2011
time management
Plan a Productive Year
by Natalie Gahrmann
A
new year is an opportunity for a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning, a rebirth, or a transformation. It’s a chance to review life, affirm your values, and outline your course of action for the year ahead. If you are hoping to make 2011 easier on you and your family, one of the key secrets to create an easier life as a working parent is to clean up your 'messes' and then design a personal practice or system that doesn't permit them to recur. Things in your life that are unresolved, unfinished or left hanging are referred to as an incompletion. Incompletions are those
’s New Yeaorns: ti lu so e R ebt
of D bGet out cise er x E b
physical, emotional or mental items that are in some way unresolved in the current moment. They can be about an issue in a relationship, unpaid bills or fines, unmanaged health problems, commitments you didn't honor, work issues, things like clutter in your physical environment, or, even, your own personal level of stress or uncertainty. Left unresolved, an incompletion of any kind drain your energy. Your life will simply be easier and flow better when it is intact and you feel whole. Start the year by reviewing 2010 and looking at yourself objectively. Begin by evaluating where are in your life, where you want to make changes and where you have unfinished business. List all the challenges you endured, the joys you shared, the goals you accom-
6
“...one of the key secrets
to create an easier life as a working parent is to clean
up your 'messes' and then design a personal practice or system that doesn't
permit them to recur.” plished, the people who made a difference in your life, the mistakes you’ve made, and what you intended to accomplish but did not. The following questions will allow you to take inventory in some important areas of your life. It's important to be honest with yourself and explore what's going on in your life, what's up, what's in progress, what might be stuck, or what just isn't working. It's also important during this process to detach your critical judgment of yourself and to look at your life with a new perspective. The better you are at defining your current reality, the easier it will be to gain clarity about what needs to be done, created or accomplished in your life. 1. What excited and stretched you in 2010? What are you most grateful for? 2. What have you learned this past year? What can you continue building upon in the year ahead? 3. Where has your life felt in balance? Where has your life felt out of balance? 4. How many events have you missed in your children's life because of work commitments? 5. How many days have you taken off work for your own illness or obligations? Or, to care for others? 6. What recurring patterns or behaviors do you see in your life? Which are working? Which are not? 7. What stresses have your experienced in your life? How have you handled these stresses? How can you handle them for effectively?
PM Magazine | Feb 2011 | www.pmmag-socal.com
8. What do you want more of in your life? What do you want less of in your life? 9. What do you most want to accomplish next year?
10. What goals do you want to achieve short-term and long-term financially, mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually? These questions are meant to bring clarity to specific work and life areas; it is not intended you use them to beat yourself up. If you’re not happy with some of your answers, begin getting clear on actions you can take to raise your level of satisfaction. Review, summarize and prioritize your answers to these questions and decide what you’d like to add, change, or eliminate from your life. Seek out help from a professional coach, rabbi, priest, therapist, friend, work colleague or trusted partner, if necessary. You can make changes when you become astutely aware of where those changes need to be made. The first step to living the life you want is to honestly evaluate where you are so that you can consciously design your life to work for you! PM
About The Author
Natalie Gahrmann is an internationally certified professional coach and leadership development expert who works with organizations to underscore the causes of stress and productivity issues and teach their employees how to better self-manage their burgeoning workload – in all aspects of their lives. She delights in helping entrepreneurs, executives, and SuperBusySM Parents balance their work and personal life, achieve better results, and create more fulfillment and congruency in their life. She is the author of the award winning, Succeeding as a Super Busy Parent and Tools for Creating Success, Fulfillment and Balance in your Work, Family and Personal Life. Natalie has helped thousands of people through individual & group coaching, workshops & keynote presentations, on-line advice, a monthly column in Moms Business Magazine, and her free e-newsletter. To learn more about how coaching can help you or to arrange an introductory coaching session, contact natalie@theprioritypro.com. To subscribe to free bi-weekly e-newsletter, visit online at www.theprioritypro.com.