11/06/2015
Fifty-Five days of Focus
By
Angela Schutz
It is hard to believe that in just 55 days, 2015 will end! Does that send shivers up your spine because another year will end and you are in the same place you were in last year, or worse? Do you envision this year ending on a happy note with popping champagne bottles and confetti, or will it end in melancholy or sadness over a lackluster end of yet another year.
I am probably not the first person to tell you this, but I hope I will be the last one to tell you that you and you alone have the key to a fabulous life within you. If you are always looking for a helping hand to make you happy, to motivate you, to move your life forward, then you can relax because that helping hand is at the end of your own arm! You don’t need to cry on another shoulder, listen to another webinar on success or happiness, or attend another costly seminar. You need to get quiet and go within. You need to listen to your own inner wisdom and follow your heart, and then you need to get MOVING!
That’s right. For as powerful as education can be, it pales in the shadow of action. Action, and I mean scheduled action steps every day, is what will turn your life around. You can have wonderful dreams and goals, but without an action plan, nothing will move you forward.
You have 55 more glorious days to turn this year around! The exciting thing is that you only need to take things one day at a time. Let’s break it down to digestible chunks so that you can end 2015 in the best way you can.
Day 1 – Some dreaming is allowed here: What one goal will make you feel like a success? Can you identify one thing that you have been wanting to accomplish that has been gnawing on you because you haven’t started it yet? Is it something close to home, like clean up the clutter in your home or office? Is it something on a grander scale like write a book or start your own business? Whatever it is, pick one thing and make a commitment to work on it for the next 55 days.
Day 2 Write down your goals for the next 55 days. I recommend using the SMART goal method: SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. It is a proven system that works. All goals need to be measurable and time-based: how much by when. They also need to be very specific, achievable and realistic. If your current salary is less than $50,000 per year, it is unreasonable and probably unachievable to expect that in the next 55 days you will make $1,000,000.00!
Day 3 Create an excel spreadsheet (or whatever program you like) to track your progress. Keep it simple so that you will record your progress. Every move toward reaching your goal is a success in and of itself, so take time to celebrate every effort you make.
Days 4– 10 Every day this week, write down 5 action steps you can take that will move you forward toward reaching that goal. For example: If you are trying to get a new job, day 1 may be to identify the job title you want, to do a web search on that title, identify the companies you are interested in, review and modify your resume so that it reflects your skills that match that job, and ask a friend or career coach to review your document and write a cover letter. These are five action steps that will move you forward quickly toward actually getting that new job. Follow this pattern, creating 5 action steps each day. Some may be complex, while others may be simple, like making a phone call.
Day 11 Take a deep breath and do a review of your chart. Did you write down and act on 5 things a day? If not, did you add the unfinished items to the list for the next day rather than just ignoring them? It is really important to review each day. If you accomplished three out of the five things on your list, congratulate yourself because you are three steps closer to success! Now, take the two items that you did not work on and put them at the top of the list for the next day. Don’t just let them slide….that was the old you! Promise yourself that if it was important enough to you to put on the list, it is important enough to do. Just do it!
Day 12 Do something special for yourself. Yes, success is a reward in itself, but as humans, we like rewards. My suggestion is that the reward is something that is free or nearly free. Go for a long, invigorating walk, take a bubble bath, call a friend and have a leisurely cup of coffee together. You get the picture. Put your money away for more important things like a new item of clothing when you start your new job, or seed money for that new business you want to start.
Days 13 -19 Are you ready to up your action plan? This week, add one more action to your plan for each day – seven more actions toward success this week.
Day 20 Take a critical look at what you have accomplished. Doesn’t it feel great to be 20 days closer to your desired goals?
Days 21 – 27 This week you will make great strides by networking with one new person each day. Networking can be making a call to an old friend to brainstorm with them, or it can be going to a professional meeting in your industry. If your goal is having a more beautiful home, go to a professional organizer’s meeting. If your goal is a new job, go to a meeting of the Society of Human Resource Management. They know where the jobs are!
Day 28 Are you feeling like all this action is mind based? Take today and do something physical for yourself.
Day 29 Can you believe it? You have gotten to the half-way mark. Less than a month ago, you were stuck, unable to get motivated, longing for a happier, more successful life. Now you have 28 days of planned action under your belt toward really accomplishing your goals.
Days 30 -36 Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and take a bigger leap forward? It’s simple, add one more goal to each day this week. Now you are up to seven action steps each day. Don’t worry; they don’t have to be huge steps. Remember that EVERY step takes you in the direction of success.
Day 37 It’s reward day again! Do something nice for yourself today.
Day 38 It’s time for a review. Are you doing seven action steps a day? Do you find yourself moving items from one day to the next because you haven’t finished? Your success depends on action. Make a conscious effort to complete seven actions each day.
Days 39 – 45 Okay, take a deep breath and add one more action to each day this week. Like every exercise program, results come with consistency and increased effort.
Day 45 You are just 10 days away from success! Study your goal sheet. Have your actions (now eight per day) been in alignment with your goals or have you begun to go off course? It’s time to reset your mental GPS and get yourself on course again.
Days 46 – 52 Is this getting easier or harder. Usually practice doesn’t make a task easier, it makes doing the task easier because you have more skills for accomplishing it. This week, can you do 9 action steps each day? Isn’t it worth a try?
Day 53 It is review day. You only have two more days to go. How close are you to accomplishing your goal? Were you realistic? The good news is that even if you weren’t realistic, you have made great strides toward taking charge of your life. You have learned so many new ways to chunk down a problem into manageable steps so that you can achieve anything you desire.
Day 54 Today, rather than a reward day, let it be a supercharged day. You are nearing the finish line. Are you ready to win? What else needs to be done? Can you make today the best day of planned actions and accomplish your goals? You are so close….just do it.
Day 55 It’s New Year’s Eve! Wherever you are with respect to accomplishing your goals, stop and congratulate yourself. You made a tremendous effort and you are so on top of how success happens. The best thing is that you and only you can take credit for all you have accomplished. Pop that champagne, throw that confetti, you have ended 2015 a success! Be proud of yourself and move into 2016 armed with new-found skills that will take you so far toward success. Happy New Year!!!
