Happy New Year!  For many of us, this is where you take out the old and bring in the new.  Where we reflect on what didn’t work and try and make it better in the new year.

For many, it is about weight loss or starting a business.  It may be about getting your finances in order or paying off some debt.

There is nothing like a new year to get us motivated to begin a new journey or a new beginning.  While it is great to get the new year to motivate us, let’s be honest.  For many of us, including myself, we get excited about the possibilities and goals that we make but then, when the excitement is gone, so is the motivation and the goal that you wanted to accomplish.

Why?  Because many of us don’t write down our goals and keep them first and foremost in our minds everyday to help us accomplish those goals.  We don’t make them visible.  They are not in front of us everyday and everyplace.

So in 2011, I challenge you to try a different approach to make your goals successful and accomplished goals.  By doing that, I highly recommend that you make your goals S.M.A.R.T. Goals. These goals help you achieve your dreams by making them a reality.  Take a look:

Broken down, this is what S.M.A.R.T means.

S = Specific – You can’t be vague here.  It is very important to be very specific in this area.  For example, if you are wanting to lose weight and write down that you want to lose 10 pounds but don’t write out a specific plan on how to lose the weight, the goal becomes vague and your chances of completing that goal are slim.  But when you write out the details to include how, when and what, you will have much better results in completing that goal.

M = Measurable - Here you have to qualify your goal.  By measurable, you need to know how and when you will achieve the goal.  For example, if you want to make room for personal development in your daily or weekly activities, then you need to write down when you will start, when you will complete it and what you will be doing to achieve your personal development by a specific date or time.

A = Attainable – You have to be honest here by making sure you goals are not to high or to big.  Sometimes people set goals that are not attainable for the time frame they have alloted.   Make sure the goal can be achieved based on your current situation and lifestyle.  For example, I you are trying to lose 100 pounds, it isn’t reasonable that you can lose that much weight in 2 months.  So setting attainable goals means setting the goal that is specific to your specific needs and make adjustments based on your current situation. In other words, an attainable goal is both realistic and attainable in a shorter period of time than what you have to work with.

R = Realistic – This has to be real and practical for you in order to achieve the goal.  It’s ok to have big goals and dreams but if they are not realistic, they will not work, leaving you feeling defeated, and you don’t want that.  Realistic, in this case, means “do-able.” A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

If your goal is to never again eat sweets, cakes, crisps and chocolate but you enjoy eating them, the goal may not be realistic. It may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you.

T = Time-Sensitive – Every goal needs a time frame with an ending.  When you are writing your goals make sure you give yourself a time frame.  You want to meet your deadline.  There are times when the goal is to big and you will need to break it down into small time slots to make the goal more realistic and that is ok.

So take the time to reflect on your S.M.A.R.T. Goals.   Write them down, be clear and concise.   Let me help you in your journey.  If you want a FREE 15 minute coaching session with me, just to talk it out, feel free to contact me here.

Until next time, Happy New Year

Cindy

P.S.  I love comments and want to share yours with others.  So please introduce yourself  below and say hello and let us know what you think.   Thanks

Are you planning to jump start your blogging in 2011?  Have you been sitting on the sidelines blogging here and there without a consistent plan?  Or, have you wanted to start blogging and not sure where to begin?

Well, I have 2 solutions that can help you jump start your new year and get you in the habit of blogging regularly.  One starts January 1, 2011 through January 31, 2011.  The second one starts February 1, 2011 through February 22, 2011.

The first resource is called “The Ultimate Blog Challenge” with hosts Michele Scism and Michelle Shaffer.

There are several reasons why this challenge can help you jump start the new year.  Like many of us, you may be working on your business goals for 2011.  In doing so, you are planning to add blogging as part of your weekly goal strategy to help you get into a habit of blogging more frequently.  What better way than to join a blog challenge at the beginning of the year to get you into the habit throughout 2011.

Here are some reasons why you should get signed up for this challenge.

1. Accountability
2. Networking
3. Allowing you an opportunity to comment on other blogs.
4. Helping your blog ranking
5. Gain your confidence
6. Watch the comments grow on your blog.
7. For 31 days you will get an email with blogging suggestions.
8. You have access to free reports and goodies.
9. It’s FREE

===>Sign up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge here.

The second resource is more extensive and is a paid program.  I recommend this program to anyone who wants to get the help they need without spending a lot of time learning how to blog yourself.  Believe me when I tell you it takes time to build a blog.  When I first got started, I wanted to set up the most optimized blog so I chose WordPress.org.  In choosing that platform, I learned about plugins, widgets and other blog terms that can overwhelm the new blogger.   With access to 23 blogging experts, “The Blogging Success Summit 2011″ is for you to gain more knowledge and less overwhelm.

Here are some of the many reasons why you should consider this paid program.

1. You get access to 23 blogging experts and the recordings.
2. You can avoid overwhelm by having the experts teach you.
3. You won’t have to travel.
4. You will learn updated tips and techniques.
5. It’s an online live event.
6. If you miss the call, you get access to the recording.
7. You have access to special bonuses.

P.S. I am an affiliate with this program and will get a commission.  Please note that I only promote those programs that I myself believe in so I have also signed up for this summit.

===>Sign up for the Blogging Success Summit 2011 Here.

Do you get bogged down in the daily distractions of emails and hanging out on the social media sites for to long and then find out at the end of the day that you were just busy doing busy work? Are you struggling with a lack of focus and finding it hard to  implement in your business?  I did too until I took these 5 steps to build my business without distractions. Since I returned from 2 live events in October and November, I have taken 5 major steps to build my business without distractions.  Why do I mention the word “proven?”  Because I have proven to myself that doing these simple, yet time consuming, steps, I have been able to free up more time for building my business by getting rid of these distractions.  It takes time to implement the steps but in the end it is well work the effort. After boarding the plane to come back to NC, I spent 6 hours of my flying time writing my plan of action upon my return.   The changes took time to set up but the results have led me to more focus and less distraction. Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Unsubscribe to all the extra emails that you don’t follow anymore. I unsubscribed to most of my emails. Not because I didn’t like the people I was subscribed to but because I was bombarded with so many emails in one day that I couldn’t keep up.   Do you realize that all the social media platforms allow one to post their message in many places?  For example, many of the people I follow in my email subscriptions are the same people that I follow on Facebook and Twitter allowing me to see their messages there.
2. Set up spreadsheet and call it “Database.” I set up an excel spread sheet to organize my files.  This is how it works.  I color coded tabs to include categories such as affiliate links, cool internet tools, programs and products that I purchased in 2010, a list of free ebooks, favorite iphone apps, and favorite blogs, just to name a few.  As I continue to organize my email files and find resources to add to these categories, now I have one central hub to take them to.  NOTE: I also put the speadsheet on a USB Flashdrive so I can take it with me when I want to add more information.
3. Set up a visual aid in your office, such as a calendar. Being the visual person that I am, I bought a huge wall calendar and posted it on the wall in front of my desk.  On the wall calendar I added my daily goals all the way across the month.  For example, I was lacking in the exercise department and realized I was sitting for to long.  So on my calendar I added exercise spots throughout the day using key words like walk, stretch, stand up,  move, etc.  I did this every 2 hours, forcing me to pull away from my computer.   One of my favorite sites is sparkpeople.com where I can get short videos and trainings that motivate me to stretch, exercise, interact and connect with others as if they were right there with me.  Even though it is still an online site, you can stand up and exercise right there in front of your computer or you can download them onto a CD and go plug it into your TV in another room and start moving.  Try it, it works.   I also added a daily quote to help me stay focused and to give me motivation when I was feeling discouraged or frustrated.
4. Set Daily Goals and buy a timer to track your time.  A great step you can take to help you stay focused and work without distractions is to set up daily goals.  When you write out your daily goals, make sure you add your personal and business goals into your calendar.  Also, as in #3, add your exercise into your daily plan to help you stay on track.  A great way to follow your goals is to set a timer.  I hadn’t tried this step until November and it really helped me discipline myself for better focus and implementation.  The timer allowed me to learn to stay within my time commitment for that particular plan of action.  Let’s say I would write a blog post or a few blog posts.  Within that allotted time, I would have to stop when the timer went off to go to my next goal.   This will help you learn to track your time for your weekly goals.  I will go into more detail on goals in a future post.
5. Pick and choose your training and webinars. Ask yourself, is this webinar related to my business or is it just a distraction?  With so many people asking to join webinars, it is hard to stay focused.  Asking yourself some simple questions will allow you to determine if the webinars will be part of your daily goals for the things you want to accomplish or if it is something you can listen to in your “training time” that you post on your calendar.   Here is a tip that may help:  If a webinar is being recorded and I can listen to it later, I will sign up and then put the recording information on my excel database file that I referred to in # 2.  Now I can listen to it when I have my “Training Time” that I set up in my weekly goals.  More on that later….

I hope you enjoyed these ideas.  I always love feedback so please leave your comment below and let me know how you set up your day to avoid distractions in building your business. Until next time, Have a great day Cindy Murphy Founder of Bloomin’ Boomers P.S.  Don’t forget to leave a comment.  I love connecting with others.