alling Behind? It’s a fact of life! But, when you fall behind in your goals you feel awful! Sometimes it can be overwhelming too! Especially when you are trying to balance career and family and everything piles on your shoulders. Don’t panic! Set yourself free!
That’s how I felt when I realized my tasks were piling up and I was going to miss some of my commitments if I didn’t do something fast! Then I followed these…
Nine Easy Ways to Refocus When You Fall Behind in Your Goals
- Acknowledge the problem. First of all, acknowledge the problem. It’s already a fact you are behind, it happens! Don’t take it personally, you are not a bad person for being behind you are just, well, behind!
- Forgive yourself. That’s right; forgive yourself for falling behind in your goals! It is most effective when you use an affirmation statement; you can say, “Even though I have fallen behind in my goals, I take full responsibility and I accept myself for who I am.” Now take a big breath, don’t you feel better already?
- Be thankful. When we are under stress we tend to focus on the negative things. Instead, be thankful for all of the good things you have, especially your ability to recognize you have a problem and deal with it logically! If you have a gratitude list now would be a good time to read it aloud. This really helps me focus on what’s really important!
- Take Inventory. Take a long hard look at all of your commitments. List them out on a sheet of paper. Make note of who is affected, the due date. Be sure to consider others who be affected indirectly. While you’re writing your list you should…
- Prioritize.
- Number each task according to urgency and due date
- Compare each task against your “why.” Is this task critical in supporting your goal as an employee or business owner, both personal and professional?
- Then you ask yourself; “Should I be doing this task?”
- Notify those impacted. If others are affected, tell them the minute you know you are going to be late. Negotiate a new deadline if possible. Apologize first, don’t make excuses and tell them what your action plan is.
- Delegate. Divide your task into smaller tasks and delegate. You will probably say it would take longer than to just do it myself. I understand the feeling. Delegate the low priority tasks or don’t do them at all!
- Make Adjustments. You may need to adjust your time schedule, skip TV, work late, get up early or even adjust the scope of the work to be done.
- Take Action. There is no such thing as a multi-tasking! It is really task switching! Go to work right away on the most important task, and work until it is completed if possible. Switching between tasks does not speed things up, it has the reverse effect. It takes much longer to task switch than it does to focus on one task at a time.
- BONUS: Once you get caught up you need to evaluate what got you behind in the first place. Maybe it was by making unreasonable commitments, taking on too much responsibility, poor planning or not allowing enough time for things to go wrong.
I hope you see now that it IS possible to fall behind in your goals, keep a cool head and refocus your effort without losing your mind in the process! Next time you fall behind (and you will!) consider using some of these tips to get back on track.
How do you handle the pressure when you fall behind in your goals? How do you get focused? Drop a comment and let me know what you do to refocus.
Drop Caps courtesy of Jessica Hische at Daily Drop Cap
Suggested reading from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge
How To Make $100 A Day Ð The Infopreneur Way
There are many different ways information marketers make a lot of money. Here are some plans to earn $100 a day – the infopreneur way.
http://internetinfopreneur.com/blog/how-to-make-100-a-day-the-infopreneur-way/
What Do You Do When You Are In A Bad Mood?
In a bad mood? What do you do when that happens. Deal with it and find a way to cope with it. Each of us have our own way to do that.
http://www.freecomputerclassroom.com/what-do-you-do-when-you-are-in-a-bad-mood/
NLP 101: 500 channels – all on at once
A little imagery to bring home the difference between
communicating incongruently and communicating congruently — and why
you want congruence (hint: it’s the good feelings!).
http://nlpmonthly.com/nlp-training/nlp-101-500-channels-all-on-at-once/