2011, Go!

I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to trying out new ideas for time management and organization things. A few of the blogs I follow target these areas. I mostly skim until something unique catches my eye, and then sometimes I get really excited when I find something I’m able to customize for my purposes. Implementation is the best part!

Anyway, this is my “system” for 2011; it is a concoction of ideas from various brilliant minds.

1. I came across the concept of “wheels of life” in The 7 Habits of the Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey (son of Stephen Covey, who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). It talked about the different roles we play in life with the various people around us. For example, you can be a daughter, student, babysitter, and a friend all in one day.

2. Thinking about a truly balanced life, I set the following 8 categories as my “wheels of life”: spiritual life, physical health, family, friends, ministry/church, finances, career, and personal (hobbies and stuff.. like this blog).

3. For 2011, I sat and thought about where I am and how I am doing in each of these wheels, and narrowed down to a focus for the year. From there, I listed a few goals I’d like to hit to help me achieve my focus.

4. Now, the part that everyone has the most difficulty with new year resolutions is the lack of accountability. The trend of crowded gyms dying down by February is not a surprise to anyone. This is what I struggle with the most, too. Somewhere down the line, I either lose the vision, or forget about it completely as other things come up. I need a lot of flexibility in my scheduling and room to adjust as circumstances change.

Solution!

Recently, I came across David Seah’s compact calendar, and thought it was a really innovative idea. It’s different than the 12-month calendar in that all the days are connected, yet the month and the day of the week are still clearly marked so you won’t get lost the numbers. There are 52 weeks fit compactly into 52 lines.

Combining this with my 8 wheels of life, now I have a monster of a spreadsheet to track my progress for the year! (Have I mentioned I love Excel? It’s GREAT!)

This is cool because it allows me to plan across all wheels, which helps to achieve the balanced factor. It is also manageable in that it’s weekly, so it’s not as rigid as having all 365 days set in stone, so there’s room for flexibility while staying on track of the general direction.

I’m finding that this gives me a much clearer concept of time. One year used to sound like such a long time, except it would somehow disappear before my eyes. When I look at all of this, I see the truth in the saying, “days may drag on, but years fly by”. 52 weeks is not a lot of time.

Click here for a snap shot of what it kind of looks like.

I’m excited to use it and I hope it works out well! I like trying new things. Happy 2011!