I’ve displaced myself again. As I mentioned in the email on the weekend, I’m having the floor of my office and the adjoining patio fished with epoxy. So, that meant time to pack it all up again. Which is, I have to say, a pretty smooth process these days. Changing my mind about the layout and inclusions has been a significant part of my procrastination plan for 2020/2021. A method that has seen tremendous success and returned surprising results…
Most surprising of all being that I manage to get anything done at all!
What can I say? I have a gift for procrastination. When everything first shut down in March 2020, things changed for my business. The momentum and trajectory of the business took a hit, and even a year later, it doesn’t feel like we made it back—a frustrating thing for someone like me prone to always looking for more and pushing onwards.
Procrastination is a symptom of that, I believe. It was showing up through moving the office, buying new gear, reading the next book. Not to mention watching entire season’s of shows on Netflix and taking long naps. I’ve tried journaling and colouring in, learning new things or testing my limits. I signed up for Medium to write more and built my profile and gigs on Fiverr to create and photograph more.
In the end, I can’t feel like this time has been wasted. That’s the thing about procrastinating at a pro-level as I do. You’ve got the wiggle out of it skills to avoid the work but still get things done. Sometimes I need reminding that good stuff can and often does come from these periods of ‘waste’. By allowing myself to procrastinate freely and diverge from the plan, I’m giving myself the space to create and discover. To embrace procrastination as a part of my process.
Just next time, I hope it doesn’t cost me thousands of dollars worth of epoxy.
For now, here are some photos from before the work gets started with all my office loaded into what we use as a side entry that was once a dining room. Why not embrace procrastination a little more with a photo gallery of snaps.
Can I just say that I’m so excited to say goodbye to the orange/red outdoor paint? Well, I am, and not just because when it’s wet it’s treacherous. Later this year we are getting the roof restored and when we do, the trims in a similar colour (you can peep them in the photos before) are going to be painted a charcoal/dark dark grey colour. Old house life, the work is never done. But man I love this house.
The problem with working from home is that my office is literally five steps from my backdoor. When everything I want is within a few steps of my desk, it becomes pretty easy to just get set up and stay there. Or if I want a change of scenery, move to the couch with the laptop. It’s hardly the ideal way to get in any incidental exercise. Without specific intention, my activity levels are low. SUPER LOW. Like, less than 1,000 steps per day low.
Yeah, you read that right.
And 1,000 steps per day are NOT ENOUGH. Sure, my phone doesn’t count the Aqua classes I do. It doesn’t measure the trips when I don’t take the phone. But even being generous, it’s not enough. It’s like 10% of enough, IYKWIM?
Kel and I were talking about this the other night and how in a day he can do 6,000 – 7,000 steps as part of his average day (we’ve seen as high as 20,000 recorded in the past). That is what his phone has recorded. Standard. He has a pretty active job that has him outside pretty much all day. Being active isn’t something that he needs to worry about.
Me, however…
With mine hovering around 1,000 steps a day (shakes head) I knew it was time to make some changes. Yes working from home, for myself, doing the whole hustle thing makes it difficult. But also, not really, right? I have the freedom and flexibility to do whatever I want. And right now what I want is to be more active (shake out those cobwebs). Why not share my plans with you guys so that I have some accountability to the plan?
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Here’s my plan to be more active!
Get a Tracker/Smart Watch
If I want accuracy, this is the only way. We say it time and time again on this blog; you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are! So. I’m going to figure out exactly where I am. I’ve ordered Kel and I smartwatches to track ALL the things. He wants to look more into how he’s sleeping (there’s an app for that) and I want to dig in and get more steps in my day. Come next week, we’ll know where we are, and the only way is up from there.
Use the reminders
I’m going to set up all the reminders that that smartwatch has to offer. Reminders to stand, move, sleep and drink (water, I promise). There is nothing in my life that I do that doesn’t require some kind of reminder, I’m not sure why I haven’t thought to incorporate reminders into being more active. Focus is a beautiful (in my case often fleeting) thing, but being at my desk in a head down, bum up mode for literally hours upon hours isn’t good for me. I’m going to remind myself to care more until it becomes just another part of my day.
Take more classes
At the moment I might get to one, maybe two Aqua classes a week (worse of the Christmas break). I plan to go on days with back-to-back classes and do two classes for one trip to the pool. When Desiree and I started going together last year, we got into a real groove with things. It’s time to shake off the post-holiday slump and get back into them.
Go out more
When I need a change of scenery, I’m going to go out more. Find a place nearby I can walk to or drive to a park or cafe. Anything to get in some more steps that aren’t inside my house. And yes, some days this won’t be possible. But I live on a quarter-acre block, walking to the back fence and back would work too. Heading into the small wooded area behind my house could be a picturesque change of scene.
Stand up
For years now I have deliberately purchased (or built) standing desks. I know the impacts of sitting especially for the timeframes I’m in my office. But I’ve always copped out of doing any real length of time standing by using stools or drafting chairs to sit at the standing desk. Tricky, right? Moving forward, I’m going to commit to standing half of the time I spend at my desk every day. It might take me time to work up to that but, that’s okay with me. Progress is what I’m looking for here.
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And that’s it, team, my plan for turning around this stationary lifestyle I’ve carved out for myself. Does it sound like something that you could benefit from? Join me. Find a few key ways that you KNOW you can improve how much activity you get in your day. It’s not about being perfect, its about making a change towards something that matters.
He asked me to catch up in a cafe. I’d been working for his family for years at this point, and he wanted to know more. More about me and my life. Where did I see myself in five years? What was it that I wanted for myself and my life? I know now that what he wanted was a way for them to help me get there. To see me achieve my dreams and goals, but at the time, I didn’t know.
There was a brief flickering of the usual suspects; weight loss, more money, happy ever afters. But as far as what I REALLY wanted. What was going to be MY line in the success sand, I didn’t know. I cried (sobbed) because it felt like such a stupid thing to not be able to answer. Who doesn’t know what they want? Who doesn’t understand why they get up in the morning or have something to inspire and motivate them. It seemed ridiculous. And the last thing I wanted to be in front of this person I admired was ridiculous.
Let’s be honest; the snotty ugly cry wouldn’t have helped.
Hear me when I say; I know what that feels like. I know what it is not to see the answer to a question that people seem to answer so quickly. Where do you see yourself in five years? What inspires you? Tell us about your goals or your biggest dream! Terrifying. All entirely sob inducing if you don’t know the answer, or in all honesty, have never taken the time to think about it.
I just always assumed I had some idea. But by this stage, the ‘perfect’ series of life goals had already started to crumble. I’ve learned that sometimes you don’t get what you want and that life isn’t always fair. There had been loss and grief, highs and lows, and challenges that I never expected to face. There had been lessons to learn, but it had never occurred to me that I stopped dreaming. The girl with the plan, all about those goals, was here with nothing. No idea. And no clue where that part of her had gone.
That day something changed.
Not only did I take on the challenge of some personal development courses, but I started to ask myself more questions. That day I began to question everything. Why did I want the things I wanted. Who decided that they were for me? And, if it hadn’t been my choice, then was it something I wanted. It took years of this to develop anything more than a wish list of consumer items and surface-level goals. I wanted more money, time and things. Fine.
Then, as I got better at wanting, I learned to dream again. To focus on a picture of my life as I wanted to live it. A life of creativity and freedom. Sure, I’d need money for that, but the ‘why’ became stronger than any bill that I wanted to have paid. And pictures started to form in my head of days spent making, of free time with family and friends, space to explore who I am and the things I enjoy. I started to see, very clearly, what I wanted and, more importantly, who I wanted to be.
I’m creative, a maker of things, and I thrive on freedom, love and space.
From there, I started to create the life I wanted. Not by making yet another list of things to do, by chipping away at everything that was not that. There I was, years from that first conversation, and I knew what there was for me to do. Finally, I could answer the questions. It’s been about five years since that happened to me since I started to create a life entirely around what I wanted. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but the course has been steady. I wanted you to know that.
If you are stuck, surrounded by new year/new me goals type posts based on envisioning the year ahead but not knowing where to start, I see you. Know that you don’t have to have it all figured out – I’m not sure we human-types ever do. Start asking yourself more questions about your life; that’s my one tip. Question everything and start to determine who or what designed this life you have. Forget the five-year plan or the goals for 2020.
Get to know yourself instead.
Take this new year, heck this new decade, as a chance to get in touch with yourself and what you want again. Start a conversation with yourself that lasts the entire year. Be kind and let it develop slowly. There is no rush – you don’t need to know what you want or where you are going right now. That’s where ‘they’ get you. It’s a lie. You’ve got time. Practice checking in with yourself. I know, for me, that’s top of my list of things to do in 2020. So why not make it yours?
Living your greatness? I know what you’re thinking, how do you even do that? How in a world filled with jobs and mortgages and other more major concerns do you find a way to be who you are and live that? I’m asking. Really. I have some ideas on the subject, obviously. This post will be pretty lame otherwise. But what do you think about it? DO you think about it?
Where does your greatness lie?
One of my favourite quotes is the one in the image above. Don’t wait for the world to recognise your greatness. Live it, and let the world catch up to you. It implies that you won’t always be met with cheers or acceptance of what you want for yourself. It infers that you might find yourself somewhat alone in your endeavours, I think. It’s right, in a lot of ways you will find yourself standing alone with your big dream, your goal or your greatness in hand and there will be not a soul in the world who gets it.
But for me, that’s the exciting bit.
Not you against the world, but you selling the world on who you are and why you’re awesome. Not to convince them because you need them too, but to share your gifts with them. To say it’s ok, I know you don’t get where I’m coming from here, but I do, and I’m ok with that. To live your example of your best life and let others see it.
This little light of miiiine, I’m goin’ let it shiiiiine.
Sheesh, those school songs really stick with you. Haha. Anyway, it’s true. I am on the board of my local Women’s Health Centre; I know, I know, I’m so useful and stuff. But I bring it up as an example of living your greatness with your life, in your life and as your life. The women that operate this centre spread their arms wide to women and their families every day of the year. They do it in service; they do it for the love of it and they do it because who the heck else will? If not you, then who?
That’s the thing about living your greatness; it’s yours. It’s so personal to you that you HAVE to be the one to do it or it won’t get done. The only way is if you start doing it. Start taking those steps towards it existing every single day for you. Then take those steps until they become so ingrained in you that, like the women of the Centre, you are living it. And people, well those people will have caught up because greatness doesn’t stay hidden for long.
Where do your passions lie? Do you feel that you’re on track to living with passion and greatness? I know I’d love to hear about it if you have.
I was born into a real estate, errrr interested, family. My parents had owned farms and investment property before I was born and later would open their own real estate office in my hometown. Houses are in the blood, what can you do? With that being the case, I purchased and moved into my first home at 18 years old, renting out the additional rooms to make ends meet. Later, when I moved out of the area, it would become my first investment property.
That’s property investment and me.
I had bought a block of land and employed a builder to build my first house from scratch. The low budget block was steep and the back retaining wall was taller than I am (which is pretty tall) because of the cut required to fit the house. The house was simple, fit for someone to rent and had plenty of room for me to improve the property before I put it on the market.
That little home, my very first, would become the best investment I’d made in the property market to this day. I chose a suburb that was at the start of a major development project; there were countless homes under construction, the makings of a thriving suburb without an overwhelming demand to inflate prices. Strong rental yield, cash positive, and a growing suburb to ensure future demand in the area. It was a smart property investment. It ticked ALL the boxes.
So property investment and you? How?
And that’s the point of this post. That for those looking to enter the property investment market, you need to figure out a few things for yourself. Things like what your goals are, whether you are investing for income generation, rental returns, to turn it over for a profit or hold it longer term. That’s where sites like Homesales come in handy with their investment property search tool. They allow you to search for property based on YOUR investment goals. Want higher rental yield? Search for that. Want a particular rental yield percentage? Use tools to search for properties that meet your requirements.
Over the years, I added and subtracted from the properties I owned as my needs changed. But property will always be where it’s at for me. I mean, you don’t become a property manager and stay in the career for a decade if you don’t like houses. Liking people helps too, but houses mostly. So if you’re interested in property investment and want somewhere to start, then take a look at the investment property search tools.
Questions always welcome in the comments. Because property; I like it.
OMG. I want to share with you something of a success I had this past month. Not to boast (ok, maybe a little). Not to even garner any woohoos (though woohoos would be nice). But to say to you that sometimes you just have to LOCK IT IN, manage that deadline and jump!
I hosted my first Instagram for Business workshop in my hometown. Why? Well, I said I would run a workshop and I did. WOOHOO. I’ve spoken at workshops and blogger days before and even co-hosted an event in Brisbane with Danielle the wonderful. But this was the first time I booked a date, organised all the things and relied solely on myself to make it happen. I even committed 2 and a half hours to content I wasn’t sure I knew how to fill.
And you know what, it totally did happen. And it was great!
And what did I learn?
I learnt that sometimes you just have to go for it even though the idea seems a little bit crazy and you’re not sure how you’re going to pull it off. Sometimes you have to, as the old saying goes, let go and let God. Or in my case, let go and let goodness happen. Because it does, but not without some hustle.
This past month has been one of the busiest in the history of either of my blogs, between challenges, sponsored content and personal commitments I have been running around with a to-do list stapled to my forehead. But somehow, somewhere in that madness, I made the time to write, plan, schedule, promote and finally deliver, this workshop. And do you know what I think the secret to that was?
A deadline.
A hard and fast, people had put their money on the line, deadline. I had to make it happen because I said I would and people were counting on me. I had to be ready and have all my ducks in the row otherwise people would leave disappointed and never return. Or worse, want their money back. Money that was long gone to ASOS, but that’s another story.
Having a deadline, with people counting on you to deliver, is a motivating thing. I don’t know about you, but often I say I’ll do something, and it doesn’t quite work out. I don’t hit the mark, or it goes by the wayside. It’s a frustrating habit most of us have. Over time this knowing yourself as someone who doesn’t finish the thing, which lets the deadline slide past, who didn’t make it because a loop about who you are.
You need to nip that in the bud. In the butt too. Find a way to keep yourself accountable. Put something on the line. Hang yourself from the cliff with one arm and make it impossible for you to get out of there without moving forward. Find your why. When I booked that workshop my why was crystal clear. I wanted something so badly that I didn’t consider the consequences of failing, I just did it. A strong reason why will do that to a person.
That said, it didn’t mean in months that followed my proclamation that there wasn’t a hundred and one times that I could have bailed. There was. I’d booked the original date on the Monday of a long weekend. I’d set a price that people were happy to tell me was too high (pfft). I had a venue not work out and another turn out to be too expensive versus the size of the group. I really, really, really didn’t want to finalise the workbook or my key talking points.
The urge to quit is strong in this one.
But I didn’t quit. I really wanted to. But I didn’t. And then it happened, I said I would run a workshop and I did. Go me. And in the end the why, got me there. Having a firm deadline with something riding on it, got me there. Not wanting to look like a total wanker, got me there. And it will get you there too.
That’s the point of this rather boastful, look at me type post. I want to encourage you to take on something today that you’ve meant to do for weeks, months or even years. I want you to put your bum on the line. Set a deadline that scares you a little and go for it.
Today I want to talk about something that answers a common question I get, how to stop overwhelm so you can get what you want. Because overwhelm is a bitch. But not getting what you want, that’s even worse. The Suger News team loved this one, and I know YOU are going to as well. Let’s roll.
This week I find myself somewhat in the zone. I am charging on through a million things that I have to do and lining up behind them are a million and one more. I’ve got some big exciting balls in the air right now, and I’m trying not to drop them.
I look over at my to-do list and give a frustrated sigh, it’s too much, and I feel the anxiety of overwhelm start to build. You’ve been there, right? That panic that there is absolutely no way you can cram all this in, and so you freak out and get nothing at all done thing? That.
So, as that panic builds and emails go unanswered, and life whizzes past my eyeballs, I have to stop myself and do what I know to do to make it all right. Because when I stop it, all does get done. Somehow, in some way, when I take the time to stop, step back, assess and then take action, I make it. And it occurred to me that perhaps you feel this way too. Maybe your next big thing commitment from a month ago feels too big right now.
So, let’s talk about how to stop overwhelm head-on so you can get on with finishing what you started.
Go slow to go fast: Trick number one is to go slow to go fast. When overwhelm kicks in, most people assume they then have to start going more quickly to fit more things in and get more done. And if you’re anything like Mr Suger, in particular, then you just manage to stuff something up and have to do it again. Go slow, is the catch-cry around here. When things get busy, we focus hard on slowing down and doing things right in the first place.
Become a list person: When you are overwhelmed, it can be easy to build up all the things you have to do into a massive, insurmountable pile. And that insurmountable pile seems 150% impossible. That feels terrible, and that terrible feeling rules the day, then the panic gets worse and worse. I’m here to tell you, my friends, that all it takes to release that valve is a list.
Make it simple or make it a listing of every single thing you are planning to do that day. Whatever works for you. Me? I just sit still and start writing everything I need to do. I try to make mini lists within the page. For the blog, work, personal, home, etc. I scribble and draw and build that list until everything is on there. When I get everything out of my head and on the page, like magic, it doesn’t feel so bad.
It almost feels like it’s the paper’s problem now. Another reason I like to use an actual pencil and paper for lists. Try it. It’s wonderful.
Action-filled action plan: By now, if you have done the steps and breathed those breaths, you are going to be feeling a little better. Maybe you are looking at that list and thinking OMG how the heck do I do this? Well, that’s where the action-filled action plan comes in. You are going to tackle the most amount of jobs in the least amount of time by making a plan.
Like when you’re planning your errands before a house party; economy of your time is key. You go to the bottle shop because it’s next to the supermarket, but you go to the party supplies store first because nothing in there can go bad, and you won’t have to run home. You pick up the meat last thing on your way home because food poisoning is the gift that keeps giving. Bit by bit you create an action plan around what there is to be done.
Take a look at your list, are there tasks there you can group together? Can you invite a friend to lunch to eat food you prepared and photographed for your blog, a friend who happens to be an accountant and can help finalise your tax return? Stuff like that. Or, you know, less magical, like can you swing past this place on your way to school pick up and here on the way back. Economise your time and actions and your list starts to become a bunch of small list bundles that can be taken care of in an hour or two each.
And then you have to take those actions. That list is never going to get smaller if you ignore all the things on it and drink wine while complaining to everyone who will listen to how busy you are. Oh wait, that’s not just me who does that right? It’s true.
You have to start to do the things on your list and not get distracted by other things. If you come across other things to do add them to a new list! If you forgot it in the first place, it’s not so urgent that it can’t wait until later. Probably. You are probably procrastinating.
I know because it takes one to know one. Overwhelm and Procrastination are BFF’s. You rarely see one without the other. Learn to recognise the signs and kick procrastination’s butt. Maybe you’ll even lessen your need to reduce the feeling of overwhelm when you do things as they arise. Suger… That means you. And of course, I mean you too.
Now tell me, are you doing okay? Do you have any questions about how to stop overwhelm?
One foot in front of the other, that’s what this post is about. How taking small steps towards your goals will change your life forever, starting now.
Ever been told to look for the silver lining? Look on the bright side, find the positive or be grateful for what you have? Yup. Me too. And I’ve said it myself, a million and one times. But the thing is that when you are being knocked on your ass time and time again, that’s easier said than done.
So how do you then start to take steps towards being positive when all you can feel is ick? I have a few thoughts on that. Some ideas that I’ve garnered from years of being told to cheer up and really, really, REALLY not wanting to.
First of all, you have to spend some time dropping your bundle. Times are tough, and the world is against you and in all seriousness you just need to have a good cry about it. Awesome. Do that. Decide that for an entire day you will be a fragile, sobbing mess if you feel like it. Relish and wallow in the injustice of it. Life sucks. Celebrate the suckiness of it.
My personal favourite way to do this is to watch heartbreaking, tear jerker movies one after another. I follow this up with a bit of eating of my feelings. General wallowing and loads of sighs. The thing to remember is that you don’t have to have it together all the time. You don’t have to be brave, strong or in charge all the time. Put your adult hat aside and carry on like a toddler for a while. I give you permission.
I’ll wait here while you schedule that time. Just me and my elevator music and weird humming.
Ready? When you’ve done that. When you’ve cried and wailed and sobbed and stamped your feet for long enough, then it’s time to take the next step. And you’ll know it’s time, you’ll feel it in your gut that enough is enough. Don’t have that feeling? Book another crying hour, or another day. But when you’re ready to move on, fully aware that life just kicked your bum, and it’s not fair, nothing is, and then it’s time.
Time to admit one thing to get yourself back on track. There are people, lots of them in most cases, who are having their bum kicked way worse than you are right now. And worse, they are probably happy about it. If you’re reading this email on your computer or device of whatever sort, with access to the internet, then you, my friend, are way ahead of the game. Your life, though complicated in whatever means it is, is a cake walk compared to some.
No buts, no ifs, no maybes. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is the only way I know how to tell you this. You are a lucky son of a bitch. You have more than some people ever dream of. And you need to brush yourself off, get up and try again. Because you can. Because you’re not dead yet. Because I’ve got your back, and I know that whatever is facing you right now is in front of you because you have the guts to handle it. No question.
Don’t make me call you warrior because I can and will do that.
You can do this because of all you have and all you are and who I know you to be. But Suger, you may say, you don’t know me, I’m a person of the internet that you’ve never met. But that’s where you’re wrong. I do know you. I AM YOU. You are my sister. My friends. My husband or the lady who works across the hall. I know you because all people are, the good ones anyway, the same. When you get right down to it, we are all the same. And we, my friend, are gutsy as hell.
Go on, take that first step. Then take the next one and the next one towards looking at things differently and then you tackle your life head on. Suckiness and all. Because you remember the good days, the happy times, the gifts you have right in front of you. You have always, always been taken care of and loved by whatever force out there you believe in.
Let’s talk about getting, having and keeping the things you want in life and about timing and things working out. About the times when you are trying hard and getting nowhere. Sometimes you can be pushing hard to get something you want, and it’s just not the time or the place for it to happen.
Trust me, I feel like the queen of butting my head against the wall. This is a subject close to my own heart. Take for example the first house we went to contract on late last year. I wanted that house. I was pushing hard to get that house. That house did not want me as its owner, silly thing, because nothing I tried, no advancement I made, was ever enough.
Right dream, wrong place and the wrong time.
So we went back to the market. We shopped around and viewed houses between town and the beach, big and small, old and new. Then we found the one. My one. The one we live in now. A fresh coat of paint, some small changes and it’s home. It’s easily my favourite house I’ve ever lived in, it’s perfect.
Right dream, right place and the right time.
And it went through the process smoothly. We were in the zone so to speak. You’ve heard of people speak about the zone before right? In the flow? Well, when I stopped forcing something so hard I found a place that was better. And if that isn’t a lesson in patience when it comes to getting what you want, I don’t know what is.
So take a look at the things that are going on for you right now. Is there something that may just be taking more energy and effort to keep afloat than it is worth? I’m not saying give up on something because it got hard. Not at all. Some of the best things you can get for yourself in life come about in those days after other people would have given up.
I’m talking about things that just don’t feel right. If things keep going wrong. If you find obstacle after obstacle in your way. If the things you are trying to do never seems to progress. Then you need to take stock. Maybe the timing isn’t right. Maybe you’re in the wrong place and time in your life.
Maybe you’re just pushing shit up hill.
And if that’s the case, if that’s exactly what is happening, you need to step back. Give your dream some space and stop holding on so tight. Maybe things will work out and maybe they won’t. But when you’ve been doing the same thing for so long and getting nowhere it’s time to change things up.
What I do in moments like this is talk it out with someone I trust. I either get clear why I want it so much and find another way, or I realise that the opportunity has slipped away from me and I hadn’t noticed. Sometimes, as the old saying goes, we can’t see the forest for the trees. Step back. Talk it out. Get a clear view.
And one day, if you keep pointing yourself in the right direction (forward is the right direction FYI) you will end up right where you wanted to be. And it’ll probably contain some effort, and you will have tried to quit many times but in the end when you get there, when life looks how you want it to look, you will be amazed.
Then, at that moment, we high-five! You and me. I’ll be waiting.
My niece, Arleigh loves the swing. The higher, the better and as the wind rushes through her hair she’ll shriek higher, higher! Then when maximum height had been achieved the swing would start to wobble. The good old speed wobbles. And as it shuddered and she held on tighter, she’d laugh and say “it’s a bit wobby”.
A bit wobby indeed kid.
It’s like that when you are out there living the life you love and something gives you a nudge, sets you off course. You find yourself off-balance, out of step… A bit wobby. So what then? How do you firm up your footing and move forward when facing challenges?
There have been some key points in my life where things got off track and I had to pull them back on. The most recent example of this is the changes to our house and the way we manage our businesses due to some epic level tax procrastination coming home to roost. We got a nudge, it almost shoved me over the edge if I’m honest, but we held firm, rode it out and have come out the other side better for it.
Believe me there was a lot of course correcting to do, new systems to put in place, new deadlines and goals. Bit by bit we developed our systems so that we were in a stronger position in the end. Ready and prepared to meet the same challenge the following year. Wobbles can be a bit like that, they show up when you’re on the fast track to something that if you’re honest, you may be a little unprepared to face.
Take some time to seek out expert opinions, grow your knowledge and learn something you didn’t know about your area of focus. If it’s business, then read a book on business, take an eCourse. Do something to increase your knowledge and expand the base where you can draw ideas from. Expand yourself, a wobble is a perfect time to grow and use that growth to steady yourself.
Talk about your problems and see what solutions people come up with. The old adage holds true, ask and you shall receive. I like to tell people about my stuff ups regularly, you’d be surprised how efficiently this provides me with the answer to correcting my gaff. It’s held true for me my entire life that when I got over myself enough to stop be embarrassed for not being perfect and ask for help, that I always receive the guidance I need. You will too.
Sometimes these challenges, the wobbly times, are the final hurdle before you get what you want.
How do you tell the difference between when it’s time to learn and when it’s time to hold tight and wait it out? The way I do it is I do a bit of a check-in. Have I done all I know to do, am I on the path I want to be on, and would someone else agree there is nothing more to be done?
If everything looks good then you are just like Arleigh on the swing. You are breaking through and the wobbles are just the final shake down to see if you’re ready. If you are, you hold tight and wait to break through.
Sounds good, right? Yeeeeesss, winning.
I know, I know, I’m the last person in the world to be using the phrase winning. Hashtag winning would be worse, though. But it is. When you get the wobbles, some people quit. They throw in the towel and walk away. It’s nice to know that it doesn’t always have to be the case. There’s always something you can be doing even when it feels like the foundation you have built your dreams on is shaky.
So get out there team, tackle the wobbly times head on and watch your life expand like you wouldn’t believe. And if all else fails next time you hit a wobbly patch, just hear my voice in your head saying, it’s a bit wobbly. I’ve got your back.
Inspired to do a mid-year goals review by a post I read on getting back on track on Best Kept Self (shared by Pierced Wonderings here) I started taking stock of life as it stands now versus where I had hoped to be. How was I travelling for the mid-point of 2015? Was I on track to do what I wanted to do and what was there to be signed off as completely not interested anymore. All that stuff. So I got to work.
Then I made a worksheet for making the goals review easier.
Then I thought I bet you lot wouldn’t mind getting your hands on this information too.
So here we are talking about how we take a look at those goals we want to achieve at this annual mid-point (give or take a month, meh) and make sure we are on the path to achieving what we want for ourselves? Let’s take a look (free printable below, hint hint).
How to conduct a mid-year goals review;
What were those goals again?
For some of us that meant going to the dank dark corners of your life to dig them up. First of all, tut-tut. You should know by now that your goals need to live somewhere that you can refer to them often. Put them on the fridge, your bedside table or on your bathroom mirror. Now that that is out-of-the-way, review your goals for this year and assess your progress.
Mark off completed and dump goal items
Now that you’ve taken the time to review your goals tick off goals that are completed. Make sure you give yourself a pat on the back. Transfer them to the continuing goals so that you have them there at the end of the year to celebrate. Put a big fat tick next to them right now.
But what do you do with those goals that no longer appeal to you at all? Say at the start of the year you were desperate to learn to fire twirl and now your inner hippy has fed. Either remove it from the list or replace it with something similar. Learn to make clay pots, how to hang glide or something like that. You are assessing your goals at this stage, there’s no point leaving it there if it is no longer important to you. Remove or replace the goals as necessary and put the continuing goals into the appropriate box.
Reassess goals and set up a structure to succeed.
Depending on how progress has been for you. Some of you might be super excited at what a kick butt year you’ve had. Well done you, I hope you’ve added some more things to achieve for the rest of the year. While others may be feeling a little worse for wear after achieving little to nothing on your list so far. Never fear, the post that inspired this blog is perfect for dusting yourself off and starting again. Read it and then come back.
Moving forward to make sure you achieve what you are setting out to achieve you are going to write down some actions you can take weekly and monthly to get there. I’ve called them checkpoints in the fancied up document. Write your weekly or monthly checkpoints down and review them often.
The way you do that simple, are there steps you can take every day (week or month) to make sure you are going to get there? Those are your checkpoints. Be specific, don’t say work out every day if your aim is to run a marathon at the end of the year. Write out your training schedule for the week, have a plan to get you there and really expand on the checkpoints. Want to learn something new? Your first checkpoint might be to find a teacher or book a class. Specific is the key.
I hope that this post will get you on your way to reviewing your year so far and your goals in particular. You can do it with notebooks or on your computer. Whatever works for you. But to help you along, as I might have mentioned once or twice, I took my notes and made them into a simple but fancy helper goals review worksheet document. Happy goals resetting team!
Once on this blog I had a series called “Suger’s Rules” and the best of these was Suger’s Rules for Living*. It was a laugh and a short and sweet post about things I know to be true. Rules for living. It has certainly been a while since I’d shared anything like that, my rules for life. But then this happened…
You might as well jump I said in reply to an Instagram comment.
As I did I nodded and thought how much I keep that short and sweet saying in mind in life. The more I thought about it, the more I realised I have five simple but effective rules for living well. Quotes or ideas to live by. Some serious, some not so serious, but all remind me of the life I want to live. And in that way they have become a mantra for me. So I’m sharing them with you, in case you need them. Enjoy.
Few people my age will have missed seeing Empire Records. If you did miss it, you probably don’t know one of the key lines in the movie ‘damn the man’ and the impact it had on movie goers everywhere. For me it has been my go-to motto for when I don’t feel I’m being treated fairly, or someone is holding me back, I draw on it. Sometimes calling upon a bit of angry doesn’t hurt, it’s motivational and inspiring. Damn the man indeed.
I think the full saying is life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself. It’s the final piece that I love most. My life is my creation; no one else can impact my life for long. I have control, and I feel like this stands beside me and nods its head. Yes, you do lady, you’ve got this. It also reminds me in hard times that I only have me to count on to change things. I dare you not to be inspired by that. It always works for me. You know, after I’m done having a whinge.
The line that started this whole post, the Instagram comment. You might as well jump. It’s along the lines of do you ask for permission or ask for forgiveness line of thinking. For me, it’s about getting things done before I know how they will, about a little bit of faith and about leaping off the edge into the unknown. It’s all those things. Next time something happens and you have to choose whether to go ahead or stay behind, I wonder now if you’ll hear me say ‘meh, you might as well jump’ with a shrug of my shoulders.
Apart from the obvious, that you are NEVER too old for a Disney movie, this mantra for me is about me being inspired. As an adult, I started to shut down the part of me that wanted things. The dreamer in me, the whimsical and often silly side. The dreamer who loved to lay in the grass and stare at the sun. Which could explain my eye sight issues… That side of us can get lost. This is a reminder to me to just be a kid sometimes. To play, be silly, dream, laugh and sing.
An oldie but a goodie this one is for the overactive but often under productive part of my brain that likes to complicate things. Thinking too much, planning too much and always in intricate ways that made achieving what I wanted conditional upon a lot of things going right. So for me, keep it simple is about getting it done in the simplest, most direct manner and seeing what shows up on the other side.
So there they are my five rules for life. Simple but effective and especially good as I draw on them more and more. It’s easy to lose focus when you are setting about living a big exciting life. You need something to remind you what you want for yourself. Something to keep you present when you start to stray off the focus path. Words to live by, can’t beat that. Do you have a motto you live by? I’d love to hear it.
* If you’re interested in the other Suger’s Rules, just search Suger’s Rules in the search box on the blog and they will all show up. I checked. Let’s all have a chuckled at how funny I think I am, shall we. Haha.
