Allow Yourself To Step Back and Evaluate Where You Are

Most of us find ourselves busy with several things at once.  It’s no different for me.  At any one time I may be balancing seeing one to one clients, planning and writing my blogs and newsletter for the upcoming week, facilitating and presenting at support groups that I oversee, committing to completing items for networking organizations of which I am a part, or exploring new opportunities for my coaching business.  Additionally, there are usually personal and family obligations, appointments and commitments outside of my coaching business.  It sometimes is very easy to lose track of things.  However, since the beginning of 2013, I found that one thing that has helped to get me back on track is to commit to myself to take a step back from time to time and evaluate the results of what I have been doing and determining if I need to make any adjustments to my approach.  Minimally, I will do this on a monthly basis, although I have found that sometimes as frequently as bi-weekly has also been necessary.

So, just what is it that I do?   I’ll record the major things I am looking to accomplish by topic area over the upcoming next two to three weeks.  I’ll do this in conjunction with a calendar in front of me.  Additionally, since I have been taking this approach for several weeks now, I’ll also put in front of me the steps I recorded, (I tend to save them as files on my computer), to see where I was the last time I evaluated results.  Why do I take this approach?  There are several reasons that I have found that this helps me.

First, it puts in front of me just what has been scheduled on my calendar for the next couple of weeks.  While I completely am in charge of my own calendar, and am certainly the one responsible for all appointments on it, it is amazing how something you recorded on the calendar several weeks before, is ultimately imminent once time passes.  Perhaps some of the items on the calendar require some preparation on my part.  That requires some scheduling to assure those activities get done.  For example, taking this approach a few weeks back I was to visit my account for preparation of my annual income taxes.  By reviewing the calendar about 10 days before the appointment I was able to allocate time to making sure I had all my records together to bring to her that she would need to complete the filing.  I find this approach also helps me not lose track of things that I felt were important the last time I did my review of where things stood in my life.  There might have been an item that I had been working on which requires follow-up with another.  Perhaps my perception of the importance of a past item has changed, and either the efforts I need to give it are different, or perhaps it should not be on my radar as one to consider at all.  My review period gives me that chance to officially close it off from my thought process, (and perhaps get it off my desk entirely).

Another way that the approach helps is with items that may have come in front of me since the last time I took the time to do an evaluation.  It is human nature to tend to jump into the most immediate item at hand.  Perhaps that item is not the most important thing you have to do at the moment.  It may be one that can wait.  It may also be one that is someone else’s priority, but not yours at that moment.  As such, if it is taking you away from those tasks that you desire to do, you are likely to be resentful about having to focus your attention to these immediate arising priorities.  By taking a step back to evaluate, you give yourself a chance to make the choice of what it is that you want to focus your efforts on in that moment.