What Does Your 2009 Look Like?

[Kerul Kassel]

As I write this there are only 29 days left of the year. How has your year gone? Are you happy with how things have been going and with the direction and pace for the balance of the year and for 2009?



This is the time of year to spend just an hour or two (or half a day or more, if you have that much available - most of us don't, though) thinking about what you want your life to look like next year, perhaps even starting with a longer range plan. What changes do you want to make in your career, business, studies, and/or personal life? It's amazing how much a little bit of thought and a few small actions can make such a huge difference in success and satisfaction. More about this below, in Procrastivity Tip/Exercise.



I'll be a guest on Patricia Weber's fabulous teleconference series about selling for people who hate sales. See below for details.



Some sad personal news: just yesterday we sent our old mare, Venus, to the Rainbow Bridge (http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm) . Age got the best of her, and she was in constant, severe pain in spite of the best pain medication and care available. Please consider giving your pets a hug in her memory.



On a more pleasant note, we found homes for both Luke and Bo, the two foster dogs we had for a month and a half. The boys came through their heartworm treatment and recovery beautifully, and were ready for placement when the perfect adoptive homes found us. We feel so lucky with these two wonderful families and how opened their hearts to these rescued boys who were so close to being put down because there are too many dogs ending up at shelters.



PROCRASTIVITY TIP / EXERCISE

Regret is one of the worst feelings, particularly when it's about what we could have done and didn't do. Many people regret not having spent enough time with their loved ones. Others wish they had applied themselves more toward leaving a legacy, such as writing a book. Another common regret I hear from workshop participants and audience members at speaking engagements is completing an area of study or certification process. Failing to pay enough attention to business development and management is a *huge* one for professionals and entrepreneurs.



What is it you'd like to change, finish, or try in 2009? We often get overwhelmed trying to make changes, but my professional experience is that It's probably easier than you think. Start by setting aside time on your calendar, perhaps an hour or two during an evening (or whenever your circadian rhythm urges) to do a little planning. Here are some easy steps:

** Make a short list of the areas of your life you want to make changes in, as mentioned above (examples: business, career, studies, health, relationships, volunteer/contributory, fun). Don't make the list more than 8 or so items long.

** Focus on each area in turn: what changes do you want to make?

** Now, based on those changes, what actions or projects do you need to plan in monthly, weekly, or daily. You may end up dropping some things because too many will leave you feeling too daunted to even start.

** Break down projects into tasks, and give them deadlines.

** Now break the action steps and takes down further: what do you need to accomplish this month toward any particular goal. You needn't make progress on every initiative each month - some will take less time, some might be put off until later in the year. As long as you keep referring to the annual list through out the year, you'll be fine.

** Put a recurring reminder or appointment in your calendar at the end of each month to return to that annual plan (which has also been broken down into shorter term deadlines) to plan the following month. You don't have to plan all months now. Just plan January and maybe February right now if more seems too much work at the moment. Count on 15-20 minutes for this.

** Put a second recurring reminder or appointment in your calendar each Sunday night or Monday morning (weekly, is the idea) day to refer to your plan so you can plan the action items into your week. This is a 10 or 15 minute task - that's all!

** Put a third recurring reminder or appointment into your calendar each day to refer to the weekly list and see what action you might take today so that you've completed the items by the end of the week. Five minutes a day, to be 50-100% (or more) more productive.

** Be flexible and don't expect that you'll get everything done on time! That would be nice, but it's not really that likely, so don't beat yourself up for not following the plan rigorously. The idea is that you'll make a lot more progress by using a plan than if you didn't make and/or follow one. The plan is a tool to serve you, not a torture device!

Try it, and let me know how it goes or if you need help. If you have a different planning technique you'd like to share with readers, send it along and I'll include it in a future Procrastivity Pipeline issue.



Hate Selling but Gotta Sell Something (Even If It's Just Making Yourself Someone People Want To Know)?

I'm a guest on Pat Weber's teleconference series this month: December 8, 2009 at 12pm Eastern/NY. The subject: "How To Finally Conquer The Plague Of Procrastination" (couldn't you have guessed?)

Pat Weber is an award winning - top selling salesperson and sales manager and America's #1 Sales Coach for Introverts, Shy and extroverts reluctant to sell. She is a recognized expert in print, publications like Entrepreneur, as well as radio, The Small Business Advocate radio show. She assists her clients in sales, leadership and learning to speak with more confidence, deliver effective presentations, and increase sales by 100+%. She published her first book, Sales Skills for An Unfair Advantage, in 1998, and is currently writing "The Introverts Unfair Selling Advantage." Register for the special teleclass at http://www.askpatweber.com where you can also ask any particular question you have about procrastination.

Hope you can join us for this class!

Wishing you optimal procrastivity, and a fabulous holiday season,

Kerul

Kerul Kassel, Author of Productive Procrastination - Make It Work For You, Not Against You and the award-winning Stop Procrastinating Now - Five Radical Procrastination Strategies To Set You Free, both available at www.Procrastivity.com