Category: Career

How To Plan For A Good Week (The 5 Tips You Need To Follow)

how to plan for your week

Are you ready to figure out how to plan for a good week so you can crush your goals? 

Well you’ve come to the right place.

For the longest time I felt as if I was barely surviving each week.  I always felt behind.  There was way too much chaos going on in our home and I felt as if I was never going to catch up.

Well if you know me at all then you will totally nod your head yes when I tell you “I hate chaos.”  I hate feeling rushed and under pressure.  Just ask J.  When we’re trying to leave town on a Friday after work the last words he’ll utter are, “let’s hurry up.”

When I start to feel rushed then I know something will slip through the cracks.  Like that one time we left on a 2 hour car ride and I left the diapers on the kitchen counter – all of them.  So it’s better to not rush me.

That doesn’t mean I take forever to get out the door.  No way! I have a system and a routine that helps me move quickly and efficiently.

So when it comes to creating calm and peace in my weeks, I had to take the same philosophy of calmness.  I needed to prepare for my week so that I don’t feel as if I’m running a sprint without any training.

I want to share with you my steps on how to plan for a week so you can crush your goals.  Now, let’s be honest these are not rocket science.  But they are smart.  They are efficient and they will help you.

How to plan for a good week:

  1. Make it a habit. Make sitting down on Sunday evenings a habit.  Don’t do it occasionally or when you remember.  Actually schedule it out.  Make it a family affair so that everyone is on the same page.
  2. Review Your Calendar.  Know where you need to be and when.  Make sure you and your spouse know of any games, doctor appointments, etc. that one of you needs to be at.  Also take a look at what you have to do during the day – client appointments, projects due, and so on.  If you aren’t keeping a calendar – start.  You can use a paper calendar that you find at Walmart or you can find a digital planner like Google to get started.
  3. Prep your outfits.  Go ahead and lay out your outfits for the entire week.  That will take the guess work out of selecting clothes each morning.  Now instead of changing your mind 15 times and wasting 20 minutes you’ll know exactly what you’re wearing and it will be ironed ready to go.
  4. Write Monday’s to do list.  Take a few minutes to write out your top 3 or 5 tasks you want to accomplish on Monday.  That way when you wake up with a Case of the Mondays you’ll be able to hit the ground running.
  5. Meal prep.  This is one of the easiest and yet, most forgotten tasks.  Spend time planning out your meals for the week.  You can use my two-week meal plan to help, but just do it.  To take it a step further go ahead and gather all the meats, vegetables and canned goods you’re going to need.  Put them together or as much as possible (I understand you can’t leave your chicken with your canned beans on the counter, but you get the picture) so that it’s easy to just grab, open, and start cooking.

Once you find a habit and start following it then you’ll start feeling less stressed about your week. You’ll be able to set yourself up for success and conquer the world.

Need more help?

Grab our guide to help you Cross Stress Off Your List.  This exercise will help you tame your to do list so you can stop feeling overwhelmed about having to take care of all. the. things.

How To Organize Your To Do List

how to organize your to do list

Tired of having an overwhelming to-do list day after day?  Well I got you covered.

I’m going to share the secrets on how to organize your to do list so you can finally start powering through it.

Organizing your to do list isn’t really rocket science, but do you know what it is? Trial and error.

Yes, you start keeping a to do list one way and out of nowhere it no longer works.  Which causes you more stress than tasks you have to get done.  If you’re like me then you probably have several areas of your life that you have to take care of – family, work, yourself, volunteer organizations, etc.  Usually the thought of combining all of your to do lists sounds like a good idea, until it doesn’t.

When your to do list starts looking more like a puzzle then it’s time to try something new.  I’ve found the busier I get the more detailed my to-do lists need to be.  And the more separated they need to be.

But there is an exception to what I’m about to share with you…

If any item on my to do list has a hard deadline then the due date gets added to my digital calendar.  Typically with a reminder so I can make sure to get it done on time.  However, if there is no hard deadline then I add it to my to do list.. at some point in the future.

Alright, here’s how to organize your to do list:

You’ll need a spiral notebook and a pen.

how to organize your to do list to get more done

Typically you will need to keep a separate sheet of paper or list for each area of your life.  So for me there’s a page for:

  1. family
  2. work
  3. blog
  4. Women Aware – volunteer group I’m involved in.

Not only do I write down every. single. thing. that needs to get done for each area, but I also create a deadline.  So for instance, let’s say I need to make a dentist appointment, a grooming appointment, and meal prep.  Well I will write each one done and then next to it write down when I need to have it done by.  For work I may have reports that need to be completed, letters to write to send to clients, and an appointment to prep for.  Once again, I write down the task and create a due date next to it.

Do this for all the areas in your life – separate your areas onto different pages, write down all your tasks, and create deadlines.

Once you have a general list for all areas of your life that’s when your time blocking or daily to do list comes into play.  Next, take the top three to five tasks that you want to get done.  Now these tasks could come from one list, two lists or a combination of all your lists.

On a typical day my top 5 usually has one task from family, one from blog, two from work, and one other.  However, the closer I was getting to the annual Women Aware conference then the more my daily top five were coming from my Women Aware to do list.

Now I feel that I need to include a disclosure  – the top 3-5 daily list is not all you will work on through out the day.

These are the important tasks to help you reach your goals and help keep your life running smooth.

Life happens.  Each day will not be perfect.  There will be days you’ll be hit with fires (hopefully not literal fires) that demand attention.  Client needs a report ASAP, you get sick and have to go to the doctor, and so on.  It happens.

The goal of your daily top 3-5 list is to help you keep moving forward to reach your goals.

Having this type of organized to do list will do is help you focus.

Yes, focus.

It will help you think about only the task at hand without getting too overwhelmed.  A mom notebook is also a good thing to have so when something pops into your head that needs to get done, but it’s not urgent then it can be jotted down.  Once it’s written down my philosophy is that it will get done.. at some point.. but other tasks that are more important or more urgent will come first.

Now at the end of each day, spend a few minutes creating your daily top five list from your notebook.  This will help you get ready to hit the ground running the next morning.

How To Take Charge Of Your Week

how to take charge of your week

Are you ready to take charge of your week so you can get more done?  Well let’s jump right in!

Since I can remember I have loved having a day planner.  In high school I carried one with me everywhere.  I’m not sure why, it wasn’t like I had a TON to do, but it made me feel important.  In college I opted for an hourly day planner.  I was so busy!

In reality I felt that it made me appear busier than I was – I had arrows drawn, I had a color code that I followed and I made sure to write down every homework assignment that was due in fear of forgetting.

Nowadays my love of planners is still strong.  Every few years I splurge on a nice paper planner, only to have it collect dust just a few short weeks after it’s arrival.  Not that I’m not busy for a planner – in my adult life I desperately need a planner to keep it all straight!  But as a mom I have found that carrying one less thing around in my bag was for the best.  So now I opt for my Google calendar.  I am still an avid fan of color coding, but now I’ve had time blocking to the mix.

When it comes to setting myself up for success it really falls down to just a few steps to take charge of my week.

Step One: My calendar. 

I always take a quick look on Sunday at my week ahead.  I use my calendar for just about everything.  Here’s my list of color codes – work, volunteer organizations I’m involved in, family events, just myself, and blog.

I tend to do a quick glance at my calendar to make sure I know of any appointments the week ahead.  That way if I need to coordinate anything with J then I can go ahead and get it taken care of.

Step Two: My to-do list.

My to-do list is my new baby blanket at this point.  I never leave home without.  It’s called my mom notebook and it’s priceless around here.  Whenever I have a thought pop into my brain it gets written down in my mom notebook.

Then I tend to organize my notebook into a few categories – work, blog, and other.  Other usually consists of family to-dos and groups I’m involved in. Once it’s organized then I use that to pull my top three for the day.

Step Three. Meal planning.

Planning out our weekly dinners and making sure lunches are covered is crucial.  Not only when it comes to time, but also to our budget.  We tend to meal plan for two weeks at a time, which is awesome.  We grab the bulk of our items when we do our heavy grocery shopping every two weeks and then any small items like produce and milk once a week.  It helps us from overspending, helps us from eating out too much (thanks to the no eating out challenge we tried awhile back), and from wasting food we buy.  You can grab my two week meal planner here.

Step Four. Sleep.

Yes, sleep.  On Sunday I tend to go to bed at a decent hour so that I can make sure I’m well rested for the upcoming week.  It’s not always the easiest to go to bed early, especially with a stubborn toddler, but I try.  I have found that going to bed early helps me wake up without hitting the snooze a thousand times and gives me time to get ready before our little man wakes for the day.

How To Chase Your Goals and Be A Good Parent

how to chase your dreams and be a good parent

It’s late. Real late.  I’m sitting in my family room curled up on my couch in the dark.  I should be in bed, well actually I went to bed hours ago, but haven’t been able to fall asleep.  My mind is racing with remembering all. the. things. that still need to get done.

There’s a lot of them.

Tomorrow morning I’m stepping onto a stage in front of over 350+ women, local business owners, and speakers.  I have to give a presentation, introduce some amazing people and stay on top of all the details.  Oh and did I mention our keynote speaker is the one and only Egypt Sherrod?  Yep, that Egypt of HGTV.  I’m nervous.

Don’t get me wrong, typically I thrive under pressure.  As in make the game winning three-point shot (well back in 5th grade because that’s the last time I was taller than anyone else!), but you get the idea.  There’s a lot riding on my shoulder’s for this conference.

Yes, I’ve had some amazing women standing alongside me.  They’ve helped organize and plan every moment of tomorrow, but at the end of the day it’s still my name listed in that book as the conference director.

I don’t like failing.

Not that I think tomorrow will be a failure – far from it!  I just know that there will be a lot of moving parts and I should be sleeping.

I just can’t.

Do you remember the first day of school as a little girl? Giddy with excitement, couldn’t sleep, planned every conversation you were going to have, thought out the perfect first day of school outfit and you sprung out of bed way too early.  That’s how I feel.

These past 9 months have been a whirlwind with work, this blog and business, my family, traveling, and conference planning – not too mention all the other facets of my life.

This month especially because of course a conference for 350+ people wasn’t enough to keep me busy so I started an advanced accounting class at a local college, decided to declutter, organize and clean every room, closet, and space in our home (all thanks to buying a new couch).

I’m not real sure where I was headed with this post – as I type it my title is still blank and that’s usually my first step in planning out something.  However, I just felt like it was necessary to share where my mind is at, my heart is at and my goals are at.

You see, I am a big believer (huge) in chasing dreams, setting goals and then knocking them down.  I’m also a big fan of my family.  I do believe you can have it both – a career and a family – and be successful at both of them.  I think you just need to follow a few things to help you figure out how to chase your dreams and be a good parent.  Here’s what has helped me along the way:

  1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  This is a tough one for most moms, me included. You have to ask for help.  It can be big help (like planning a conference) or medium help (like asking a grandparent to pick up your son from daycare so you can work a little longer) or even small help (like asking a friend to help you find the perfect outfit for a big event so you can feel confident).  Whatever the help is – ask for it.  You may not even know what all you need help with, but if someone offers don’t take offense.  Let them help you.
  2. Break goals into chunks.  If you have a big goal or deadline or conference then break it up.  Spend time deciding what steps you need to help reach your goal and then start crossing them off.  Breaking your goals into chunks will also help when you’re trying to figure out who to ask help from (see point one for reference).
  3. Realize it’s okay to not be perfect.  Sometimes in our busy seasons some things slip through the cracks and that’s okay.  Maybe you decide it’s easy slow cooker and casserole meals for dinners.  Maybe you stop worrying about your house being perfect.  Or maybe, just maybe you stay up a little too late to get all your thoughts out of your head.  Part of the realization is knowing when enough is enough.  When you accidentally throw away your kid’s sock and put the empty sour cream container in the dirty clothes basket (and not realize it for several hours) then it’s time to take a break.  That’s when it’s time slow down, breathe and take some time away from pushing yourself so hard.
  4. Remember what’s most important.  In times of goal crushing and dream chasing it can be very easy to get wrapped up in it all.  You’re excited to almost cross another step off your list and you find yourself ignoring what’s most important.  You miss dinners with the family, skipped another night of tucking your little one into bed or were so rushed in the mornings that you felt as if you were a robot just going through the motions.  It’s important to remember why we have these goals in the first place.  Perhaps we’re trying to make more so we can provide for our kids so we can do more fun stuff together.  Whatever your reason – remember it, write it down and know it.

What are some of your tips for how to chase your dreams and be a good parent?  Let me know in the comments or share it on Instagram and tag @meredithrines.

Favorite Social Media Tools To Save Time & Grow Your Business

favorite social media tools to save time

Want to know something about me?  Efficiency is my middle name.

Okay, well maybe not legally.  But it’s still a big part of me.

We all are given 24 hours a day to get whatever is we want done.  So it’s important to be sure to spend it wisely.  Finding tools and shortcuts can help you spend less time doing the things that need to get done, but aren’t always the most exciting things.

Here’s the truth about me (and probably most of us moms, too) – we are masters of the schedule, multi-tasking ninjas and somehow still manages to kiss every boo-boo and ouchie.  We work hard at our careers, build businesses on the side, grow amazing families, and so much more.

So when it comes to the tools I use to help me save time so that I can spend more of it with our son while my business is growing in the background.  Not too long ago I shared a post about favorite apps that help me save money.  So this time around I wanted to share my productivity hacks. Here are my favorite go-to tools to save time and help me grow my business:

PERSONAL TOOLS:

Walmart Grocery App (if you haven’t tried the Grocery Pickup yet, you’re missing out.  It makes life so much easier and grocery shopping a breeze)

Walmart App (I am a big fan of the Savings Catcher App, which can be used whether I shop in-store or do the grocery pickup)

Ibotta (Sign up using my referral link and get an extra $10)

Ebates (You can signup using my referral link to get an extra $10)

Amazon (If I can’t find something at my local Walmart then I prefer to order on Amazon)

Google Photos (I have all my camera’s pictures backed up to Google so that way I can access them anywhere and if something should happen to my phone, I still have my images)

BUSINESS TOOLS:

Canva (I use the online version and the iPhone app)

Instagram

Later (this amazing tool let’s you schedule Instagram posts, Facebook posts and Twitter posts all with just a few clicks.  I can pre-plan all my social media posts for the week to share my new blog posts and videos so that when the week gets away from me I don’t have to worry about it.  They have a free version, which I used for almost a year before upgrading.  Sign up and get 10 free posts to try it out)

Tailwind (This helps me boost all my recent blog posts and Youtube videos on my Pinterest boards – you can sign up using my referral link.)

Pinterest

VSCO (This is my favorite app to edit pictures for my social media posts – it’s free, easy to use and doesn’t erase my original image)

Trello (this project management tool is the perfect solution to hold all the things that need to get done – editorial calendar, goals, things to do, business information, etc. I created a tutorial of how I use Trello, you can watch it here)

What tools do you use to save you time?  Leave a comment and let me know!

How To Shut Off Work & Focus On What’s Most Important

how to shut off work & focus on what's important

Oh my goodness.  This is the post I desperately needed today.  I don’t know about you, but work can start to become an all-encompassing thing around our household.

As someone who has a career outside the home and still trying to build a business, it can be hard to shut the laptop off and focus on what’s most important – which is my family.

The last few weeks, as I felt my busy season coming to an end I’ve found myself more and more ready to shut off work.  I was feeling the urge to be more present with our son and to really focus on the needs of my family.

Have you ever noticed that pull and desire?  It can be hard to tell yourself to stop working on something that has a deadline (either real or self-given) and turn your brain off from even thinking about it.  Even if I was playing with our son, I usually had my phone next to me to right down ideas or things to do.

That’s not the kind of mother I want to be.

So here I am, busy season over and I’m learning to shut off work and focus on what’s most important to me – my husband, my son and myself.

Here’s what I’ve found to really help and when you’re ready, give these a try:

Give Yourself Permission

This can be the hardest step, but that’s why it’s first.  Give yourself the okay to shut everything down.  It’s okay to make your project wait until tomorrow.  To not finish those calls late at night so you can actually eat dinner with your family.  It’s okay to come home from work and not open your laptop even once.  It’s okay.

Give yourself the permission to really be in the moment and do what you love, whatever that is.

Decide What Excites You Most

An easy way to help you focus on what’s most important is deciding what excites you.  What are passionate about? What motivates you to work so hard?  Use those tools to find something to focus on other than work.  It might be your family – if that’s the case then find something fun to do together.  It might be painting – well then block out time so that you can paint at the end of the day, each morning or on the weekends.  Find something that makes you excited and chase it.

Prioritize Your List Before Stopping

This one is a stress reducer.  If you spend the last 5-10 minutes each work day to decide on your top three for the next day then you will be able to walk away much easier.  Decide what tasks really need to get done tomorrow so that when you leave you don’t feel as if you have an uncompleted cycle.  It could be a simple list of your tip three – the top three things that have to get done.  Maybe you just need to make an segmented list that includes client work, administrative tasks, and other.  That way you have a few in each category to help you feel more at ease.

I tend to keep a running to do list all day on my desk.  It has everything that needs to get done – client work, administrative tasks, other, etc.  Then at the end of the day, I copy that list over to a new sheet of paper. I remove everything that was accomplished that day and then write my new list in order of priority.  That way when I come back in the next day I know exactly where to start to get the most important thing done.

You can also keep a running list of non-important items.  When you add something to your to-do list, but find that you never have the time to actually get it done, then maybe it’s time to move it.  So create a list on your computer that is a running to-do list of non-important and non-urgent tasks.  When you find yourself out of more important tasks or with just a few minutes in between meetings then you can open this list to knock off something small.

What are you doing to help you shut off work and focus on what’s most important?

Understand Your Paycheck (What Are The Deductions On Your Pay Stub)

Understand Your Paycheck (What Are The Deductions On Your Pay Stub)

Do you understand your paycheck? What about all of those deductions, numbers and benefits you’re getting?

So many of us receive our paycheck week-after-week, but never take the time to actually look at our paycheck to understand it.  The main thing you probably notice is just how much of your salary doesn’t end up in your bank account each week.  So where does all your money go?

It could possibly be going to taxes, but there are other deductions that could be reducing the size of your net pay.  You could be receiving deductions for a retirement account, health insurance plan or somewhere else.

By better understanding your pay stub then you will have a better picture of where your money is actually going and perhaps, how to keep more of it.

To learn how to better understand your paycheck then make sure to watch today’s video.  You can watch it online or down below:

click to tweet this video.

Now you should have a better understanding of your pay stub.   Take a second to make sure your name is spelled right, your address is correct and then spend a few minutes reviewing everything we talked about in the video above.

 

 

How To Relax After A Busy Season

how to unwind after your busy season

Is it just me or has the last few months been a whirlwind? Life has been a bit crazier than usual.  I’ve been working hard and trying to grow as a mom, a business owner and a woman.  So I’ve spent a lot of time working.  Our son goes to bed at night and I’m sitting there with my laptop on the couch typing away.  I get up extra early in the morning to record new content for the blog, to organize lunches and to make sure that I get time to wash my hair (yep, it’s like I have to schedule it in my day to remind myself).

I talked about the season of life I’m in and how it’s a busy one.  Meetings, growth, learning, places to go and things to accomplish.  I’ve noticed over the past week or so that my season is shifting.  I’m slowing down.  I’ve developed processes and steps to help me handle the growth of my business and to have time to create like I want.  I’m not perfect, but I can feel the winds changing and things calming down.

It’s nice.  But it’s hard.

It’s hard to unwind and unplug after months of go-go-go.  Maybe you’ve been working hard at the office, traveling to conferences, or finally putting the finishing touches on several home projects.  But I’m sure you can relate to feeling extra busy lately.  That’s why I was so happy the other day when I realized this busy season was finally coming to an end.

It’s nice when the busy ends and the calm (well as calm as a toddler mom can get) begins.  What are some things you do to help yourself unwind and relax?  Well I’m sharing my go-to tips and self care routine with you.

When you’re ready to start unwinding after your busy season, check out some of these great tips to help you:

Take Time For Yourself

It can be hard to do, especially when you have young kids at home.  It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but you just need help re-energizing yourself.  It could be taking a half-day from work to where you go home, put your feet up and watch your favorite movie for the 1000 time.  Maybe it’s taking a long drive to nearest the mall (for me that’s over an hour drive) to just do some retail therapy (as long as it’s in your budget).  Whatever makes you feel rejuvenated then take time to do it.

Just schedule the time off work or ask your husband for help on the weekend.  Put it in your calendar and make it happen.

Know What Can Wait

When it comes to unwinding, especially after a busy season then you probably think everything is a top priority.  But we all know that’s just in our head.  So take a moment to prioritize your to do list for the next week or so.  Then really, really give it a good look.  Gauge what can wait and what needs to get done – folding the laundry can wait, cleaning the house can wait, and baking those 100 cookies for next week’s school bake sale can wait (actually, just hire someone to help you if you hate baking like I do).  You know what can be delegated to your spouse or kids, what can be hired out for extra help and what simply can wait until things calm down.

If you own a small business like I do then maybe you schedule out the next week’s worth of social media posts so you don’t have to worry about it.  Skip a weekly blog post – it’s okay.  Figure out what will be okay to go without so you can take time for yourself.

Disconnect

This one is hard.  Really hard.  But you need to disconnect.  Turn your phone on silent and put it away for a period of time.  Uninstall your social media apps and work apps so that you can stop worrying.  Don’t answer your emails, your messages and don’t reply to any comments.  This might actually be the hardest step for most of us – as moms and career women we find ourselves on call 24 hours a day.  But when we really need to unplug to take care of selves it’s important to really unplug.  So on the day or few hours you’re finally taking for yourself, just put the phone down for a bit.

You won’t explode, all those emails can wait and you will feel so much better.  I typically set my phone on silent and put in the bedroom just long enough to take a nap, a long bath or watch a favorite movie.  But because I’m always on mom duty I want to make sure our son doesn’t need anything, so I do check it.  But I stretch out the time starting with an hour, then two, then four.

What are some of your favorite tips on unwinding?  Let me know!

 

A Day In The Life of A Small Business Owner

day in the life of a small business owner

Recently I saw a few Youtube channels where entrepreneurs chronicle their day.  I loved it and felt so inspired.  I wanted to do the same.  Because it became very clear after the first, second, fifth and well… you get the point video that all of us small business owners approach life, business and our tasks very differently.

There is no right or wrong, just different.  And that’s okay. It’s actually a beautiful thing if you think about it.  If everyone ran their business the exact same way then we wouldn’t have options and a variety to choose from.  So I love recording today’s video for a few reasons:

  • it forced me to realistic about how much time I spend on my business
  • that each day is different and that’s what makes being a full-time career woman and a business owner so unique
  • it showed me that just because an “expert” does it one way doesn’t mean it’s the way for me.

I’ve actually been pretty vocal about that last point for awhile now, but I usually relate it to budgeting.  Just because a budget system works for one family doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.  Money management isn’t a one-size fits all, which is why I love bring tips and ideas to you.  Because what may work for you may not work for your neighbor.  So you have to be open to new ideas, but don’t be afraid to customize them for yourself.

You can watch today’s Day In The Life of An Small Business Owner video online or down below:

As I mentioned in the video, during the summer I am out of the office on Fridays so those become my business work days.  I try to map out what I want to accomplish.  I always start off my work day by checking out my Trello boards.  It’s what helps keep me organized and on track to reach my goals.  It also helps me with my time blocking, so that when I have an hour or so to spare on work then I know exactly where I need to focus my energy.

I make sure to plan in some time to clean the house so I don’t have to take time away from the fun stuff on the weekends and I like to allow myself some down time with either a good movie, reading or a nap (yes, I like to take naps when I can!).

For those of you wondering, we still take our son to the sitter on Fridays.  However, in today’s video he was home with me.  It was the Friday after the 4th of July, so it was nice to have him home.  Most Fridays he’s at the sitter.  We have to pay for him even if he’s not there, so we might as well let him go.  Plus, it gives me a chance to get caught up on work and I know he’s having more fun with friends then he would be with be all day.

Setting The Right Quarterly Goals

setting the right quarterly goals, goal setting for your business

Happy July, friends! July is my favorite month of the year for a few reasons, but mainly because it’s my birthday month.  Actually today is my birthday!  I typically create a new goal list for the top things I want to accomplish this year.  Last year was my 31 while 31 list.  But this year I’m taking a different route.  As I work harder and harder to build my business and develop my professional skills, I thought it was time to talk about setting the right quarterly goals for yourself and for your business.

We like to plan 3 months at a time so we can keep track of all. the. things. that need to get done.  So of course, when a new quarter comes along we not only plan our calendar, but we also create new 3 month goals.  It can be hard setting the right quarterly goals so we’ve developed a system to help us streamline the process.

One of the worst things you can do for a new quarter or new goal is to not keep in my mind your previous ones.  You need to be reflecting and tracking how far you’ve come over the last few months or so.  Are you any closer to reaching your next goal?  Did you hit your target and now need to create a new one?

You may even be in a situation where you realize your goals have shifted and you no longer desire them.  That’s okay, but you still need to spend a little bit of time reviewing previous goals and then creating new ones.

Around this time each quarter I try to plan some time in my day to make sure I can reflect.

Keep Your Goals In An Organized Place

I like to keep track of my personal goals and my business goals in Trello.  It helps me to stay on top of them.  I found that when I would write them on pieces of paper or in a journal then they somehow always get misplaced.  I fill up the journal with other tasks and then have scraps of paper floating from journal-to-journal.

But you need to find a central location for your goals – a place to track your progress, the steps it’ll take to reach them, and your deadline.

Spend Time Reviewing and Reflecting

I might be a broken record at this point, but it is important to reflect on the past month.  If you’ve been working towards a goal – financial, health, career or a personal goal then you need to see how much you’ve accomplished.  For example, let’s say your goal is to save $5,000 in your emergency fund.  You might think “oh I’ve failed at that because I don’t have $5,000,” but what could be the reality is that you did have $5,000 but your baby got sick so you had to pull for the insurance deductible.  Maybe your fridge broke and you had to replace it.  Maybe you overspent and weren’t able to put back as much as you thought.

Just because you didn’t reach your goal by the end of the quarter doesn’t mean you’ve failed.  It means life happens, so by spending time reflecting on how far you’ve come then you can start to turn around the negative talk.  Being hard on yourself is one of the worst things you can do when reaching a goal.  While your self-talk is negative then you actually start to believe that you will never succeed and that’s not okay.

Set Realistic New Goals

Did you reach a goal or two and now need a new one?  Have your goals shifted and you no longer desire your current goals?  Now is the time to spend a few minutes or hours setting new goals.  But the key is to set realistic ones.  If you make $3,000 a month and want to save $4,000 then that might be a little hard to do.  So you need to be aware of your other commitments when setting your new goals.

Schedule Your Next Review

Now is the time to calendar out your next goal review.  We tend to plan at three months at a time, so each quarter is when we like to sit down.  However, you may want to start off with monthly goals.  But go ahead and pull out your paper planner or Google calendar to set a time.  Make sure the time you pick is feasible.  Don’t pick Monday at 10:00 a.m. when you work 8-5 during the week.  Make sure you’re setting yourself up for success by being mindful of your review time.

Have A Money Date

I talk about money dates a lot around here.  I think they are vitally important to financial health.  It really gives you and your spouse a chance to be on the same page with money, bills and goals.  So make sure to have a money date when you’re setting your new quarterly goals.

So you might be thinking what are my 3rd quarter goals for my business?  Well here they are:

– launch new product in the shop
– create content for new course coming up
– create weekly videos for the YT channel
– create 3 posts a week for the blog
– become a guest on a podcast
– continue to serve my readers