If you want to make sure you are working on your goal each day create and keep a chart or calendar where you will see it each day and check off when you have done your goal work.
“Maybe the most any of us can expect of ourselves isn’t perfection but progress.” ~Michelle Burford, O Magazine, 2003
It is easy to forget to do things, and once you forget to do something one day, it is easy to forget again the next day, before you know it a month has passed and you have not been to the gym. So until your goal work becomes a habit or part of your routines set up a chart or mark the days you work on your goal on a calendar.
Let me show you an example of one way to use a chart. Let’s say you want to explore another savings avenue. So you decide you will save all your coins, but want to keep track of how much you are saving each day to see if this is really worth your time. You dedicate 30 days to explore this savings option and create a chart with three simple columns (Column 1) the day number 1 -30, (Column 2) the amount you contribute each day, (Column 3) the running total.
With this simple chart you have a row for each day, you can easily note when you missed a day, can easily see your progress and your end results. At the end of the 30 days you can evaluate if this is a good savings avenue for you.
By the way, I know a family who saves their coins, then on a “rainy day” take it to a CoinStar machine to cash in. With the money they saved the kids get to go on a shopping spree. It is a fun way to teach kids about saving and the fun of “cashing in”.
Using a calendar to record your progress is also a very easy way to keep yourself on track. Let’s pretend that your goal is to walk at least one mile everyday. On your calendar you can place an “x”, sticker, or make a notation on the days you walk at least one mile. In no time at all you will see how consistent you have been in your goal work.
The chart and the calendar become visual reminders of the commitment you made to yourself. If you keep these for consecutive months you can also challenge yourself to improve your performance the next month. By this I mean, if you walked 12 days the first month, challenge yourself to walk 17 days the next month.
The calendar method is also a great way to help your kids develop consistent routines. Every Saturday is clean the bedroom day or practice reading for 20 every day, checking it off on the calendar when completed.
One way to take action and get more out of your time is to incorporate one tip each week that will help you achieve your most inspiring goals, this week incorporate the calendar or chart goal. Blueprint for Life Success is a FREE weekly strategic tip series created for those who want to utilize the most effective goal getting strategies to create the life they most desire. Enroll today and also receive the Set Inspiring Goals E-Course to identify your most inspiring goal and design a plan to achieve it. Enroll in your FREE e-course and tip series at http://www.jodirosenberg.com or send a blank e-mail to jrlcnewsletter@aweber.com
Jodi Rosenberg is an action-oriented life coach with tips and strategies to help you create the life you most desire.