Preparation is essential

Do not start your day without planning it in some detail first. Never start your week without a broad outline of what is in store for you, and if you can - jot down those essential items that you HAVE to do during the next month into your planner as well.

Without this kind of preparation you will find yourself getting to next Friday wondering where on earth the time has gone to. I can't believe it is now April. One quarter of the year already finished. If you had planned your first couple of months in some detail you would be in doubt as to where you currently stand with your goal achievement. But chances are going to be better than good that if you hadn't planned your days, weeks and months in advance - you will be wondering how you are going to cram everything you said you wanted to do in 2007 in the 8 months that are left.

A few days ago I mentioned that i was planning on running the city to surf in August this year. Today the children and I walked the course. We parked the car in the city centre, and walked the entire course - all 12 km's of it. If you want to know how it went - you will need to read today's entry - http://www.motivateme.info/through-the-barrier/2007/4/9/insanity-has-its-rewards.html. Then walked part of the road back - because most of the damn buses weren't running on the bank hollidays!!

Now I can plan the rest of my training based on this new information. But without having planned to orient myself, without the preparation that went with it, without the thought that it would be a fun day out (as I said to my kids - never say I don't take you anywhere !!) we wouldn't have done it. It would have been "too hard", and like most things we think of as too hard we just don't start, and because we don't start we don't have to finish anything either.

So - today is Easter Monday - you have a few hours left before you go back to work tomorrow, even more time if you are at school and have a couple of weeks off. Get out your planner, your goal lists and start blocking in assignments, due dates, project plans, big goals and end dates. Then work backwards until today - what can you do today to take you one step closer to reaching that goal? Then do it. Don't wait until tomorrow, after all who are you deceiving except yourself.

Best wishes
Elle

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