Adelante 2012!

ADELANTE is a Spanish word which means: to move forward; to move ahead; to go ahead; to get to the front.

What are you doing to move ahead? A CEO in the mastermind group that I facilitate said it best when he said “there are many people who know what to do, it’s the doing it that is the challenge.”

Here are 3 solid ways to move forward:

1. Take Inventory

Take an inventory of all the things that you yourself need to be doing. This isn’t a list of the things you would like to do or the things that you would like to control - this is the list of things that need your “personal touch”. Get everything out of your head and down on paper. What are the things that you’re actually doing in a day? How about in a week? Overlook nothing. Censor nothing. Be honest with yourself. If you’re in business, think of all the customer service, delivery marketing, sales, promotional, professional development, product development, management activities. Also, log those things that distract you or that never seem to make it off your to do list.

ACTION: Make a list this week of all your activities.

2. Schedule It In

Take the time to schedule it in. Have you ever noticed that the things that you “schedule” are the things you actually do? Think of the lunches, the meetings, the seminars and appointments you make. Now, think of all the things that you think you will do in the “cracks” of time or sometime in the day. Did you do them?

Time blocking is a powerful tool if used correctly. Time block in those things that are most important to you. In Stephen Covey’s book, “7 Habits of Highly Effecitve People” and in the back of his book “The 8th Habit”, he tells the story of “big rocks” and how it is important to schedule the “big rocks” in your day first if that is what’s most important to you. It’s also important to utilize what we’ve learned in “project management”. Create a “mind map” of the activities you would like to accomplish so that you can be sure of all of the steps and pieces in making those activities inevitable.

ACTION: Take a weekly schedule and start time blocking!

3. Identify WHY you want to move forward.

While this is listed last, it is really the first thing that needs to be done. The “how” will always appear if you know the “why”. Why do you want more time? Why do you want to move forward? Why do would you make an extra effort to move ahead?

The “why” is so important. There’s an important statement that I want to leave you with which was shared with me by a dear friend. You can manage what you're doing, schedule your activities, get more organized, get more time and get your life back….just make sure that you have a life to get back to.