Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps

Why is it we seem to not recognize all that we do until we put it in writing? It causes us to question why we are not taking certain steps, or better yet, why we are still doing something that isn’t helping us reach the results that we want.

In all of our busyness, with an ever-changing world and business life, we tend to forget to check in with our goals.

Our goals – where we ultimately want to be at a specified time. We can get there without plans, but it may take us an enormous time to reach our destination. In fact, instead of getting there in any reasonable length of time, we may be floating along on a slow-moving magic carpet ride, not sure where we are going to land, and perhaps not caring because we are so involved in productivity each and every day. We get busy, right?

This is my personal reminder to set goals and outline the steps to get there. An outline includes concise steps and expected completion times. Anything completed during working hours, that is done above and beyond the outline is either 1) fluff (and takes me away from the goal) or 2) icing on the cake that is necessary for good results.

On a daily basis – be flexible, bend, bend and bend again, but keep the tasks that are imperative to ensure the books gets written, the soap gets made, the website is up and running, or whatever business goals that are set. If the goals shift, the outlined plans must shift as well.

Try it if you want. Imagine, someone has just asked you to outline a list of your sites, your social media addresses, and what your daily work schedule consists of.  What is your mission? What are your goals? Which, by the way, are two very separate things. Are you on track, or floating along? What steps (deadlines and actions) must you take to reach your goals?

Personally, I am facing the legal pad with pen and paper in hand, busily drafting an outline. Checking in with my goals.