Calendar
noun
1. The bane of the disorganised people’s existence and yet the solution to a lot of their implementation problems. ‘Oh my god, I need a calendar’.

Do you like my definition? Not exactly Oxford’s standard but makes a lot of sense to me (someone who wishes the calendar fairy would come along and wave her magic wand and banish my procrastinating tendencies away!) Picture the fairy dust just waving it all away…Ahem.
Here we go.

I’ve struggled with not just creating an organised calendar but committing to each of the action items. Some tasks really only take a minute whilst others require more effort, brainpower etc.

What I’ve found it really boils down to is self discipline and accountability. You’re the only person responsible for implementing the tasks that you’ve appointed yourself to do, which is a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Since I’m looking at setting up my own business as well, I’ve found you need to be very committed to what you set out to do which can be different to when you’re employed, as you may have a boss that will cast the odd look over your shoulder. Just, y’know, giving you the nudge.

For those of you who are like me and struggle to engage in organising and committing to tasks, here are some tips:

• Think about how you will feel after you’ve done the task – you’ll feel good right? Right.
• Each task brings you a little closer to something or somewhere you want to be. Remember it’s the little things you do everyday that will eventually add up to something bigger. Baby steps guys.
• Treat yourself everytime you get a difficult task done. It doesn’t have to be major – it could be that new episode on Netflix you’re dying to watch. (Ahem, Marco Polo).
• If you find that you did skip over particular task, and it’s not time sensitive, push it to another time so you don’t lose sight of it. Try not to repeat too much!
• I spoke to a business owner recently and he told me to pick a day to go over your weekly calendar. My day is Sunday and I usually revise tasks that need to be done for the upcoming week. It gives you an overview of your schedule and how you see your week going (make you feel organised, even it though doesn’t go as planned).

Has anyone else had the issue of sticking to certain action items on a calendar and getting them done? Or even maintaining a calendar week in/week out? As I know from experience that time management is not my forte! Any more tips are welcome :).