Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: StephenPSmith.com
Whakate has a Life Design E-Book available as a free download for a limited time:
Getting Started with Life Design E-Book
Are you fed up with the pep-talks and supposedly life-changing quick-fixes that never seem to last more than 48 hours? Whakate presents its new e-book that will show you how to get more productive and organized with a compilation of life design methods that actually work in the long term.
If you want to get started with designing your life, this book is for you!
I will read this e-book over the weekend, and report back with a review. I recommend that you go over and download it now, as I do not know how long it will be free.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/7u2qta. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
At long last the e-book is ready! I have compiled all of the posts and worksheets from one of my most popular series into one download.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People E-book
If you are looking to get more information on how to implement the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in a Getting Things Done-style system you are in the right place. Over the course of the next few pages you will encounter lessons in personal change that can transform your life.
Because this is not exactly a simple concept to implement, I have created a set of 7 lessons that will guide you through the stages of implementation over the next 7 weeks. This should give you a chance to focus on each new habit in your life for one full week before implementing the next one. Some of the lessons are supplemented by a follow-up worksheet that I have created to help you start implementing the new habit.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/7wgj24. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
My friend Marina Martin [ Sufficient Thrust ] has a terrific resource for setting New Year’s Resolutions that you should take a look at. I used this little booklet last year and it made an amazing difference in my effectiveness, in fact I accomplished all but two of my goals!
In my work here as a Productivity evangelist I have tried, experimented with, and discarded a ton of applications, methods, and practices for setting goals and getting them done. This one works. Martin says:
I’m the very definition of a Type-A personality and have worked as an efficiency consultant for years, so making lists and plans is second nature to me. Something I’ve come to believe strongly is that Type-A personalities perform best when we have specific action steps, as opposed to paragraphs of theory. The blogosphere is certainly full of posts about resolutions, but I couldn’t find anything that satisfied my craving for step-by-step success — so I made it myself! I use this exact same process myself whenever I have a goal to achieve, with great results, and I’m excited that others have benefited from it too.
Since I am such a laid-back, relaxed person this type of system appealed to me. How does this resolution-defining system work?
The Perfect New Year’s Resolution
The #1 reason why people don’t achieve their resolutions is because their resolutions weren’t really resolutions at all.
It’s no secret around here that I’m big on goal-setting. However, New Year’s Resolutions are a very specific kind of goal.
A New Year’s Resolution has to meet the following criteria:
* It must be achievable by 11:59pm on December 31 of that calendar year.
* It must be measurable AND specific. In other words, a complete stranger should easily be able to objectively determine whether or not you’ve achieved it.
* It should positively impact your life, if only indirectly.
* A process of events should be required in order to achieve it. “Visit Kenya” doesn’t count if you normally travel and it’s within your financial means and comfort zone. It would count, however, if you had to come up with some way of financing the trip, or if you moved there for a month, or if you were having an existential crisis about hippos and were going there to confront your fears.
Martin recommends creating 4-6 specific, actionable goals for the new year, and provides a resource for breaking those goals down into action steps. For example:
A lousy Resolution: “Lose weight”
A better one: “Lose 20lbs”
A really good example: “Weigh 134lbs naked on the morning of December 31″
And simply awesome: “Run three miles without stopping wearing XXS Aerie sweatpants”
The awesome version of this resolution not only incorporates two common goals — losing weight and exercising more — into one, but it also focuses on one of the real reasons we want to lose weight: to fit into a smaller clothing size. It doesn’t matter what number the scale shows if your pants won’t fit!
For more help in keeping up your motivation and getting some accountability, you may want to get involved with Leo Babauta’s new 30 Day Challenge forum.
If you need even more help, or just want to discuss how to make 2009 your best year yet, feel free to drop me a line: Contact Stephen.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/8syo2y. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
Ever since I started my Getting Things Done practice 2 years ago, I have struggled with my system of reviews. Primarily due to my ADD, but also because of the many, many changes and transitions that my household has undergone in that time.
Since the Lovely Bride and I were married in March of 2005 we have moved 4 times, lived in 3 different states, and had 11 different jobs (combined). That is a LOT of change and those of you who know me personally know that I can have trouble adapting to change.
Since we are once again in the middle of an enormous transition I have taken the opportunity to get a head start on my Annual Review. It turns out that in spite of (or perhaps because of) the challenges 2008 was a pretty darned good year.
Our marriage is strong. The Lovely Bride and I have faced some serious challenges, at home and with her career, but we have remained strong, positive, and pro-active about making things happen.
We are ahead of the curve. With the economy in the state that it is, we were able to look forward and make some choices and take actions to stay out of the worst of the troubles:
Beating the Christmas rush - we started buying presents in March, and were able to finish in October. All of our gifts for family and friends were wrapped, packed, and shipped by the first week of November. What an amazing feeling to have all of that done during this week of Christmas! Buying gifts this way allowed us to avoid a massive hit to the budget during a fairly lean period, as well as providing the opportunity to find things in our travels that would be personal and special for the recipient.
Living with less - both of us have a tendency to hoard “stuff”, and we have been moving boxes of junk from place to place for 3 years. This fall we decided that boxes that have not been unpacked in two years are likely to contain things that we do not need. We did a massive sort-and-purge, donating a ton of clothes, books, and small appliances to charity.
Creating alternate income streams - both of us have worked in the hospitality industry for most of our careers and a down economy hits that segment hard. We have been creating products and services that we can sell online, and in October I took the leap and went to work for myself.
I started my own business. And business is pretty good! The main site is called Business Development in Context and I have been writing about Social Media, Blogging, and Networking for success. I have found a handful of clients, and some clients have found me. I am not making a fortune (yet) but it is paying the bills and financing our adventure. The funny thing is, I work as many or more hours than I did when I had a “real job” yet it is so much more rewarding, fulfilling, and enjoyable. I should have done this years ago!!
I accomplished nearly all of my goals for the year. In January of 2008 I sat down with a workbook on goal-setting and laid out a plan for achieving some goals over the course of the year. (In no particular order)
I lost 25 pounds and kept it off.
I started a new blog for business purposes, and it is growing.
I attending the SOBCon conference in Chicago and learned a LOT about this business of blogging.
I paid off one of the credit cards.
I purchased a new laptop computer.
I took a job as a paid writer online.
I joined a Chamber of Commerce and got involved with the local business community.
I spent at least one full day each week with the Lovely Bride doing something fun and building our relationship.
Use a more positive vocabulary -My Lovely Bride asked me to add this point as her contribution. I have always been a very optimistic person, but since we have been married my wife says that learning to use a positive outlook rather than a negative one creates a much different framework for approaching a problem.
Now it is your turn. How was 2008 for you? What did you learn, achieve, or accomplish? Be sure to share in the Comments. Later in the week we will look at setting some achievable SMART goals for 2009.
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/957gqy. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen
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January 16th, 2009 by StephenIf you want to get started with designing your life, this book is for you!
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