I know I don't look green but from the smile I have on and the hat anyone that sees this picture thinks I should be flying a little jet pack and throwing out exploding pumpkins!
Decide for yourself?
Are you asking what this has to do with anything? That's a good question!
Really it doesn't apply to much but I though it was funny and I would share it with you.
This picture was taken in the middle of a ton of work and it was a release point. Tom and I have been swamped over the last week planning for 2009.
Some people may not even have 2009 on their radar yet but we have already locked ourselves away and had the first of three planing sessions. You might think this is a bit much, but three days of planning for an entire year is the LEAST we should do.
In 2008 we set out 16specific goals and we achieved or surpassed 14 of them. Honestly, we didn't even realize all of this until we sat down to start planning 2009.
For us these goals ranged from our businesses to our investments, and looking back we realized we were thinking too small on some of them.
And just for the record we are still working on the other two!
So now we need to shift focus to 2009. We have already planned out our entire year, crazy eh?
It was weird booking dates for December of next year already, but it is super important for us to do it this way. I can tell you that I already have 73 specific things on my 2009 calendar. These range from training classes and speaking engagements, to publishing our monthly, private coaching newsletter.
Guess what I forgot? The most important thing........Vacations.
So I now have to go back and put those in. I have a bit more flexibility with time off since I don't have any kids, and the only schedules to work around are Diana's (my wife) and my own.
The reason we plan so far in advance is that we have to set deadlines for ourselves to get these things done, and we have to stick to them, which is a whole other topic.
But essentially whenever there is something new to be completed it gets added to the list, the loooong list. But we can't focus on everything at once so we have to set a deadline for it. If that deadline is two monthsaway then that task is lower on the priority list than a deadline that is a week from today. Very large goals are broken up into smaller tasks to make sure we can achieve them.
So if we want to buy two apartment buildings by June we are going to be working on smaller bits of the puzzle to get it done starting today.
As we progress through the year those tasks work their way up the priority list. So really we are constantly managing our priority list and changing things as they arise. It seems a bit chaotic right?
Well, that's because it is! No really, it is!
But what we have realized is that if you are trying to focus on things one at a time, getting all your ducks in a row, things will move way too slow.
I look at our 2009 schedule and January is already P - A - C - K - E - D, PACKED!!.....did that get the point across? 🙂
I look at it and I wonder how we are going to get everything done, and if we will still be in one piece afterwards.
We live by this quote by Peter Brock "Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like hell"
The more you do it, the more you can chew on a regular basis.
Our first meeting was getting our important dates set, that was it!
We locked ourselves away with no email or phone access and started planning our lives. It also got us thinking about our big goals for next year as well. We will be working on those during our next two meetings. But one thing is for sure.
They will be bigger than 2008, we are going to have to strive harder to achieve them, and we look forward to the task list that comes along with them.
I hope you have started your planning for 2009, it's super important. Your year is worth more than an hour's worth of New Year's resolutions.
Make a plan, bit off more than you can chew and make it happen. Then do it again!
- Nick Karadza
P.S. Seriously, do I look like the Green Goblin?