So you want to (or already have) put a new structure in place to meet your dreams and goals in life.
Awesome.
Now, you may be someone who can transform your daily life in one go, or you may need some time to move through these changes. It’s okay. Most people need an adjustment period to build confidence in something new.
The key is to stick with it and ensure that you’re hitting each of your primary points in your day to day, even if the schedule itself requires flexibility (especially if you travel, have meetings, have kids, in a career transition, in a new relationship, recovering from a health concern, etc.).
At first you’ll feel inspired and awkward as you transform your daily routine to meet this structure. “What is this new thing I’m doing?” You’ll feel the strong pull to go back to your old “comfortable” way of doing things, but as long as you remind yourself that this was the very thing that kept you from making progress in these areas of your life, you’ll start to appreciate the new muscle you’re exercising so you CAN complete on yourself.
And like most things, before this new framework kicks in and life gets better, you will feel like it’s getting worse (same as when you start a new workout routine). My first couple of weeks of setting my new structure in place felt more exhausting and less productive on my personal creativity – but that was also because there were still “leftovers” from how I’d set things up the prior week/s (throw in a bit of travel to boot). So it was important to move through it with compassion towards myself, reminding myself that this new framework would help me set up the next weeks with more precision and success (which it did) to meet my goals.
It also helps to remember that your lizard brain wants to play it safe and small… but if you’re really committed to living a life by design that suits your desires, then you’re going to have to learn to manage your little gecko friend.
HOW TO CREATE A STRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR GOALS AND DREAMS IN LIFE
The beauty of a vision or a dream is that it’s “ours” to achieve, although it requires setting benchmarks and frameworks for us to move towards the fulfillment of that dream or vision. Hence, putting in a structure that works for us, as well as understanding our personal flow. This may not be the same structure or flow for you as it is for me.
Personally, this means completing daily actions that support what’s important to me; writing (a blog post or content for a book), drawing up Niki Owl concepts and business development, developing relationships with my clients and network, and working with those who feel I’m the right fit to help achieve something that’s important to them, as well as enjoying life itself. I have certain goals in place for each one of these so I can measure progress <— this is muy importante!
After understanding my personal “flow” and what works best for me, I’ve learned to structure my day around my strengths, so a typical week day looks like this:
– early morning meditation, reading, and writing (add coffee and breakfast)
– mid morning I’ve cleared my creative plate, so I can run personal errands, tend to client projects and general business development (outreach, checking in with people I’m speaking to, building and maintaining relationships, and related research)
– I have my lunch break, after which I spend about 30 minutes reading a book and/or playing my guitar (another creative and learning “touch point” for me)
– I have coaching calls lined up with clients in Europe and the US – this is primarily designed to consider time zone differences with my primary client base.
– evening time I have flexibility to do whatever I want
– I have 2 afternoons per week that are blocked out for my personal development work with my coaching/business development team
– depending where I am, I like to take a 30-60 minute walk or workout as a way to get myself out of the house and be active.
Sounds like a lot, right? Well, it is, AND as long as I’m diligent about each of these “touch points” I know I’m making progress on all fronts. Plus, I know where I’m going with all of this. A lot of people are floundering because they lack the focus to pull it all together and they’re not tracking their progress (which is where I usually get called in to help on personal and business development).
Now, personal structure is not the only thing that will help you move forward on your goals and dreams, but I’ll talk about other key aspects in upcoming posts. Right now, we’re starting with your personal motivations and abilities to get moving in the right direction along your personal “flight path”.
It also requires knowing WHY these things are important to you to even build them into your structure so they can take shape.
Back to you. Write down the main things you want to be working on or achieving in the next year, even the next 3 months if that’s more digestible. Go with something that feels attainable to you <— this is also muy importante! This is what you’d call the “good stretch” in a workout. While you do this, look at:
- What does life look like now and what will it look like after completing those goals and dreams?
- What will those accomplishments do for you?
- How will you feel after completing them?
- What will your life look like if you DON’T make any changes?
- What do you feel you need the most help with now to achieve them?
This will help form the flight path you set in place to achieve the goals that will lead to the fulfillment of your aspirations.
Next up, we’ll take these core aspects of what inspires you and why it’s important to you, and explore a fresh approach to goal setting and creating achievable outcomes in life.
Yours in Creation,
Karin
