Urgency, Planning and Success

Two people this week commented on how skinny I'm getting. When you are working hard at something and people recognize your effort...it's always a good feeling. I sat for a moment and wondered why I'm having success this time when I haven't in the past? How is it that I've been walking and working out since the first of the year...when normally I would have quit long ago? It didn't take long before the answer came to me. It was two parts....urgency and a plan.

For me to have success with anything, I need that sense of urgency. If I don't have that, I don't take what I am doing seriously. Previously, I just wanted to work out and get healthy because I should. This time I am in a race with my weakening bones and I want to win.

For me to have success with anything, I also need some kind of a plan. Previously, I would just work out a day here, maybe walk a day now and then...if I missed a day...oh well. I didn't have a plan. Now I have a plan. It's on paper...and I'm stickin' to it!

What I need to do now is bring that same sense of urgency to my etsy business, FourDogDay. That doesn't mean to be running around like a lunatic everyday...it means that I need to know when I want to retire. I need to know how much extra money FourDogDay would need to be bringing in each month in order for that to happen. Then I will "see" the urgency and I will get serious.

I also need a plan to get me where I need to be at that time. I need it on paper...so I have something to follow...a plan I can stick to. I have had plans before but I lacked the urgency. If I don't have both parts, it just doesn't work for me.

For me...this doesn't only apply to my health and FourDogDay...it applies to anything I really want to accomplish. No urgency, no plan, no do. Take my basement for example. I swore I would get it dejunked before summer. There was no reason I had to have it done by then, I just wanted to. So, no real true urgency, no plan....it isn't getting done. Now if I wanted to put my house on the market this spring....THERE would be the urgency. You can be sure it would be getting done!

How are you with major things you want to accomplish? Do you need urgency? Do you need a written plan or are you disciplined enough to do it without? I would love to hear how you accomplish things either in your business or in your life....

One of THOSE Days

Geez, what a bummer of day yesterday was. In fact, the whole weekend kind of stunk! I had such big plans to get so much done and wow, things sure did not go according to plan. I got upset for a while last night and then I thought you know what...there isn't a darn thing you can do about it so move on girl!

It started out with my sleeping about an hour later than I normally do on Sunday...so that meant we got to the grocery store later than normal. It was more crowded and it was so late when we got home I felt like half the day was gone already.

I started working on our taxes and swore I was only going to spend an hour on it....sure thing. One hour turned into about two and a half....but I am happy to report that they are as done as I can get them at this time. I'm waiting on some statements and then they can go to the accountant.

Then we decided to switch from Comcast Cable for our TV to Dish Network. They had a great deal where we could save some money each month. Well, that took FOREVER to do. Blah, blah, blah...the guy...who was really, really nice just kept talking and talking and talking. Then on top of it when he went to run our credit (which seems so ridiculous when you are getting a DISH...I'm not buying a friggin' house for heaven's sake) they could not access my credit. It was blocked. In order to unblock it....even though I never requested it be blocked...I had to answer all of these security questions. Then they decided that my answers weren't enough to say I am who I say I am so they couldn't put it through. Are you kidding me?

We had 12 months of a free "we'll watch your identity back" service and that expired ages ago. Somehow it wasn't removed from my Social Security number. I'm not complaining because it's kind of nice that no one could sign up for DISH TV using my social security number.....BUT IT'S ME AND I WANT TO SIGN UP FOR IT!!!!

Anyway, we ended up using Irv's social and it went right through...even though he had the free 12 month thing too. So we have our appointment for Dish Network.

Then I knew that when I canceled my Comcast TV that my Comcast internet would go up. I already pay $57.95 and they wanted to up it to $72.95. That's not happening. So now I am looking for a new internet provider that might be a bit cheaper. I am going to go back to Comcast and try to wheel and deal....I've been told they do that, but I also told the DISH guy that if I didn't find something cheaper I was canceling our DISH order.

During this time, in fact the entire weekend, Irv has been trying to hook up Michael's old Dell in our basement so he has his own computer. He bought the box and the cables the guy at Best Buy said he needed and nothing. Got a different box and different cables that the other guy at Best Buy said he needed and it turned on. It turned on, but it didn't work. It said something about the IP address and then it said something else and as of Sunday night the stupid thing still isn't working.

I did not walk or work out for the second day in a row. I am a morning person and if it doesn't get done early it isn't getting done....and it didn't get done...and I was upset about that.

I got almost nothing done on etsy this weekend....and the plan was to get lots done.

At this point my friends I am laughing. As I just read back over this post, I thought...what a screwed up weekend it was! Funny how that happens some times, and yes, I am able to laugh when things don't go according to plan. Nothing horrible happened, things just didn't go the way I wanted them to go. Big deal.

I am off of work today which is just so awesome. I am NOT planning my day. I'm just going to take it as it comes. I hope you enjoy yours. Do something nice for yourself today....I sure plan to!!

Resolutions

I don't make resolutions. I really never have. What I usually do is to make a plan....one with a purpose. I don't wait until December 31 to come up with a plan, I'm always thinking and planning.

Most people make resolutions like:

I am going to lose weight.
I am going to save money.
I am going to find a better job.
I am going to quit smoking.

If you asked those same people how they were going to do those things, most of them would shrug their shoulders and say they had no idea...and that is why resolutions don't always work.

Resolutions are nothing more than unguided goals, and unguided goals normally end up in the failure column. That is why I make plans. Plans work best if they have steps or mini goals within the plan or goal if you prefer.

One of my personal plans is to eat better. Without some kind of a plan....how would I start? How would I make that happen? How would I be successful?

I plan to eat better by creating a menu each week for my meals, buying the right foods to prepare those meals, preparing certain things in advance and packing as much of my lunch and snacks as I can the night before. I already started that this week.

One of my business plans is to keep better track of my etsy earnings and spending. I have already started the process. I am doing that by opening a separate checking account with debit cards for me and Irv, and a separate joint savings account for the business. Paypal money will go into my business checking or savings. Etsy expenses will come out of etsy earnings and not out of our personal accounts. All income and expenses will be recorded in a monthly ledger which will make taxes SO much easier!

Get the idea?

I don't know about you, but in order for me to have success, I have to have something to follow and I like it on paper.

I also plan to start exercising more. I am working on that plan right now. It goes hand-in-hand with another plan which is for ME to come first in my life. That means making the time to do yoga, pilates, weight lifting and walking. This is going to be a tough one for me, because I live for etsy and my workshop.....but in order to stay healthy and be able to enjoy what I do....I need this plan to be successful.

That means putting ME before etsy, my workshop, my blog, my e-mail and Facebook. Like I said, this is going to be a tough one, but I am of the mindset that I can do anything that I really want to do, so it will be fine. Plans can also be altered or fine-tuned...they aren't written in stone. If I find that I got in over my head, I can tone it down. If the plan was a snap, I can step it up a notch.

So, do you make resolutions? If so, do they work for you? If they do, what do you do to make that happen?

I know a lot of people wait for the New Year to change their attitude and their life...for me it's an ongoing process. I think it's important to go into every year, every month, every week and every day with a positive attitude and a feeling of hope. I try hard to do just that.

My List Addiction

Can this possibly happen to me two days in a row? Yep, it can and it is and I really don't give a poop! I really didn't want to say poop, but I don't want to offend anyone by saying that I really don't give a shit so I said poop instead!

I have had a miserable headache all day today. When I got home from work, I started tweaking the photos of the cards I took pics of this morning before work. Then I had an appointment to get my hair cut...and she was running late! UGH! I didn't get home until 7:00 p.m., ate some dinner and here I am.

So, once again I am not going to get the things done that I had planned to get done. Am I bummed....of course, but I am not going to get worked up over it. I am going to try to get one of the cards listed when I'm done with my blog and if that's all I get done....that's all I get done.

I read the comments on yesterday's post and really envy the people that don't live by lists. Even my lists have lists....and then after I do a few of the things on the list, I have to write a new list because that one looks messy and I can't have a messy list!

Then I thought about how crazy my lists are making me and how much time I spend making lists and worrying about lists....and I started to wonder if I could still succeed in my business without the lists. That isn't to say that I wouldn't have goals and plans. I would. I have to. I need some kind of structure. What I don't need is the pressure I have been putting on myself. Some of my lists I wouldn't be able to accomplish in a week much less one day!

So, here is what I've decided to do. I will still have my goals and my plans for this year...and that would be to get 1000markets and Artfire set up, to check into some shows and Farmer's Markets for spring and summer and to perhaps get a website up and running. See, when I write those things down....it sounds fun and exciting and doesn't sound stressful at all. It's those daily lists and expectations that are doing me in.

Therefore, the only daily goal I am going to set is to try to list one thing in FourDogDay every day and two things per week in MyOtherShop. I am not going to write down what I should be doing very minute of every evening because it isn't realistic and it really isn't much fun.

I think the fun and excitement I was feeling in 2008 went right out the door when I made this massive business plan and realized that I had a lot to do. I was afraid if I didn't have this big formal plan that I would never have a successful business. I think business plans are great, and I really do believe in plans and goals, but I also realize that I love what I am doing...and in order to keep loving what I am doing I need to cut myself some slack.

So, tonight I will not make a to do list for tomorrow. I know what I need to do, and maybe if I just do what I can when I can....I will keep loving what I am doing for many years to come and have a successful business as well.

Oh and this is totally off topic, but I got the two pairs of shoes I ordered. One pair was too wide and one pair was too narrow. I reordered the too narrow pair in a larger size because I really liked them, and we'll see if they are any better.

Also, the skinny jeans came today and they kick butt!!! I absolutely love them....except that they are about 6 inches too long. I always order talls from the Gap because I love my jeans long...well these skinny little guys were way too long. So they are going back to the Gap tomorrow for the same ones but not in a tall!!

Oh happy day!

What Was I Thinking?

Why is that one day I feel like I am right on track.....like I have it all together and then the next day I wonder what the heck I am doing? Do you ever feel like that? One night I sit there in bed and write up my plans for the next day including what I will work on, what I will list, what I will renew, how I will redo my sections, when I will be in the forums, if and when I will twitter.....and on and on and on. I look at it and I know for a fact that I am so on!

Then I get up in the morning and I take my list and head into my workshop. I sit down, turn on the computer, look at my list and immediately think it's all wrong, very, very wrong.

Does that ever happen to you? Do you have goals and plans and you know they are perfect, and then you look at them again and think they had to have been written by someone that had no idea what success is or what it takes to succeed or how much time things take?

I am struggling a bit right now. I love what I am doing, but I cannot seem to prioritize the things that need to be done so that I can accomplish the things I must accomplish in the amount of time I am able to dedicate to my business. (That was one hell of a long run-on sentence....but did it make sense to you?)

Last night I wrote down that I was going to list 3 items for MyOtherShop. I decided that I would list a photo in FourDogDay and work on some new cards and I would write my blog. All very doable....but here it is 8:30 p.m. and the only thing I have done was to photograph one item, rephotograph a couple of cards that are already listed and cut the cardstock for the cards.

I lost my enthusiasm when I realized that the tray I wanted to photograph can't be photographed in my light box because it is too big. What was I thinking? It's a big tray! Once I realized I wasn't going to be able to list the tray, it ruined the order I wanted the items in so that idea went right down the drain. Can't list any of it tonight!

So, I started on the cards, went and ate some dinner and now it's late and I am writing my blog. I have this sick feeling that I am going to get nothing done that I wanted to get done! UGH!

What do you do when your best plans end up your worst nightmare? Do you get angry? Do you beat yourself up for thinking it was a great idea in the first place? Are you able to laugh and say, oh well tomorrow is another day? How do you handle disappointment when it comes to your business?

When I started writing this, I was really bummed. I know I'm not going to get a lot done tonight, but you know what....it's okay. Writing this has actually made me realize that this is really a tiny little problem and one that I can laugh at. I didn't think things through as well as I thought I had. Maybe my brain had already shut off for the night when I made my list. Whatever it was doesn't really matter. What matters is that I am able to laugh at myself, finish this blog and go over to my work table and make those cards before I go to bed. The photographs and the listing will have to wait.

What do you do when your really great plans turn out to be not so great after all?

It's January 5th...Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

Okay folks...it's January 5th. Have you set your goals? Do you plan to set some goals? Did you read my blog posts about goal setting and achieving your goals? Here is one, and here is the other. I did set my goal and I have my plan in place. I just need to make the final copy and post it by my computer so I can stay on task each and every day.

I got off to a great start this morning. I got up at 4:30 a.m.......yes, that's what I said....4:30 a.m. I start work at 7:30 and I have a 50 minute commute on most days. In the morning, I am going to work out, fix a good lunch, check my etsy shop, my blog and the forums and then get ready for work. I need 2 hours to get it all done. I don't like to rush. I did it this morning and hopefully it will be a tiny bit easier tomorrow and each day after that.

Work was tough today. I had so much to do and I have only been at work twice in the past 2 weeks. There were things on my desk that I looked at and went, "Hmmmmm, now what the heck was I suppose to do with this?". It was quite a day. I am normally extremely organized, but I felt totally out of sync this morning. (No, that is not really my desk!) As the day went on I started to remember what my job was and by the end of the day I was thinking, "Oh, yes this is what I do for 40 hours a week!"

When I got home I immediately changed my shoes and grabbed the dog's leash and we headed out the door. Poor little Wrigley hasn't had a nice walk in weeks. The weather has been awful and the roads have been covered in salt and that hurts her little feet. So, off we went. The first street we went down, I heard 2 guys yelling for their dog, Lady. I slowed down a bit because I don't know Lady. The men were yelling and chasing and doing all of the things you aren't supposed to do, but we'll save that topic for another day. I'll tell you tomorrow about what happened.

Anyway, we did survive our walk, in fact, it was quite nice. We got back and I headed into the workshop. I did not spend my hour talking to Irv like I planned, but I needed to get pics of my new decoupage stuff done so I can post a couple of things tonight. He understood. He asked what I would like for dinner and he headed for the kitchen. I'm so lucky!

I started photographing and most of them turned out pretty good. We'll see how they look when I get them in my shop. I did have trouble with one of them and I'll have to redo those next time around.

So, with pictures taken it was time to blog, so here I am! It's 7:30 p.m. so that means I have less than 2 hours to finish up my "to do" list for today. I am bound and determined to do this.

Like I said in the beginning, have you made some goals for yourself. Have you developed a plan to help you achieve those goals? If not, what are you waiting for? Let's go!

The Art of Goalsetting....and Achievement

The only way to reach a goal is to set a goal, but anyone can set goals. I could write down a list a mile long of "goals". I want to do all kinds of things and I want to have all kinds of things, but those aren't really goals.

My real goals are to build a highly successful business, pay off all of my credit card debt and move to Colorado. I can write them down and I can look at them every day, but those goals will never be achieved without a concrete plan. The plan is what will take you through everything you need to do to reach your goal. If you aren't willing to formulate a plan, then you really don't want to reach that goal as much as you think you want to...perhaps you should call that one a wish or a dream. I have lots and lots of those too.

I have a dream that I am wealthy and retired and driving around the country with Irv and the dogs in our big motor home. We have no where we have to be and an endless flow of cash. Is that a goal of mine? No. Would I love to be able to do that? Yep. That isn't to say that you can't work toward your dreams and make them a reality, but then I prefer to call them goals with plans attached.

I am not good at achieving my goals but that's because I never really understood what it took to achieve your goals. I've always had goals, but rarely if ever reached them.

If you look back at my goals, they are to build a highly successful business, pay off all of my credit card debt and move to Colorado. They are in that order because I probably will not achieve the last two without achieving the first one, and that is to build a highly successful business.

My goal for this year....and I only have one....is to build a highly successful business. That is my Step#1...coming up with a real goal. There are a lot of other things I would love to have or do...like go on vacation this summer, fix up the house and yard, get healthier.....and I may add other goals down the road, but right now it's all business.

So, do you have a goal or two or three for the new year? If so, what is the first thing you will do achieve that goal? I would love to know how you get started.

Tomorrow I will talk about "THE PLAN".