Tired of being Overwhelmed?

A daily planner is a great way to help you move towards your goals. Breaking down large goals into smaller achievable steps can make the long term goal feel less overwhelming. If you have a plan in place that requires you to do little things each day, it is easier to make progress.

Firstly, we want to set an achievable goal for ourselves. What gives you a sense of purpose? Feel what it would feel like to be in that moment of achievement. Be clear with what it looks like in your mind, who is around, how you feel emotionally (happy, excited, confident ect). Make sure its something achievable. But remember, people will predict their future based on their past. It is important to learn from our past, both the positives and negatives. Yet in order to move forward we must set our past emotions aside and focus on the excitement of our future/present.

This brings me to a question that I ask each and every one of my clients at the start of any coaching relationship. What is your willingness to change? and What are you willing to change? Be honest with yourself, really take the time to answer this question truthfully. From your answers you’ll ascertain whether your goal is too big given what you’re willing or not willing to change.  My favourite quote that might help you is; ‘If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got’ – Unknown.

To begin with, start by listing your daily commitments that are a little more set in stone:

-What hours do you work & how many?

-How long are you driving or transitioning to work?

-How much sleep do you need?

-How much time do you need for relationships?

-How long do household chores take?

Secondly, list the time spent each day on distractions:

– Social media/surfing the web

– Television/movies

– Socialising

Lastly, list how much time is required for your goal.

From here you will be able to see the spare time you have, and where it is in the day. e.g between 5:30am – 6:30am or during my lunch break at work between the hours of 12:00pm – 1:30pm. If there isn’t enough spare time then obviously have a look at what can give – i.e social media/tv.
In the pie graph shown you will see an average day broken up in hours. When we place our plans on paper we can see a little clearer the time we have ‘spare’. This graph shows that four hours can be dedicated to some form of goal related productivity. Now, we know that its not just a four hour chunk you have. But time that is spread throughout the day.

Remember the question that was asked previously. What am I willing to change? Well, this is where we practise the art of ‘focus’. Every day we subconsciously distract ourselves. It can be small things like checking your phone for social media updates or surfing the web. Maybe some of our time is being dedicated to a TV show that just might have to give? Each of us has our own. If you can become aware that something you are doing is just a distraction, you have made the first step in creating more time. The hard part, and the best one to practice is pulling yourself out of that distraction and towards something of productivity in relation to your goal. Is it hard for me to put the phone down and spend this 20 minutes training? for example. To focus is to have the willpower, Daniel Goleman the author of ‘FOCUS’ explains. Daniel also talks about the game our mind plays with us. ‘Do it tomorrow’ ‘Your too tired today’ ‘Its probably easier to do it later’. To be that productive person when we have been so distracted is hard to change. Its like ripping the band-aid off, once you do it often enough though, its easy!

When you’ve started to make these changes often, they become a habit. When your habits are in line with your dreams, nothing can stop you.

A daily planner will help you see where your energy is going. When you know each step in your day is moving towards your desired goal you’ll feel confident and productive all day long. Everyone loves to see progress and taking the time to plan your day will allow you to see each win and you’ll automatically feel on track.

It’s the energy we put into the make up of our goals that count. I hope this helps you!

To your goals,

Coach Taylor