Each new year gives us yet another chance for a fresh start. Maybe now is the time to ask yourself how you can live the next year in the best possible way. What goals can you set to help you have a happy and successful year? And more importantly, how can you make time to achieve your goals?
Image by Kaboompics.Improving the level of organization in your life may be one of your goals. Some of you may be planning to downsize to a smaller home. Some of you may be expanding your family this coming year, which may eventually require upsizing to a larger home or renovating your existing home. Many of you may finally decide that you just want to live a more simplified life. Any of these goals will involve editing and re-organizing your stuff and may change how you use your valuable time.
Speaking of time… I believe most of us don’t accomplish our goals because we don’t understand how much time it takes to pursue a new goal. We set goals or make resolutions because we know it’s a good idea, but we don’t take it to the next step, which is figuring out how and when to accomplish those goals.
Calculate Time Needed
I would advise actually calculating how much time each week you will need to pursue your goal. For example, if your goal is to organize your home to save time looking for things, you should create a list of the areas of your home that you need to work on. Next, estimate how long it will take to organize each area. A little piece of advice – add 50% more time to your estimate. Organizing usually takes longer than you think it will.
Sounds pretty simple so far, right? Now comes the hard part. Book any meetings, appointments, family activities, etc., that you have already agreed to in your calendar. Block off all the time you spend at work as unavailable. And remember, you’ll need time for mundane things like cooking, laundry and housework. And then you should really sleep at least seven hours.
Block Time on Your Calendar
Now, you must find a space in your schedule where you have two or preferably three hours all at once. You won’t make much progress on any organizing project if you don’t devote at least this much time to it each week in one block of time. I’ve done this exercise with clients only to have them realize that they don’t have any open space to pursue their goals. It’s no wonder they’ve had trouble being successful with organizing their home!
If this happens to you, you have two choices to achieve your goals. Either postpone your goal until you find the time or cancel some of the things you are currently doing to make time. I know it won’t be easy, but if you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way.
Read more time management tips, or contact me to book a consultation.