Simplifying Ways

It is hard to believe that we are at the half way point of 2020. June is a great time to take pause and revisit any New Year's goals. We shouldn't beat ourselves up if we forgot about them, but instead take a breath and determine what we want to change for the better in the next 6 months. I listened to a National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) Podcast a few weeks ago and the productivity expert recommends instead of setting annual goals, to set monthly goals because it allows for 12 opportunities to reset to a starting point to try again. Think about the hope we feel at the start of a new year and all that we want it to be. Imagine having that feeling and opportunity 12 times a year!

There is neuroscience that substantiates the importance of writing down any goal that you want to accomplish instead of just thinking about it. By turning a goal into a SMART goal - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely - and writing it or typing it where you can review it regularly, the odds of it happening increase dramatically.

I've implemented that practice, albeit not consistently (I'm working on that) by keeping a personal and work to do list in Evernote. I've typed out my monthly goals at the top of the to do list. I find the visual of seeing the goals and then the related tasks I want to do in each list, holds me accountable and I am getting more accomplished. I've created the habit of opening up Evernote and the two lists each morning and reviewing the tasks to identify my daily priorities. At the same time it also gives me an opportunity to review my monthly goals.

One of the few silver linings of the pandemic is the gift of a little more time and the opportunity to do more. Of course we don't always want to, but if we can get into the mindset to think about the change we want and the steps needed to get there, then when things get back to normal, we will be that much closer to reaching our goals and feeling a sense of accomplishment and hope that change is possible.