It’s 2016 and though we are already a month in and should be well prepared with acheiving our plans and goals for this year, I personally still feel like I’m a little bit on catch up mode. January was a tough month and I found it super hard at times to get through with managing my day effectively and sleeping well completely being forgotten. I’ve spent the last few days trying to revert back to my old ways of being super organised and though in some areas I’m still finding it hard I feel like I may be getting there. Here are some tips, old and new, that I’ll be using to get myself organised again for 2016:
Have clear goals in mind
When it comes to being productive in anything, I always find it easier and better to have clear goals of what you want to achieve or do in mind. Whether it is something big like buy a house or something small like update your blog design, whatever it is having the idea and focus and plan in your head first always helps so that you know what are aiming towards in the long run. Working towards something with a clear picture or idea in your head is always easier so take some time to find out what you actually want to achieve this year and be specific so you know exactly what it is that you want.
Plan how to achieve and take things one day at a time
After you’ve found it exactly what it is that you want and that you want to achieve, you can start to plan. Take small steps to get to your end goal instead of overwhelming yourself with huge tasks. For example, if you do want to buy a house plan to put away an affordable amount of your income every week or month and build up your savings slowly but surely instead of sticking all your money in savings and not having enough to pay the bills. Taking things one day at a time can be annoying especially if you can be a little impatient about getting things done but waiting and doing things right will always make you appreciate your goal more when you finally achieve it.
Lists, lists and more lists
Lists are you friends when it comes to getting anything done. Well they definitely are for me anyway and I swear by them. Whether it is for work, the blog or personal goals, I make lists for everything so I don’t forget and I can see what I’ve achieved and what I’m yet to achieve. Crossing something off your list is always so satisfying to and for me, it motivates me to carry on even more. Invest in a good notebook, list pad or organisational app and getting writing those lists and ticking things off!
Create or find yourself some motivation
I think many people would agree that having some sort of motivation behind you always makes you want to succeed even more than you normally would. Whether it is getting the motivation to get fit, get a promotion, go travelling, whatever, finding some motivation to achieve your goal is a huge step to conquer when wanting to accomplish something. Whether you create a moodboard full pictures of the place you want to go, give yourself a quote or buzzword for some motivation when you need it most or have a celebrity/someone to look up to in mind, it all helps motivate you to achieve whatever goal or goals you have set yourself for 2016.
Allow yourself time/days to be completely unproductice and don’t feel bad about it!
I think this is the most important one of the lot really and it is definitely something I need to work on myself as well. Giving yourself time to recover or just be lazy and not do anything productive/towards your goal is more beneficial than you would assume that it is. Sometimes you just need an hour/day/week to yourself to do nothing productive or nothing at all and most importantly not feel guilty about it! It’s the feeling guilty part that always gets me but I’m working on that, hopefully that is something I can improve on over the next 12 months.
I hope these tips help you if you are needing some ideas on how to be productive over the next 12 months. Are there any tips you use, that I’ve not mentioned? Share them! 🙂
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