As the years go by, time flies away and slips away faster and faster. I have so many things I want to do, experience & accomplish in this lifetime, some involving others, some not. It's easy to feel frustrated when things don't happen as quickly, efficiently and effectively as I would prefer but that doesn't accomplish anything good.
Lately I've been having so many creative ideas, the thought of turning them all into reality can almost seem overwhelming. Each thing takes time, work and resources to complete and I ask myself how I'm ever going to get it all accomplished. The answer: take a deep breath and redirect myself into focusing on one thing at a time in the right order. Be patient. Be willing to ask for help on the projects that need it and better utilize the resources available to redistribute the work and move things along in a timely fashion.
Once time's gone, I can never get it back and I don't want to waste it. Throughout each day I find myself asking myself, "Is this the most important thing to do right now to move forward with my long-term goals, priorities and values?" If the answer is no, I know to stop and refocus.
I'm also carefully scheduling and spending my time, effort and energy on activities and experiences that matter the most now and for the future to not waste this precious gift of time on things that don't really matter.
#12. Today I'm grateful for each moment of time spent doing the things that will matter most in the bigger life picture with the people I love and cherish most.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Where does your garden grow?
Spent a few hours on Sunday gardening at my friend Ron Finley's house. He has turned his lawn into a beautiful edible food garden. I learned a lot about composting and planting with the hopes of applying even a bit of his knowledge to my own garden. I would ultimately like to create a sustainable food garden of my own. It's physically challenging and artistic and creative and therapeutic all at the same time. The most important lesson being that the best way to learn how to grow food is to just do it and see what happens through trial & error. I think that lesson applies to most of life actually.
#7. Today I'm grateful for the blessing of friends who are willing to do, teach, learn & share their kknowledge... From dirt to dirt. :)
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Goals are dreams with deadlines.
Goals are dreams with deadlines. ~ Diana Scharf Hunt
#2 Today I am grateful to stay focused on the tasks that will ensure I meet my larger goal objectives by creating and keeping deadlines for myself.
The older I get, time seems to slip by faster and faster. Sometimes I have felt like hours have gone by and I know I was busy but I'm really not sure where the time went. Knowing that I have a tendency to become easily distracted, this year I'd like to improve upon setting and keeping deadlines to ensure success. As I wrote down my 2013 goals last week, I added deadlines to completing each project.
When I break down my long term goals into daily tasks, one way to ensure I am staying focused on meeting my deadlines is to set timers for each task. At home as I awake in the morning and my coffee is brewing, I spend that time cleaning the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, wiping down the counters and tidying that area. By the time the coffee is brewed 10 minutes later, I have a nice clean space ready for preparing my meals for the day. I then sit down with my coffee and spend the next 30 minutes planning my day. I know from past experience that if I don't do this daily, my highest priority items will not be my focus and I'll continue to wonder where the time went.
While working, I set a timer to stay focused on each project. For example, a daily goal is to spend 1 hour a day on research and collecting data for an idea that I've wanted to implement for a while but haven't made time to do so as of yet. I now set a timer. When the timer ends, I move on to a different task. This helps me stay productive and organized while handling multiple priorities and obligations and keeps me from getting sidetracked by distractions.
As a recommendation, I really like this great egg timer project by David LeMieux. It's a great tool to stay focused on a task for a set period of time. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do. :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Health and Fitness Goals
After setting my new health and fitness goals and losing 2 pounds last week, I'm on a mission to lose 10-12 more pounds in the next 6 weeks, which would put me back to my ideal healthy weight. I read recently that posting my goals online is one good way to keep myself accountable and focused so here we are. :)
A few great sources of fitness information, I've been doing the cardio workouts from the Self Drop 10 Challenge and using Calorie Counter to track the calories of recipes I create. Although, I do read the recipe recommendations of both sites and have tried a few of their recipes with modifications, I tend to cook using my own recipes given I have strict personal dietary requirements/restrictions that their recipes don't always accommodate for. Also, after the last five years of practicing, I've actually become great at creating and making healthy recipes that taste amazing! :)
As part of the process, I created a Health and Fitness page on Pinterest. I've been especially enjoying the workouts labeled Monday - Friday (pictured below) & am pleased with the results so far. I have yet to find/make time each week to do five 1-hour workouts. I am getting in four good 1-hour workouts each week and lengthening the cardio beyond 20 minutes at least twice a week to get more miles in.
Before I started this new routine, I was hiking Runyon Canyon regularly but wasn't weight training and had hit a plateau, not seeing any weight loss results and actually gained a few pounds over the winter. Although I was eating healthy & exercising regularly, I wasn't counting my calorie intake. So as I was discussing this frustration with my lack of results with my good friend (who's in fabulous shape BTW), he suggested added interval running for 20 minutes a day, 5 days per week and weight training to my routine. I agreed to try and see what happened.
When I decided to start incorporating running into my workout routine, I began with interval "jogging" on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I decided to improve and increase my speed each week to build strength without causing self-injury or strain from over-doing it. It has been years since I've been a "runner" and I wasn't sure how my body would react to be honest. I'm now interval jogging/walking between a 20 min mile pace and 11.2 min mile pace for 20 - 30 minutes + doing the weight training routines below and ending with a 10 - 15 minute stretch & yoga session. Last week, I cut my daily calorie intake to 1600 per day and am finally seeing results on the scale. 5.5 weeks to go...
A few great sources of fitness information, I've been doing the cardio workouts from the Self Drop 10 Challenge and using Calorie Counter to track the calories of recipes I create. Although, I do read the recipe recommendations of both sites and have tried a few of their recipes with modifications, I tend to cook using my own recipes given I have strict personal dietary requirements/restrictions that their recipes don't always accommodate for. Also, after the last five years of practicing, I've actually become great at creating and making healthy recipes that taste amazing! :)
As part of the process, I created a Health and Fitness page on Pinterest. I've been especially enjoying the workouts labeled Monday - Friday (pictured below) & am pleased with the results so far. I have yet to find/make time each week to do five 1-hour workouts. I am getting in four good 1-hour workouts each week and lengthening the cardio beyond 20 minutes at least twice a week to get more miles in.
Before I started this new routine, I was hiking Runyon Canyon regularly but wasn't weight training and had hit a plateau, not seeing any weight loss results and actually gained a few pounds over the winter. Although I was eating healthy & exercising regularly, I wasn't counting my calorie intake. So as I was discussing this frustration with my lack of results with my good friend (who's in fabulous shape BTW), he suggested added interval running for 20 minutes a day, 5 days per week and weight training to my routine. I agreed to try and see what happened.
When I decided to start incorporating running into my workout routine, I began with interval "jogging" on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I decided to improve and increase my speed each week to build strength without causing self-injury or strain from over-doing it. It has been years since I've been a "runner" and I wasn't sure how my body would react to be honest. I'm now interval jogging/walking between a 20 min mile pace and 11.2 min mile pace for 20 - 30 minutes + doing the weight training routines below and ending with a 10 - 15 minute stretch & yoga session. Last week, I cut my daily calorie intake to 1600 per day and am finally seeing results on the scale. 5.5 weeks to go...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Portabello Mushroom Burger
I haven't eaten beef or chicken in almost 3 weeks. After catching up with my mom on Fat Tuesday and hearing she was eliminating alcohol, sweets AND coffee this year (oh easy, right?), I decided to step it up a notch for lent this year and sacrifice all meat (except fish) and wine. I remember as a child sacrificing things for lent each year that I thought I really cared about (my favorite shoes, soda, desserts). By the time the 40 days of lent passed, I was never interested in them anymore, so I wonder if this will be the case this year as well. This is truly a lesson in discipline and self-control.
Being that I'm also hoping to see additional positive results in my previously set energy, fitness, skin and overall health goals, practicing 40 days of serious discipline hasn't actually been too much of a chore. I've admittedly missed having a glass of red wine with dinner once in a while. Also, the day we drove by what felt like 10 In-N-Out Burgers heading up from LA to San Luis Obispo, I wanted to stop at each one & grab a animal style protein burger. This is especially bizarre because I don't actually crave In-N-Out often when I CAN HAVE IT ANYTIME I WANT so I don't know why the "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT SO IT'S ALL YOU WANT" gene kicks in NOW. Other than that, I feel good and am seeing results in my health & fitness goals so it's working!
Since the only meat I've truly craved so far is this In-N-Out burger, last night I made my own version, a portabello mushroom burger. It's true what they say! Portabello mushrooms really are the meat of the vegetable world.
Ingredients:
2 Portabello Mushrooms
Cut Scallions
2 slices Jarlsberg low-fat cheese
spicy mustard
whole-weat buns
3 tbs olive oil
2 cloves frozen garlic (Trader Joe's)
1 frozen basil cube (Trader Joe's)
1 frozen parsley cube (Trader Joe's)
Making the Burger:
Being that I'm also hoping to see additional positive results in my previously set energy, fitness, skin and overall health goals, practicing 40 days of serious discipline hasn't actually been too much of a chore. I've admittedly missed having a glass of red wine with dinner once in a while. Also, the day we drove by what felt like 10 In-N-Out Burgers heading up from LA to San Luis Obispo, I wanted to stop at each one & grab a animal style protein burger. This is especially bizarre because I don't actually crave In-N-Out often when I CAN HAVE IT ANYTIME I WANT so I don't know why the "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT SO IT'S ALL YOU WANT" gene kicks in NOW. Other than that, I feel good and am seeing results in my health & fitness goals so it's working!
Since the only meat I've truly craved so far is this In-N-Out burger, last night I made my own version, a portabello mushroom burger. It's true what they say! Portabello mushrooms really are the meat of the vegetable world.
Ingredients:
2 Portabello Mushrooms
Cut Scallions
2 slices Jarlsberg low-fat cheese
spicy mustard
whole-weat buns
3 tbs olive oil
2 cloves frozen garlic (Trader Joe's)
1 frozen basil cube (Trader Joe's)
1 frozen parsley cube (Trader Joe's)
Making the Burger:
- Pre-heated 1.5 tbs olive oil, frozen garlic, basil & parsley from Trader Joe's in grilling pan on medium-high heat.
- Once herbs melted, added 2 chopped scallions & mushrooms to pan.
- Grilled on medium-high for 10 minutes flipping every few minutes.
- Added cheese for last 2 minutes.
- Served on whole-wheat buns with romaine lettuce and spicy mustard.
Makes 2 Servings. Delicious! Enjoy!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The only thing standing between you and your goal
I'm going to post this picture in my bathroom,
right over the toilet next to the mirror as a "note to self".
right over the toilet next to the mirror as a "note to self".
A bit of history on the picture, friends were visiting me while I was living in Ireland in '07 and during our tour of the Ring of Kerry I took this shot right after my car overheated and the engine blew stranding us for several hours. Talk about getting stuck at a crossroads... my car had lost power steering going downhill towards a cliff and this is the spot we safely managed to land. But what started as a mishap ended up being one of the greatest adventures of our trip. The rest of the story can be read on my travel blog.
This image reminds me of a time frame where I continuously pushed and challenged myself and those around me to grow in ways that many questioned as impossible "because it had never been done before". But what kind of excuse is that anyways? So while the naysayers were busy neighing, we gathered the right people (ones that were willing to say yes and just do it), set goals and deadlines, and pushed ahead in leaps and bounds accomplishing things daily that had never been done before.
What is most great is it's not just true of those experiences but a lesson to be reminded of repeatedly anytime I stop myself from staying on track as it speaks loudly to me, "Nothing is impossible. If I can accomplish "that"-- ie. taking the first step and moving to Ireland alone for 2 years, learning to cross the street by looking right first instead of left and then learning to drive in the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road, eventually stopping that car from driving us off a cliff all while meeting new people, learning a new culture, successfully relocating a company abroad, and most important maintaining a sense of humor and a sense of adventure through all it was & wasn't according to my expectations at step 1 (moving to Ireland) -- I can accomplish anything."
What is most great is it's not just true of those experiences but a lesson to be reminded of repeatedly anytime I stop myself from staying on track as it speaks loudly to me, "Nothing is impossible. If I can accomplish "that"-- ie. taking the first step and moving to Ireland alone for 2 years, learning to cross the street by looking right first instead of left and then learning to drive in the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road, eventually stopping that car from driving us off a cliff all while meeting new people, learning a new culture, successfully relocating a company abroad, and most important maintaining a sense of humor and a sense of adventure through all it was & wasn't according to my expectations at step 1 (moving to Ireland) -- I can accomplish anything."
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Creating My Vision for 2012
2012 has just begun and I'm very excited about the upcoming year. Embarrassingly late, I finally purchased my 2012 Franklin Covey Planner in the style/size that I prefer yesterday and am making my plans for the month and year. I think it's amusing that my refills for 2012 were sold out at most of the stores until yesterday and I had to compromise my usually well-organized life until I finally found one copy at Staples in Hollywood yesterday. Apparently my organizer is very popular. Next year I'll remember to order it online in advance (October To-Do) and avoid days of chaos and scratch paper.
I personally maintain balance and organization throughout the year best by writing things down. Years of experience managing multiple people, projects and priorities has taught me, If I don't write it down, I don't do it. Now I love technology that keeps me organized but it actually became tedious to manage multiple online organization system resources (including Outlook, Google Calendar & Tasks, Blackberry, etc.) some of which only worked if I was logged into that particular program on that particular computer. Then one sad day my Blackberry crashed and I lost important irrecoverable data (with the best of intentions I didn't find or make time to backup my phone as often as necessary) and I decided that going forward I wanted to keep all of my important goals, ideas, appointments and to-do's recorded in one place that could move with me throughout the day, eliminating duplicate work and saving me time (my most valuable resource). The 2-page per day Franklin Planner has always been my most effective way to manage multiple life priorities at once. My approach to determining what will be in my calendar each year is a bit unique as explained here. I hope you find these ideas informative and helpful.
VISION CARDS
Four times each year, I sit down and brainstorm add to a list I created years ago called Vision Cards (flashcards work well). It's a simple one-word-per-card list of things I love including my highest priorities, values and joys in life. Once I've run out of ideas, I divide the Vision Cards into the following Life Categories:
It is important yet challenging to maintain balance between different areas of life. I use this system to get a better sense of my long-term goals, values and priorities in each area of life. I then honestly rate myself in each Life Category using a simple Green/Yellow/Red system. Green is good. Yellow is o.k. Red is bad. This helps me to prioritize where I most need to focus my attention. If I'm confident that I'm "Green" in a particular category, I may not spend as much time attempting to make change in that area if I have another "Red" area that truly needs more of my time and attention.
Aware that time limits the amount of goals I can focus on accomplishing in any given time frame, the next step in the process is to break each category's goals down into three specific and actionable things to accomplish over a period of time with a start and end goal date. This changes based on what the highest priority items are for that period of time and how long each goal will take to accomplish. I attempt to be realistic, specific and action-oriented when I set these goals always including one or two larger-than-life goals that I know will be more challenging. This keeps me interested by challenging myself to push the limits beyond what "I think" I can accomplish.
I keep a copy of my goals for each area visible in my organizer, reviewing them as I make my daily plans to stay on track. I also review my vision cards each quarter to track progress, adding items as I complete things and/or as my needs/values/priorities change. Not every area requires daily or even monthly focus. For example vacation/travel is usually limited to certain times of the year. In general, any more than three goals at a time in each area becomes overwhelming and I find I'm less likely to stay focused and on target.
Next, I create a schedule of daily/weekly/monthly routines to accomplish these goals that I add to my planner daily. It works best when I review/write my list first thing in the morning and review/write it again right before bed. I add to-do items/brainstorm ideas/notes from meetings to it all day long so it is usually not far from my side.
I have two additional cards that are my personal rules guide. The first one says, "DO EVERYTHING to the best of my ability... no matter what it is!" and the definition to Areté: being the best you can be, reaching your highest human potential. The other rule I've created for myself is, "Say NO when an activity/person does not fall into one of these categories/priorities."
If I am struggling with a particularly challenging goal, I will maintain an awareness that this may be an area of weakness for me, ask for feedback and support from friends, family and other resources and attempt to continue to keep that goal on the list until I accomplish it. Whatever it takes as long as I never give up!
One of the many commitments I've made towards progress this year count is to replace a few of my bad habits with good habits. Changing habits is a difficult thing for all of us. I googled "how to change a habit" and am committed to making my own plans using the techniques in The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior. I will be writing down my plans this evening.
I hope that by sharing some of my successful organizational strategies throughout the year, I may help you to accomplish your goals and commitments as well. Whatever your plans for 2012, I am wishing each and every one of you to have love, peace of mind, good health, and prosperity in this new year. May your day and year be bright!
I personally maintain balance and organization throughout the year best by writing things down. Years of experience managing multiple people, projects and priorities has taught me, If I don't write it down, I don't do it. Now I love technology that keeps me organized but it actually became tedious to manage multiple online organization system resources (including Outlook, Google Calendar & Tasks, Blackberry, etc.) some of which only worked if I was logged into that particular program on that particular computer. Then one sad day my Blackberry crashed and I lost important irrecoverable data (with the best of intentions I didn't find or make time to backup my phone as often as necessary) and I decided that going forward I wanted to keep all of my important goals, ideas, appointments and to-do's recorded in one place that could move with me throughout the day, eliminating duplicate work and saving me time (my most valuable resource). The 2-page per day Franklin Planner has always been my most effective way to manage multiple life priorities at once. My approach to determining what will be in my calendar each year is a bit unique as explained here. I hope you find these ideas informative and helpful.
VISION CARDS
Four times each year, I sit down and brainstorm add to a list I created years ago called Vision Cards (flashcards work well). It's a simple one-word-per-card list of things I love including my highest priorities, values and joys in life. Once I've run out of ideas, I divide the Vision Cards into the following Life Categories:
- Spiritual
- Home and Family
- Relationship
- Health
- Financial Freedom
- Career and Business
- Friends
- Vacation/Travel
- Hobbies
- Contribution to Larger Society
It is important yet challenging to maintain balance between different areas of life. I use this system to get a better sense of my long-term goals, values and priorities in each area of life. I then honestly rate myself in each Life Category using a simple Green/Yellow/Red system. Green is good. Yellow is o.k. Red is bad. This helps me to prioritize where I most need to focus my attention. If I'm confident that I'm "Green" in a particular category, I may not spend as much time attempting to make change in that area if I have another "Red" area that truly needs more of my time and attention.
Aware that time limits the amount of goals I can focus on accomplishing in any given time frame, the next step in the process is to break each category's goals down into three specific and actionable things to accomplish over a period of time with a start and end goal date. This changes based on what the highest priority items are for that period of time and how long each goal will take to accomplish. I attempt to be realistic, specific and action-oriented when I set these goals always including one or two larger-than-life goals that I know will be more challenging. This keeps me interested by challenging myself to push the limits beyond what "I think" I can accomplish.
I keep a copy of my goals for each area visible in my organizer, reviewing them as I make my daily plans to stay on track. I also review my vision cards each quarter to track progress, adding items as I complete things and/or as my needs/values/priorities change. Not every area requires daily or even monthly focus. For example vacation/travel is usually limited to certain times of the year. In general, any more than three goals at a time in each area becomes overwhelming and I find I'm less likely to stay focused and on target.
Next, I create a schedule of daily/weekly/monthly routines to accomplish these goals that I add to my planner daily. It works best when I review/write my list first thing in the morning and review/write it again right before bed. I add to-do items/brainstorm ideas/notes from meetings to it all day long so it is usually not far from my side.
I have two additional cards that are my personal rules guide. The first one says, "DO EVERYTHING to the best of my ability... no matter what it is!" and the definition to Areté: being the best you can be, reaching your highest human potential. The other rule I've created for myself is, "Say NO when an activity/person does not fall into one of these categories/priorities."
If I am struggling with a particularly challenging goal, I will maintain an awareness that this may be an area of weakness for me, ask for feedback and support from friends, family and other resources and attempt to continue to keep that goal on the list until I accomplish it. Whatever it takes as long as I never give up!
One of the many commitments I've made towards progress this year count is to replace a few of my bad habits with good habits. Changing habits is a difficult thing for all of us. I googled "how to change a habit" and am committed to making my own plans using the techniques in The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior. I will be writing down my plans this evening.
I hope that by sharing some of my successful organizational strategies throughout the year, I may help you to accomplish your goals and commitments as well. Whatever your plans for 2012, I am wishing each and every one of you to have love, peace of mind, good health, and prosperity in this new year. May your day and year be bright!
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