Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great transition and that you’re  sticking to your resolutions! HUH? yep those things that we get all worked up about but seem to fizzle out after a short while, some in days others weeks or months. Was ‘getting organized’ one your resolutions, maybe in just one part of your life? Perhaps just your office or your time management or certain rooms in your house.

It’s certainly the prime time of year for this kind of big sorting and organzing to happen or get started. Where the problem often lies is in the planning that precedes it or more to the point doesn’t precede it and hence ultimate failure. Planning is of course a type of organising in itself and it that isn’t our strong point then you run into trouble right from the get go.

One of the most common ways to do so is to make lists. Now for the less linear oriented thinkers mindmaps are the perfect alternative where it looks more like a drawing with things grouped together in related bunches on the page. Whatever works best  for you, don’t just slavishly follow a recommended techniques if it doesn’t jag with you.

You could start by just doing a list of everything you can think of at the moment that you need to do or get done or want to do this year. These can be anything from ballroom dancing lessons to patching the hole in the kitchen ceiling. As a way of prompting your memory take a wander around your house and list things to be done in each room. Next you can then break the list up into various categories that make sense to you.

Such things as Self/Personal, House, Family, Finances and so forth. Next prioritise each task in each list from most important to least important. Finally go through each task a look into what’s required to make that goal happen – if it’s to patch the ceiling then step 1 might be to ringing a number of repairmen to come out and quote etc.

Now you have a to do list that has some very logical and sequential steps in it for you to follow in order to achieve your goals.

Next time; How to put this list into your weekly schedule.

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