Divide and Conquer the New Year
© 2002, Rutherford Publishing, Inc., Reprinted with permission from Tyme Management™
Divide and Conquer in 2002: With a fresh new year before you, your dreams and goals have no limits! A blank calendar may seem somewhat intimidating, but all that's needed is a little planning.
With a fresh new year before you, your dreams and goals have no limits! A blank calendar may seem somewhat intimidating, but all that's needed is a little planning. You can divide and conquer your goals for the New Year by simply breaking them down into specific steps and then scheduling and doing them. Here's how to plan your year:
Monthly planning
- Reserve one hour at the end of each month to plan for the coming one.
- Survey your long-term goals for the year and your progress on them.
- Break goals and projects down into steps you can accomplish each week.
- Designate specific due dates for completing these interim steps.
- If a project will span several months, divide it into steps that you can accomplish a little each month.
- Make a copy of your monthly plan for the people who will need to know it.
Weekly planning
- Set aside half an hour every Friday afternoon or Monday morning to plan for the upcoming week.
- Look over the goals you've set for the week, and consider any additional tasks that may have been assigned to you.
- Divide tasks planned into steps, and choose a day to work on each step.
- Make note of previously scheduled meetings and appointments.
- Be sure that your weekly routine includes activities that are directly related to your long-term goals.
Daily planning
- At the beginning of each day, review your progress on yesterday's work, and note any pending items.
- Spend five to 10 minutes deciding what tasks to work on today.
- Order the tasks for the day by priority level with "must do" items first.
- Schedule items that will require more concentration for the time of day that you work best.
- Leave roughly 20 percent of your time unscheduled to make room for new and unexpected items.
- Start with your top-priority item, and work on it as long as you can or until it's completed.
- Once you've tackled your number-one job, move on to the next highest priority on your list.
Rutherford Publishing, Inc. produces newsletters that help individuals and organizations discover how to take positive actions in key areas of their lives and to encourage people to use more of their potential. The newsletters include: Total Wellness®, Tyme Management™, The Total Leader™, and The Total Person™. For information contact rpublish@rpublish.com or call (800)815-2323 or visit their website at http://www.rpublish.com/.