Goal setting

Goal setting – 8 more weeks till 2016

DP World 2014Looking at the calendar, there are only 8 more weeks left in this year and it’s scary how many weekends are already blocked for various fun activities. Next weekend, one of my oldest friends is flying in from London and I can’t wait to spend time with her in person. Later this month, I’m thrilled to marshal at the DP World Tour Championship and there’s also a trip to Hong Kong booked.

As you know from previous posts, time is precious and I appreciate my “me time”. Simultaneously, I enjoy being active and I’ve started a list of things for the remainder of this year. Amongst them are these 3 activities:

  1. Visit the falcon hospital in Abu Dhabi
  2. Prepare for an 8k in mid-December
  3. Become PMI qualified by 31 December

Have you set any goals for the next 8 weeks?

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Hope is not a financial strategy

In a few days, I’m going to my home town and I cannot wait to see friends and family again. It will be fabulous to sleep in a bit and catch up with them. Despite my best efforts, I will also look after tedious banking affairs. “Hope is not a financial strategy”, as Suze Orman once fittingly said.

Your strategy may be adjusted over the years, reflecting your age, family and job circumstances. When you’re in your 20s, retirement may be far away and you may focus on paying off any student debt. Forward 30 years and planning for your retirement may have become your top financial priority.

What do you want to achieve in life? Or what do you want to get out of life? For some, it’s saving enough that they’ve achieved financial freedom. Others may want to make enough money to travel to foreign places. For others, it may be providing private education for their children. I realise that this is probably one of the hardest questions you’ll ever ask yourself. By defining (in writing) what you’re looking for, you’ll gain clarity.

One you know where you’re heading, ask yourself:

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What are your dreams and goals?

It’s now mid-May and many New Year’s Resolutions are out of the window. For me, I’ve used the end of the year as an overview for achievements and looked at my goals for the New Year and the next year’s ahead. Rather than a mainly short-term change, I’m nowadays focusing on far reaching and long-term changes helping me to live the life I’m dreaming of.

When determining your goals, you automatically look at your dreams. But what do you want? Have you sat down and thought about your vision for your future? Defining your vision and setting goals gives you a long-term view as well as short-term motivation and actions. It’s been proven that writing goals down will increase your achievements, yet, only 3% currently have their goals documented in writing.

Thinking of your home and office, use these questions to set your goals:

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Planning your Workday

I recently listened to a TED talk about creativity and one particular sentence stuck with me: “Write what you know about.” Well, I know how to be and stay organised. My colleagues are jokingly saying it’s in my genes. I’m German after all.

It makes me laugh. I wished it was that easy to explain. In this blog, I’ll share some of my own struggles (yes, there are times when my dining table has papers laying all over it) and also provide tips and trick which will help you have an organised life and mind.

At work, I’ve often been told I’ve high expectations or I’m trying to be perfect. Now, anyone who knows me also knows that I’m by no means a perfectionist. The high standards, maybe, I like a job to be done well and yes, I expect a certain level, fair enough. However, I’ve also learnt that I’ve only so much time in the day and at some stage, it’s good enough.

Clutter in spiritual surroundingsMany of you may be in a similar situation that you’re working with limited resources. My corporate job covers 3 continents and it’s exhausting, no matter how rewarding working with all these different cultures is. My team has gone through redundancies last year and I’m very grateful for still having my job. However, it means there’re fewer resources available and I don’t even need to ask about getting an admin helping me with filing, preparing presentations or setting up training sessions. It forces me to work more effectively and more focused. After all, I’m not living to work. I love my social life too much to become a corporate workaholic. It’s not always been easy to delegate or push back, yet, I’ve learnt:

  • Good enough is good enough and it will be okay and accepted.
  • Prioritise your weekly goals according to importance, urgency and deadlines. Then break them down into smaller to-do action items.
  • Block time in your calendar to simply work. If you are a morning lark or a night owl, use your most productive time for your most challenging and thinking tasks. Don’t forget to turn off your phone and email during this time!
  • Don’t plan 100% of your work day. There will be unexpected emergencies or last minute meetings.

How are you going to schedule your week now?

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first entry of my blog where I’ll share my strategies and insights to freeing yourself from physical and mental clutter in your business, home and mind. Let’s start creating an exclusively organised and structured business, home and life shaped around your unique requirements. Make sure you don’t miss my upcoming blog post where I’ll introduce to you SYSTEM: saving you space, time, energy, money.

Until next time,

Agni