monthly calendar. I've put in my "Rent" category, up until the end of my lease, cell phone, student loans, up until the end of the year, and so forth. These are the things that are more permanent and long-term which you can't really change or move around.
Once you've arranged your yearly plans, break into months. So only write in on the monthly page of the month you're in. Don't go writing in, in pen, something that you're "kind of" wanting to do 10 months from now, unless of course it is a goal. For example, I'm not going to write in Yoga Class on December 12th 2016. Let's be honest, I will probably not be into fitness by the end of the year... (whoops). I will however write in my NYC trip that I planned on taking in February for Fashion Week, because that's just not going to change, everything is booked.
After you've established your month's goals/dates, break it into weeks.
This where I write most of my things. I don't take up too much space in my monthly calendar. I only open my monthly calendar to take a quick glance of what high importance things are happening that month. It's my week section where things get real.
I have certain weekly work goals I set for myself and I write those in. I have about 8 meetings a week, so I definitely write those into the weekly calendar sections of planners. If I have to get groceries on Saturday morning, I will write that in. If i have a blog post coming out on Monday and another on Wednesday I will write that in. This helps me keep track of my progress because I cross off each thing I've done.
Lastly, but definitely the most important, I make sure not to give myself an overwhelming amount of tasks in a single day. In the past, I wasn't accomplishing many of my daily goals because I simply would be overwhelmed with my lists and would just quit before even starting. Don't do that to yourself! I've learned that smaller lists are better and more realistic when it comes to accomplishing things. If you're packed for Monday and have absolutely nothing scheduled for Thursday, split your Monday into 2 days and sanely complete two small task lists, rather than one overwhelming list.
I'm not a professional planner, but I have learned that the more organized I get, the more I accomplish.
Hopefully, this can help you plan out whatever you want to accomplish this year!
Good luck!