My Word of the Year 2017: Strategic

Post contains affiliate links. Post also contains some great advice to you slackers.

Well. Here I am. Here you are. In the last eight weeks or so, I had zero motivation to write here. There was a lot going on – holidays, new work, family, vacation, country. It took the end of the first month of the new year for me to sit down and try to write something.

Sometime at the end of December, I spent some time at my in-laws and worked on my PowerSheets workbook. The “getting to know you” section is painful. I did it last year, and even knowing that it was there for me to fill in made me dread it. Who has time to just sit around and meditate and think about yourself and your wants, likes or things that you like to do? This was one of the harder sections because, as you know, when you tend to a small human, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to think about yourself – except superficially. Honestly I barely filled it out this year.

As I wrote out my embarrassing (to me) fears and goals, my word popped in my head: Strategic. (I first wrote out “IN OR OUT” on my brainstorming page. It was an extension to “Commit,” my word last year.

This year, I plan to be strategic in everything I do or not do. It must mark off a box in my imaginary checkerboard. I will not act on anything unless it hits a box.

Favors for people? My next question will be: will this somehow help fulfill my goals? Will this be a true favor if it doesn’t? Can I spend the time helping others if it takes away time from working on my goals?

There is page called Cultivate Gratitude. I like this because it helps jog my memory for the month on what matters and who mattered. Who is someone I’m grateful for this month? What was memorable this month? What do I need to let go? What didn’t work? What did work?

I’ve broken down my workbook into seven goals – personal, day job, side job, blogs and family. (There’s enough pages for 10.) For each of the goals, the PowerSheets prompt you to break it down some more. What activities will make me successful in this goal? Break it down more – why is this goal important to me? What will happen if I achieve this goal?

Hands down, this workbook has made my goal setting so much easier. I’m glad I started with the six month workbook last year. It let me dip my feet before jumping in whole hog this year.

If you are interested in getting your own PowerSheets workbook, you’re in luck. The team at Cultivate What Matters opened up pre-orders for six month workbooks for next half of the year. That’s right – they sold out of the one-year workbooks and the six month workbooks; so they went back to the printer for another round! If you order a six month workbook, you’ll get yours around late May – that’s perfect for setting up the last half of 2017!

Trust. Don’t question me on this. If you are serious about goal planning and keeping yourself accountable, just buy the workbook. You know that saying “A year from now, you’ll wish you started earlier?” Yeah. That.

PowerSheets – Some Popular Tools of the Trade

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