The List...

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Only two more days, well more like one and a half days, until November 1st!  How have I done on my October goals?  Well, I could have done better, but I know I did as much as I could.  Trying to work 40 hours a week, take care of 4 daughters while my husband works out of state, and trying to get a business up and running, not to mention the homework, cooking, cleaning, driving, school plays, and practices.... I'm lucky to get any anything done at all.

At some point a few months ago I quit writing lists.  I used to be a big list writer.  I would make lists for everything.  And if I did something that wasn't on the list but should have been, I would write it on and then ceremoniously cross it off.  This way I could see the full measure of what I had accomplished.

But, within the last few months I have become so busy and the lists so long and unorganized that I felt incredibly overwhelmed and for some reason I simply stopped making them.  I just quit writing things down, quit putting things in my calendar, and even deleted the notes on my iPhone.  I'm not sure how much this helped me.  I have mixed feelings about it actually.  

On the one hand it did reduce my stress somewhat.  I focused on a few core goals instead of the very, very, very long list of every single little thing.  I was able to accomplish a few of my goals even without the lists.  However, I now realize that by letting go of the lists there are probably things that I'm forgetting to do.

Now the question is... Do I create a new list?  Here is the bare bones list of where I need to start:

Home	LeapFrogVA	Your REVA	REVA Trainer	Church	Coaching
·  Christmas shopping  ·  Thanksgiving planning ·  Cleaning the house ·  3 Costumes for play ·  Holiday schedules for kids ·  Halloween costumes ·  FB Page for Casi’s Business ·  Family Calendar for play practices and schedule	·  Website ·  Add Paypal link ·  Merchant account ·  Blog ·  Marketing ·  Social Media Calendar ·  Blog post calendar ·  Research ·  New Client Plan ·  November Goals ·  Pick winners of FB Contest and create headers ·  Make MY new header for FB ·  FB header for Broker	·  Brand ·  Website (draw up for Harbertsons) ·  Paypal Link ·  Merchant account ·  Blog ·  Marketing ·  Intro Video ·  Email marketing letters ·  White pages and/or Report for list ·  FB Page for realtor ·  Hire VA to help?	·  Brand ·  Website(draw up for Harbertsons) ·  Paypal Link ·  Merchant account ·  Blog ·  Marketing ·  New VA Training ·  New REVA Training ·  Advanced REVA Training	·  Write program ·  Choose music ·  Schedule program and practices ·  Special Numbers ·  Speakers ·  Signup Sheets	·  Sessions ·  Planning ·  Calls ·  Complete worksheets
					·  Find Partner ·  Find Web Person ·  Find Copyriter ·  Year End Goals ·  Next Year goals ·  RE Classes ·  Update Listing and Closing List

Notice I left out the majority of the stuff I do as the mom, accountant, housekeeper, organizer, scheduler, referee, animal trainer, landscaper, chef, and shopper for our home and remaining 4 daughters.

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And notice my husband missing from that list.  You see, he works in Idaho right now, and he will be moving to New Mexico at the end of November for 18 months.  I will get to see him two weekends a month instead of one when he moves to New Mexico.

The other thing you will notice is that I am missing from that list.  Nothing on any of my lists ever includes me and what I want to do.  I want to read, play my flute, exercise, sleep, get my nails done, catch a movie...but there is already way too much on the lists.

Believe it or not, those aren't the only lists! I also left out the other 6 column list that includes confidential client information and to do stuff for the 9 real estate agents I'm currently assisting.  And the other 3 columns I have started for the new agents I've picked up in the last few months.  Plus there are a few other virtual assistants I am helping with their businesses.  (They are helping me by providing me with direction on my training program I'm going to someday, in my spare time, create. haha)

Today I am not feeling well and am very stressed about the very long list of things I need to do.  Man!  Do I need a partner!  Right now I'm just me.  No one helping.  I have mentors, and awesome people I can go to with questions and for help.  But, I have to do all of the work myself and it is just too overwhelming.  I know I can make this thing work.  But how?

How will I ever get it to work if I only have 15-20 minutes a day to build my business?

Social Media Confusion, FrUsRaTiOn, OVERLOAD?

When someone uses the term "Social Media," what do you think of?

Does it scare you?

What does it mean?

How do I start?

How do you manage it?

How do I keep up?

How much time do I spend on it?

How does it help me?

How will it help my business?

I haven't been keeping up....how in the world will I ever get up to speed?

If you’re like me, these questions have been on your mind lately also. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode thinking of everything I need to do and adding Social Media to that list feels overwhelming. So, let me share with you what I've found and what calms my social media nerves and frustrations.

I did exactly the OpPoSiTe!

Bwahahaha!  Today, I did exactly the opposite of what I have been saying I should do!  I didn't write down my goals for the day before I started working.  I think I got everything done, but who knows!  Now, it's 8:00 pm and I'm not sure....

Good News is I got all of the following done:

5 Steps to Accomplishing Goals

Here are the steps I have found that work best for me when I am setting AND accomplishing goals.

Make Yourself Accountable

Before I even start on a goal I like to figure out how I'm going to hold myself accountable.

You may thing this should be the last step.  But it is important from the very beginning to have a way to make yourself accountable for completing the goal.  Too many times we think of a goal and there is no traction, no substance to it and it just... goes away.  If that happens it wasn't really a goal, just an idea.  So, at the very beginning, throughout, and at the very end be sure to make yourself accountable to completing the goal. 

Are you going to write about it in your journal or on a blog?  Is there an ending "event" that will happen when the goal is accomplished?  Are you going to report to someone?  If so, who? When? Where? How?

Recently, for my business, I found someone to be my accountability partner.  This is going to be great!  We have similar goals since we are in the same line of business.  We are not competitors so we can be specific and open when we are discussing our goals and ideas.  What will we do as accountability partners?

• Talk about what goals we want to accomplish in specific detail
• Decide how we are going to accomplish our goals
• Give each other tips and ideas to help create the specific goals
• Report to each other frequently - this will help with focus and encouragement

Then we will get back together and report to each other.  

• If the goal wasn't accomplished, why?  
• If the goal was accomplished, what were the struggles?  
• What would we have done differently?  
• Would we do it again?  
• Was it worth it?  

If you have a business, having someone to confide in is a must.  When I first started my business I didn't have any kind of partner.  No one to bounce ideas off of.  (My husband is a construction superintendent, so he doesn't know much about virtual assistants.) No one to help me focus in on what I needed to do.  Having an accountability partner is free and something that benefits both of you.  So, I highly recommend it!

WRITE It Down

Make simple, yet as specific as possible.  This can be a little tricky, but you'll need it this way for step 3.

Write down what the end result of this goal will do for you.  What is it that you want to accomplish?  This is a step that some of us will skip.  Yep, I've done it too... Only to find that the goal was forgotten, put on the back burner, and obviously never completed.  So, take some time to think about it.

For my business this month one of my goals is this:  Double my likes on Facebook from 40 to 80 by November 1.

Put it EVERYWHERE so you see it!

I like to type up my goal in a cool font and post it where I have to think about it all the time.

I put it on the mirror in the bathroom, on the refrigerator, on the kitchen cabinets, on a post-it in the car, in the notes on my phone.  One time I even typed it up and made it my background on my computer!  This is why it's a good idea for my goals to be simple yet specific.

Here is what my reminders look like this month for my Facebook goal:

Every time I see this little reminder I think of all of the details in my plan....

Make the PLAN!

While I'm creating my little reminders I'm brainstorming on how to accomplish this goal.  This will be the biggest step of all!

Now, you may be asking yourself why I put this so low on the list.  Well, that's because while you are figuring out how to make yourself accountable, writing down the end result, and creating your reminders and posting them, you will be thinking about THE PLAN.  Your brain needs time to think and ponder what the steps will be in the plan.  From the very start of this process you should be keeping notes.  The drafts from when you write down your goal are probably going to be part of The Plan.

This is where you really get detailed.  Don't hold back.  Write down every idea that may help you accomplish the goal.  No matter how simple or crazy.  While brainstorming I like to write everything that comes into my mind.  Sometimes I'll write several pages.  Sometimes I do research online for additional ideas.  Sometimes I like to chat with my husband, my daughters, and my accountability partner.  Anyone who may have some insight, encouragement, or just to talk about it.   

Be sure to ask for help from those around you!

Once I have written down everything and all of my ideas are on paper, I like to sleep on it.  Maybe even take a day or two to ponder over everything I've written down.  Then, I put all of my thoughts in order and make clear specific steps to accomplish the goal.  

Don't be afraid to revise your plan!  While working on your goal you may find there are steps you missed, steps that need to be changed,  steps that need to be adjusted.  That's okay.  Make the necessary adjustments to your plan and keep on going!  Your end goal is still the same.

Here are the tasks for my Facebook goal.  (Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know if you have other ideas.) 

• Create a blog on my website for Realtors and other real estate virtual assistants
• Write articles that are interesting and helpful to real estate agents and virtual assistants
• Post my blog articles on Twitter, LinkedIn, BlogFrog, and other social media
• Like real estate agent and virtual assistant fan pages and participate with their posts
• Have a fan page party during the last week of October
• Have a promotion for new likes....  Create a Facebook fan page header for one lucky person from my new likes
• Use my free $50 Facebook coupon to advertise (create ad for Facebook)

As the month goes on I'm sure I will add to this list, change it, and keep on searching for more ideas. 

Do Something EVERY day!

Make it the first thing you do every morning!

Every day do something that will help you accomplish that goal.  Research an idea, do one of the steps on your plan, work toward completing one of the steps in your plan, be ACTIVE in working toward the goal.

There will be days where you may get discouraged, not have time, or simply not be able to work on your goal.  That's okay.  Don't let that stop you from starting again the next day.  And remember, "A journey begins with just one step."  Start your journey today and CREATE A GOAL!

CLICK HERE to help me accomplish my goal this month, and be sure to:

• Leave me a message saying you read the post
• Leave your fan page address so I can return the favor
• Let me know what goal you have set for yourself this month so I can cheer you on!

Thanks for reading!