by Linda | Dec 28, 2017 | DIY printables
Use this free printable check-in review worksheet to get clear on your current situation and how to optimize and get more productive.
Leading up to the new year, I’m sharing my planning process for 2018 and posting the printables I’m using here on the blog.
The final step is the most crucial and that is to check-in, review and adjust your plans!
When a new year rolls around, I think it’s natural for all of us to want to start fresh, embark on new endeavors and plan for an amazing year.
However, the reality of life is that no matter how meticulous or amazing our plans might be, they often have to change with the times and situation. Or unexpected factors might enter and adjustments must be made.
So it’s actually crucial to regularly check-in with goals, review your progress and adjust as necessary. Not only on the front of if you are following your plans, but how you feel throughout the process and evaluating if what you are working towards is actually what you want.
The only thing we can be sure of in life, is change, right?
So after making your grand plans and getting organized, celebrating your successes, facing your challenges, auditing your time, brain dumping, and making your amazing plans of action – don’t forget to regularly check-in on your progress, evaluate the situation and adjust as necessary.
I recommend doing this monthly and also quarter, so that you aren’t always only looking back on the previous month… but taking in big chunks of time all together to see any patterns or big picture realizations.
I have always resisted doing these kind of exercises, thinking it was all woo woo and fluff. But it is so helpful to take some time to journal out your feelings, thoughts and take stock of the situation. It’s as simple as that, but so many people never stop to look back and see how they can improve!
Without taking stock, you might be heading in a direction successfully, but that doesn’t resonate with your needs and wants in the end.
Don’t skip the checking-in with yourself and allowing yourself the time to reflect and ultimately adjust your plans.
Download the free printable check-in review worksheet:
You can use this worksheet whenever you need a check-in with yourself, but definitely consider a review to adjust your plans every month and quarter.
TG Planning6 Review A4
TG Planning6 Review LETTER
This post is part of a series of printables to help you evaluate your planning and productivity:
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Dec 20, 2017 | DIY printables
Download this Free Printable Project Plan of Action to help you organize and plan out any future project you have in mind.
Leading up to the new year, I’m going through my own planning process for 2018 and sharing the printables with you here on the blog.
After the past couple of weeks, we’ve finally gotten to the project planning!
When it comes to actually getting things done, it really doesn’t have to be complicated. I used to be a project manager with big teams and lots of dependencies. So there are loads of fancy software programs to help create intricate project plans. There’s definitely merit and reason for all of that, but when it comes down to a personal goal or solopreneur ventures – you are basically the only guy on the job.
Rather than over complicating the process and spending way too much time on the planning part, I suggest getting things down and dirty, as quickly as possible, then moving into action.
Ultimately, you aren’t going to accomplish anything if you don’t take ACTION!
So from the previous brain dump exercise, you would have gotten everything out of your mind and on paper. Then you can categorize and prioritize, deciding what projects you actually want to tackle.
Now, if you can’t decide, no worries… you can create a project plan of action for each of your project ideas… then make your decision on what to actually take action on. I have found that when you go through the process of actually thinking through what you have to do to accomplish a project – it will help you make up your mind.
If you really want to do something, you’ll do it even if there are some hard tasks in there. Or something that seems super challenging, will actually seem doable, because you break it out into the small bite-sized tasks. So feel free to do this exercise for all your project ideas!
The printable plan of action is simple a sheet to name your project, set a finish date and list out all the milestones and actions required to get the project done.
It’s a simple list of actions!
Easy peasy, right? It really does not have to be more complicated than that. If you are worrying about the order in which things must happen and nested or related tasks – you can certainly try to put things in relative order and make your milestone list, then subitems under those.
But ultimately it doesn’t really matter. You can add to your list over time and check items off out of order. The point is not to have a pretty plan, the point is to make sure you take the actions required to get the project done. When you realize you might have forgotten a few steps or learn from experience there are other things to consider, no problem. Add your tasks, adjust your finish date.
Make it useful and make it help you move forward and take action!
Now if you think there are soooo many lines I’ve included on the sheet, it is because you want to break your tasks down to the smallest bits possible. If you are like me, you’ll take some satisfaction in checking off items done. It really helps with motivation.
Breaking items down also helps to make it approachable and doable even with small bits of time.
If one of your line items is “marketing plan” that is way too big. Instead you have to be specific and maybe write gather photo props, take 16 photos, edit photos, post daily photos – something like that. Try to break it down as much as possible.
If you find that you just don’t have a lot of tasks, maybe it’s not really a big project, but that’s okay too. It should be quick and easy to get done and you will have a project completed under your belt!
And it’s really as simple as that. I think we often overcomplicate things, so I’m really looking for effectiveness and simplicity for 2018.
Download the worksheet in your preferred paper size below and print as many copies as you need. Plan away and let this exercise help you prepare your plan of action and maybe eliminate or put on the back burner some projects that don’t really float your boat after all!
TG Planning5 Project Plan A4
TG Planning5 Project Plan LETTER
This post is part of a series of printables to help you evaluate your planning and productivity:
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Dec 13, 2017 | DIY printables
Use this free printable brain dump worksheet to get everything on paper, and start the process towards organization and productivity.
Leading up to the new year, I’m going through my own planning process for 2018 and sharing the printables with you as well
This week is all about getting everything in your head out on paper.
The brain dump exercise is my favorite and often quite necessary, especially when you feel stressed out and overwhelmed. Somehow, when things are on paper, it does make it seem less daunting and looming, as it often gets exaggerated and all mixed up in your head.
Getting everything on paper in black and white is the only way to make plans for the future. Otherwise, it’s quite easy to minimize or maximize whatever thoughts you might have in your head.
So the idea of a brain dump is to write it ALL down.
Seriously, everything!
Do not limit yourself in terms of all the things you want to do or wish you could do. From personal to work to whatever – write down all the projects that are swirling in your mind. The things you want to accomplish or hope to accomplish in the new year or even one day.
You’ve got to get it all out of your head! This way, you free your mind from having to be a repository of a million thoughts.
Print as many pages as you find necessary and list everything out. After getting your list done – when you feel totally free of all the project ideas in your head… then you can categorize.
Some people like to categorize business goals versus family goals versus personal exercise or spiritual goals. However, you want to split it up – or not at all – is up to you.
But I have found it is helpful to create different buckets and that is why the category column is so helpful.
Once you have categories, then you can address each category separately and prioritize them. In order of important – whether how strongly it is for you – the urge to get it done.
We all know it’s impossible to do it all (at least in one year), so it’s important to prioritize and I find it easier when I have different buckets, because work priorities and family priorities just don’t mix for me.
If necessary, feel free to recopy the lists to a new sheet of paper, so you can put them in order, if things get a bit messy.
By the end of this exercise, you will feel a bit lighter, because all the ideas are out of your head and down on paper. And you will have categorized them and organized them into an order of priority.
Download the free printable brain dump PDF here:
TG Planning4 Brain Dump A4
TG Planning4 Brain Dump LETTER
This post is part of a series of printables to help you evaluate your planning and productivity:
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Dec 5, 2017 | DIY printables
Check out this free printable time audit planning sheet to help figure out how you use your time, ultimately to improve on your productivity!
Leading up to the new year, I’m doing some journaling and planning for 2018 for positive self-development and change.
This week is about getting down to the details and doing a time audit.
This is something I have done many times over, because our habits and schedules change constantly and it’s very helpful to stop and audit our time usage every now and again. It’s a way to keep ourselves in check.
Think of why companies do inventory. It’s the realistic snapshot of what they’ve got in the warehouse. When it comes to our personal achievements, a time audit helps us to see what is factually taking up our days. This will help us take stock of what is actually going on and where we can improve.
The amazing thing about this time audit exercise is how often there is misalignment, of what we spend our time on and what we think our priorities are.
The worksheet is quite simple. The idea is to write a list of your top priorities in life. You can be general and list things like family, work, exercise, volunteer work – or get more detailed. It’s up to you what elements you want to focus on.
The important part is to block out those categories onto the timeline of 24 hours – a typical or average day.
Now the interesting step is to analyze the data. You get to see on paper how you are spending your time and if it aligns with your priorities. Are there gaps where you are spending time on non-priorities? Or are you spending more or less time on certain priority items?
If family is the most important thing to you, are you spending most of your time on family?
I realize that sometimes time and priority cannot correlate exactly. If you work an 8 hour day, it leaves less time for other aspects of life if you are going to get any sleep at all… so take what you can from this exercise without beating yourself up on the realities of life.
Instead focus on whatever time is left and how you spend that time, if you have certain non-negotiable time constraints.
It’s not an exact science, but this time audit will give you a good picture of what your actions show are your priorities, versus what you think are your priorities.
With this information on hand, think about what has to change or shift. You can always move closer to what you consider your ideal day.
Download the free printable time audit planning sheet PDF:
Download TG Planning3 Time Audit A4
Download TG Planning3 Time Audit LETTER
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
by Linda | Nov 28, 2017 | DIY printables
Download the free printable to face your challenges and move forward with intention towards productivity and success for the future.
Leading up to the new year, each week I’m working on an element of my planning to actively work towards positive self-development and change.
This week it’s all about the challenges.
I’ve noticed that often I try to ignore the pain points and crazymaking issues in my life. I feel particularly sheepish when I start to complain about things, but never actually do anything to make a change.
Think about how annoying it is when you hear others complain, yet they make no effort to solve the problem at hand.
And of course, when I catch myself doing it, I seriously just want to crawl into a hole and hibernate… ugh!
Sometimes it’s a small issue that I try brush off, but other times it’s a big thing that overwhelms me, so I would rather not think about it. That’s when I turn to any kind of busy work, just to take my mind off my worries. Avoidance!
I know logically that if I want things to get better, I have to face the challenges and make plans to take action.
I know I must create the change I want!
And if you think maybe there’s just a lot of little stuff that should be brushed off easily, consider how much of your emotional energy you are using up on fears, doubts, pain points and frustrations.
You wouldn’t be venting, complaining or worrying about something, if it didn’t mean something to you. It’s obviously occupying your mind space and it’s to your benefit to clear it all out.
So if there are fears and challenges haunting you, then it means that they are important issues you need to address. Face your challenges!
The first thing is to get all the things written down on paper. Get it out in black and white, so you can really assess the situation.
- What bothers you all the time?
- What areas in your life need improvement?
- Are there weak points in your business or personal life?
- What has been causing you stress and anxiety in the past year?
- What are the crazymaking elements that you complain about all the time?
Even the hesitations, doubts and fears that cause you worry… write it all down.
Whether you have specific major meltdown episodes to journal about or just everyday things that have built up over time, it’s good to get it all out.
You might have to print out a few pages to give yourself plenty of room to release. Make a quick list and then expand on the items in more detail or go stream of consciousness. Whatever comes naturally.
I find this process to be really helpful for your mind. A way to release what has happened in the past year and identify the pain points that we can address in the coming weeks.
The challenges we face in life are a great jumping off point when it comes to establishing goals for the future.
Download the worksheet in your preferred paper size below and journal away.
Face the Challenges Free Printable Below:
Download TG Planning2 Challenges A4
Download TG Planning2 Challenges LETTER
If you like this printable, check out the perpetual calendar and planner printables I’ve created below for more free printables:
