New Year, New Possibilities

I both love and loathe this time of year. As a hardcore ESTJ, I do adore all the planning and possibility inherent in the this beginning (also, like many, in the late summer/early fall of the academic calendar). However, as someone who has NO patience, all the planning bums me out because I want those projects to be completed immediately!

My daily planning sheet

This past fall was difficult for me: with all the transitioning going on I lost a lot of my daily and weekly routines and constantly felt behind on everything. I was stressed a lot more than usual, snapped at my family, and basically quit exercising. So the big thing I'm working on right now is getting my 50,000'-20,000'-descent views (otherwise known as monthly-weekly-daily) in good working order and INTO THE DAYPLANNER.

One of the "Getting Things Done" info posts I ran across said: "If it's on your mind, it's not in the right place." I chuckled because it's true. You can't do the higher order, longer term, strategic thinking necessary to get ahead in [insert your particular dream or field here] if your brain is constantly cycling through how dirty the house is or did you do enough research for the paper or have you followed up with your donors lately. This is where the written-in-some-form, time-bound routines come in. Even for those of you who may not like routines, who like to flow with the wind in your daily life, making some sort of plan for your time will help you achieve your goals.

I am not one to say "my way is the best and you should do it, too." Friends have looked at my dayplanner before and literally shuddered at the overload. But it works for me. Find what works for you.

A small phrase I'm carrying through 2014: Carpe Diem! Seize the Day. Trust the Universe and make things happen.

How do you organize your day? What are your big and little goals for 2014?

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