Use a planning calendar! Personally, I use the old-fashioned planner in a binder. I like having a planner that I can carry with me and incorporate my work schedule and personal schedule all in one place. That’s just me.
Maybe you use a computer or electronic personal planner of some sort…that’s fine! Use what works best for you.

Now, choose a time at the beginning of each week to do your weekly review and planning. I like to do this Sunday evening so I’m all ready for the week on Monday morning.

You’re going to do two important things each week during this time.

1. Review what you accomplished each day the previous week. This will identify tasks you meant to complete but didn’t, but it will also give you a great sense of accomplishment from reviewing the tasks you DID complete! Now you know where you’re at and you’re ready for the next task.

2. Next, identify the important tasks you need to complete during the coming week. Write them down! (You’ll want to review them next week!) Now, plan what tasks you will do each day for the next week and write them into the planner as planned actions for each day. Plan the tasks to fit the amount of time you have scheduled for each day so you can complete them as you go through the week.

How do you feel now? You should feel great!

You’re now ready for another week of accomplishment that will take you further down the road to achieving your goal. Once you’ve followed this routine for a few weeks you’ll be amazed at how much you’re getting done!

Let’s assume you need to work on your goal 16 hours a week. Now, take a careful look at how you’ve been using your time each day. You are going to find those 16 hours a week somewhere in your daily life!

The time you can use each day may vary because of things you’re already committed to. So, begin by identifying which parts of each day you can reassign to your goal plan. Remember, your target is 16 hours a week. Staying with your plan will probably be easier if you spread the hours throughout the week instead of trying to find two or three big chunks of time.

Another valuable part of assigning your time this way is that you’re designing a plan that you can follow week after week after week…well, you get the idea! Soon, you’ll have a new routine and you’ll be putting the effort into your goal in your new, “normal”, way of living.

Remember, be sure to keep time in your plan for your family and others who are part of your life. You’re coming up with a new routine, but you still need to maintain a balance of the things that are important in your life!

I’ll bet the plan you put in place will require that you actually spend time doing things that will achieve your goal. I’ll also bet that you’re already using every bit of your time ever day doing something else.

You have not been putting any time in the bank…so you don’t have any saved up that you can now go withdraw and use it to achieve your goal!

You’re going to need to do some time management. You’re probably also going to have to give up something you’ve been doing so you can use that time to pursue your goal. For many of us, that would mean we spend less time watching television or something else we’ve been doing for relaxation.

If you have a family, your “goal-achievement” time could well impact the amount of time you spend with them. You absolutely must talk to them about it, if you haven’t already done so. Once they understand that their life will be better when you reach your goal (and you’ll want them to see what that improvement will be), they can be your strongest support group when struggles come.

Over the next few days I’ll be looking at a few things you can do to help manage your time to increase th odds of reaching your goal. Stop by often or subscribe to find out what I’m thinking about…and let me know what you think by adding your comments!

Take another look…see that banner right under our normal banner of pictures? Yeah, that “gear-head guy”!

He’s there to tell you about a great site I’ve found called Think Right Now!

Why would I do that? Because I’ve found a possible answer for all of us who try so hard to reach our goals but still seem to block our own path…without knowing why!

Come on, you know what I mean, we have a goal, great intentions, a solid plan we know works…and somehow we just never execute the plan or we shoot it in the foot some way. It’s like there’s some invisible barrier between ourself and success.

That’s why I want you to check out Think Right Now. I’m not going to try to explain it…it’s obvious to me that Mike Brescia, the President of Think Right Now Int’l knows a lot more about this than I do.

By the way, when you take the link you’ll find out that you can sign up for a free newsletter to learn more as you go along. I signed up for it…does that tell you something?

Another time to reflect and consider how your plan is progressing is when you’ve hit a stumbling block. We all do that from time to time and it really is an important time for careful evaluation.

As you look at the obstacle in front of you, try to figure out where it came from and why you might not have seen it before you tripped over it. Did you make a mistake of some sort? Possibly, but sometimes life has a way of throwing us curves. Take a little time to do a careful evaluation.

If you have strayed off-course and found this boulder that way, this is the time to determine that.  If you’ve lost sight of your values, you may have found this problem as a result of that.  Reassess now and get back on track.  Don’t forget your key value of integrity and realize that your integrity is a very important thing as you pursue success.

Finally, use this reflection time to re-evaluate your goals.  Have your goals changed a bit since you wrote them down?

Here’s an example. Let’s assume you have set a goal to pursue your online doctoral degree and defend your thesis within 3 years of starting your program.  If you were single when you started your program and got married during your education, you might find that your timeline is less important now than it was 2 years ago.  You might find that if you take an extra year to defend your thesis, you’ll have a richer, more productive document to defend because your spouse may be able to help you consider things you hadn’t seen before.

You may also find that taking the extra time will allow more time for you to spend with your spouse…bring more happiness into your marriage. And, when your set your doctoral goal you didn’t even have a goal to have happiness in your marriage!

So, use obstacles and road blocks as learning experiences. If you do, they will strengthen your goal achievement process.

One way you can determine how you’re doing and where you’ve been is to journal. Personally, I’m not a journaler, nor do I think everyone needs to be.  But journaling is a great way to track your progress.

If you feel intimidated by a blank book that’s sold as a “journal,” blog it.  Blogging is a good way to put your thoughts down and out there in cyberspace. It can also be a good accountability tool.

Another possible way to keep a journal is to use an audio method. How do you do that? Simply speak into a tape or digital recorder.  You could also do audio journaling on your computer and build an ongoing file of your audio accounts.

If, like me, you’re not a journaler, keep track of your progress and setbacks in the form of check-marks on your activity list or some other recording-method.

I like to reassess my plan after achieving some part of my goal. There is usually a natural denouement that comes with an accomplishment—a little bit of “time off,” as it were.  I use that time to consider what I’ve finished and how it fits in to my goals and success.

Regardless of how you assess and consider your goals and your path to success, it’s important that you do.  Every plan needs tweaking along the way, and that also applies to the goals we set for ourselves.

In my ebook, 7 Steps to Launch Your Goals, I give more tips and tools about how some sort of journaling will keep you on track to your goals…you might want to take the link and check out what I’ve suggested there!

Listen to something the evangelical speaker Joyce Meyer says, “If you’re afraid to do it, just do it AFRAID.”  Being  fearful can’t stop you from achieving your goal…unless you let that fear immobilize you. So, no matter what it takes, keep moving.

But how? Here are a few suggestions.

First, where did the fear come from?  Are you dwelling on the difficulties instead of the opportunities?  Have you been listening to the cynics and pessimists, instead of encouraging yourself with positive words and people?  If so, move on! Get away from the people and situations that drag you down.

Second, look at your list of actions you have already accomplished as you are working toward your goal. Let your accomplishments empower you to move on and leave the fear behind.

Third, take stock of your talents and skills.  Fear often tells us that we don’t have what it takes.  Show fear to be the liar it is. List your skills and your positive attributes.  Now notice how small the problem is compared with your abilities!

Finally, always remember what the word fear stands for: False Evidence Appearing Real. That’s what fear really is. It’s an unrealistic look at something that’s trying to make you believe it’s real.

So, go ahead. Take action. Remember, action overcomes fear! And, ACTION will take you to your goals.

So, my life has prepared me to write these posts. Guess what?

That just brought me to the last topic of this series!

The most important confidence tip you can give yourself is preparation. Continuous preparation brings you closer to “perfect.” When your realize that you are getting closer, you gain confidence.

Have you ever watched an athlete playing effortlessly? Maybe you enjoy watching stars performing live on stage. How do these athletes or actors give such flawless performances?

They have worked HARD to be ready for their moment! They probably have worked YEARS! And, when they (or their mentors) found flaws…they worked even harder to eliminate them!

Preparation brings you closer and closer to perfection.  You must continue to develop your skills to achieve perfection…or aproach it!

As you continue to develop your skills you will automatically gain confidence!

And, if you remember the beginning of this series, confidence is an essential factor in your success.

An success is simply achieving your goals!

But, what is confidence?

Try to understand that confidence is just a feeling.

A FEELING? You’ve been reading these posts and coming back for something helpful and real…and now I tell that confidence is  a FEELING?

Yes, but it is a very important feeling. And, you’ve had that feeling before. What you need to do now is reconnect with that feeling and remember why you had it. Once you do that, reconstructing it will be pretty simple!

I know you’ve had times where you’ve feel really good about what you accomplished. In fact, you’ll remember that at the time you were feeling that you could do it all again!

You were CONFIDENT!

Think about all the situations where you have felt confident. These positive thoughts can make you confident in the future.

Here’s a hint…you experience these feelings everyday. You just don’t pay attention to them because you’re used to them. Here’s how to reconnect with those feelings.

First, sit down for a few minutes every day and remember the happenings during your day. Concentrate on all the things that made you feel certain. Let those feelings boost your morale and make you even more poised.

The sad thing is that if you just do that last paragraph, you’ll lose those thoughts as soon as you go on to whatever. So, I’m going to give you an assignment.

List all your reasons from the day to be confident. You just brought them back into your memory…capture them!

Try to list all the qualities that have helped you to be confident today. Include your victories, your skills and how they relate to goals.

Now, do you see how powerful your analysis can be? Do this every day and you WILL feel even more confident!

In my last post, I described how important it is to to hang out with confident people. You’ve done that, and you’re inspired.

(Notice that I didn’t say you’re motivated…that’s because other people can NOT motivate you. They can INSPIRE you, but motivation is an inside job. That’s a free tip…but you’re not paying for this anyway!)

Now you’re ready to get started…it’s time for fear and trepidation! Why? Because you don’t know what to do next!

Well, here it is…make sure that you find a mentor. All successful people have mentors in life. You’re going to be successful, so follow their lead!

OK, what’s a mentor? You need one…what are you looking for?

A mentor is someone who can efficiently guide you, advise you and offer some confidence tips. A mentor is someone who plan your path.

A mentor cannot make you succeed. But that person will help you considerably by explaining where you’re going and what you can expect along the way. You mentor will also help you taste success more quickly than you ever imagined!

Why? Because your mentor has already tasted it! But there’s more…You are not alone.

Two minds are always better than one, especially when one has already been down the path!

Congratulations, you are on your way!