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Posts Tagged ‘success building steps’

Achieving Success BLOG

March 7th, 2009 by Krayton M Davis | No Comments | Filed in Achieving Success

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

Daily Task Measurement

Last week, we discussed assigning and measuring Daily Task Measurement. You will assign tasks that need to be completed as diagramed on the worksheet below:

But sometimes, tasks that you scheduled for “2 hours on Monday” will not get completed. You simply reschedule the task later in the week or into next week. One key rule in any time management program is to stick with your schedule. If you fail to complete the task as scheduled, place the work aside and move on to the next scheduled assignment. Uncompleted tasks at the end of the week can be scheduled for completion later on.

There are other reasons why you might fail to complete your schedule tasks. See if any of the following reasons apply to you:

1) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because there isn’t enough time.

When you find it difficult to allocate, say, “60 minutes each day to complete a goal task,” try assigning less time for a given task. For example, let’s say that you want to develop a reference book for investing in securities. You set a task to write each day for 60 minutes. But given your other commitments to career, education, and family, you can’t find the full 60 minutes each day to complete this task. Try to assign a task to write for 15 minutes each day instead. It’s far better to write a little each day then to not write at all.

You might need to change your lifestyle to find more time. For example, you could awake 30-60 minutes earlier. You could take public transportation to work so that you can work while commuting. You could hire outside services such as gardeners or house cleaners to perform some of your routine chores. And you can always free up your day by minimizing leisure time in front of the television or computer.

2) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because you lack discipline.

Discipline is the foundation of all goals. A house built upon a sandy foundation will eventually crumble with the onset of a storm. A house requires a solid foundation built upon rock and concrete to protect its structure from the elements. Likewise, goal plans require a similar foundation built upon discipline to protect the goals from procrastination, laziness, lack of self-esteem, etc. Without a solid foundation, structures like a goal plan will collapse.

Many tasks in your goal plan will require a special discipline such as physical strength, educational aptitude, social skills and spiritual qualities. It becomes necessary that you build discipline in all five character attributes. Strengthening the character attributes rounds your character so that you can achieve any required task. If you lack discipline, I suggest that you return to the attribute chapters (Ch. 7-11) and repeat the steps in each chapter to build self-discipline and motivation.

3) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because your goal planning and execution may be too advanced.

Crawl before you walk, walk before you jog, jog before you run, and run before you rollerblade. In other words, if you just completed your MBA and set an objective to become a CEO of a Fortune 100 company, you must first achieve some important first-level goals to support your advancement up the corporate ladder.

If you are tempted to skip steps to advance quickly up the goal pyramid, watch out! You could be heading for disaster, particularly when you fail to develop first-layer skills that support goals further up the model. I suggest you go back and review your goal plan if you find it too advanced. You might rewrite your plan and identify a different set of priorities that can help you achieve difficult tasks. Remember there is a hierarchical order to success. You need to obtain important skills and accomplishments before attempting goals higher up the hierarchy.

4) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because you are attempting too many tasks.

Attempting too many things can lead to discouragement and failure. It would be nice to achieve every task assigned. But we must remain realistic. We need to go to school. We need to work to support our family. We need to work overtime to build our careers. All of which competes for your valuable time. Try to reduce the number of tasks assigned for a given day. It is far better to achieve fewer tasks each day than none at all because of discouragement.

Next week: we discuss weekly goal and benchmark evaluation.

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

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Achieving Success BLOG

February 21st, 2009 by Krayton M Davis | 1 Comment | Filed in Achieving Success

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for all posts and PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Third Ingredient to Success

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. Sir Winston Churchhill

continuation from BLOG posting: benchmark planning

Executing Your Plan

The execution phase brings together the planning and discipline concepts from the last postings and pieces together a strategy for time management and execution of your tasks. Our discussion continues:

Section II: Planning and Recording Daily Activities

For this discussion and illustration of the daily planning process, I will use the day planning system illustrated below. You can find this day planning system in the (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ). You are invited to copy these forms if they work for you.

Note: The Appendix also contains a task planning system as Forms P.1-P.7. You can use these forms if you like.

Step 4:
After you complete the scheduling and task assignment for the entire week, review your sheet for accuracy. Make sure you allocated enough time to complete all of the respective tasks. You may note some lapses in your schedule. This is good. You can keep these times open to catch up on tasks uncompleted earlier in the week. We will discuss daily task evaluation in another posting.

You might be more accustomed to day-to-day planning rather than scheduling your entire week. You will note that scheduling the entire week as instructed will help you manage your time more efficiently. You will get a macro view of your week and plan accordingly so that you are in control of your activities instead of the activities controlling you.

You may question whether you can complete the schedule as indicated. Maybe not at first. But don’t become discouraged. It will take several weekly planning sessions before you become efficient. After a few weeks, you will be able to schedule time that fits within your capacity to complete assigned tasks.

Step 5:
Take the Weekly Assignment Sheet and transpose the scheduling and task assignments to your day planner if you haven’t already done so (as diagrammed by the letters in the illustration using Appendix Forms O.1-O.7). The following illustration shows an example for Monday planning.

As I indicated earlier, you may schedule your tasks and appointments directly to your day planner instead of using the Scheduling Worksheet. This will save you from having to transpose the information. I used the Scheduling Worksheet to demonstrate weekly scheduling. I invite you to use the worksheet if you find it helpful.

Step 6:
Your day planner is now your official calendar for the entire week. Everything required for the week has been scheduled and planned. If other events come up, you will simply manage them accordingly by scheduling these events for the next week or juggling your current schedule as appropriate. We will discuss these concepts later.

As you complete each task and appointment, simply check it off on your day planner. Also indicate whether you completed your character development goal for the day.

If you are using a day planning system other than Appendix Forms used in this illustration, you will need a Character Attribute Evaluation Sheet to record your character development progress. You can find this sheet in the appendix-Form Q. You can use the form and assemble it as part of your weekly reference kit described in the next step.

Step 7:
Assemble your weekly planning sheets into a neatly assembled weekly reference kit. You will refer to this kit regularly throughout the week as necessary. You will also use it to schedule tasks for next week.

Next week, we will review goal evaluation.
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A Success Building BLOG

May 24th, 2008 by Krayton M Davis | 2 Comments | Filed in Achieving Success

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for all posts and PDF downloads)

Discipline to Success:

The Physical Temperance Attribute

We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power . . . The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Patrick Henry

continuation from BLOG post: part VIII.c

Physical Temperance:

Moderation or self-restraint in action, thought, or feeling. Habitual moderation in the indulgence of the physical appetites or passions; not excessive in degree.

continuation

The physical temperance is the control of physical appetites and passions. We can segment the physical temperance attribute into two areas:

In our last posting, we outlined a 7-step plan for building your physical temperance discipline.  The plan called for a 2-week development.  So use this next week to continuing developing your plan. 

Below is a summary of the 7-step plan: 

Take a sheet of paper and form two columns with the following headings: Undesirable Physical Habits and Physical Indulgences. List under each heading any habits and indulgences that you would like to control and/or eliminate.

Select a habit or physical indulgence that you would like to control. Select just one habit or indulgence to work on at this time. Select a habit or indulgence that is isn’t too difficult; e.g., like reducing television viewing time to 30 minutes each day. This will help build the inner strength that can be used later to control more difficult habits and indulgences.

Research outside materials to review methods that you can use to achieve your physical temperance goal. Medical books, for example, may suggest some ways to overcome a habit or indulgence. You may want to consider medical or counseling advice from outside institutions, if necessary.

List your physical temperance goal on Weekly Goal Planning Sheet as illustrated here using Appendix Form-L. If you prefer, you can use the Character Attribute Development sheet from Appendix Form-E.

Note that you will continue to strengthen your physical development goal from the last chapter. You may want to increase the intensity of the physical goal — like jogging an additional 15 minutes per day — but do not change the goal. You will develop and strengthen the physical and physical temperance goals simultaneously for the next two weeks.

Develop and strengthen both your physical and physical temperance goals for the next two weeks. Record your daily progress using your day planner or electronic handheld. Or you may use Appendix Form-E to record your progress.

Some habits and passions may be difficult to control for a full day, particularly if it is a subconscious habit or addiction. Old habits will be hard to break and may take some time to control and change. If you made a serious attempt to control your physical habits or passions, check the box indicating completion.

Bookmark this page and return next week to complete the next step.

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A Success Building BLOG: (continued)

April 19th, 2008 by Krayton M Davis | No Comments | Filed in Achieving Success

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for all posts and PDF downloads)

Discipline to Success:

The Physical Attribute

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Benjamin Franklin

continuation from BLOG post: part VII.c

Last Week:
we went over a 6-step plan to build up your physical character.  The plan has you performing some physical change for the next two weeks.  So this posting is a repeat of last week’s posting.  We will pick up our discussion next week after everyone has completed a 2-week build out plan.

What we discussed last week:

Tasks to Develop and Strengthen Your Physical Attribute

You begin shaping a well-rounded character by first developing and strengthening your physical attribute. The physical attribute requires less total energy to develop and impacts your motivation at greater levels than any of the four character attributes.

Evaluate your current physical attribute. Determine what improvements or enhancements that you should make in each of the following areas. List the desired change or enhancement on a piece of paper:

  • Physical Exercise
  • Physical Inner Strength
  • Physical Diet
  • Physical Appearance

Select a change that you want to make. Select only one change at this time. Trying to tackle more than one physical change can lead to discouragement and failure.

Don’t select a change that is so easy to achieve that you fail to make an impact on your physical development. What good is lifting two pounds each day. On the other hand, don’t select a physical development change that is impossible or too difficult to obtain. Select a program that is challenging but not too difficult. Your goal is to make a positive impact on your physical attribute.

Try to understand that physical changes are part of a hierarchy. If you choose to shed some pounds, you might first concentrate on improving your diet before exercising regularly. If your physical change is to become more active, concentrate first on a routine exercise program before becoming involved in a physical sport. Develop your physical program in respective steps so that you don’t injure yourself or become discouraged.

Plan the tasks required to achieve your physical development goal. Detail exactly what you need to do to achieve your plan, including time schedules and preparation. For example, you may need to schedule yourself to retire to bed 30-60 minutes earlier than normal so that you can awake early in the morning to exercise.

Also, try to be specific in the physical change you want to make. Define exactly the tasks needed to make a change. Don’t write, “. . . I want to lose 30 pounds.” It doesn’t mean anything. Identify in detail everything needed to successfully lose 30 pounds. This may require a daily schedule of exercise and diet. You may want to refer to other literary works that can help you define these tasks.

Develop a two-week schedule. Select a time that will best achieve your physical goal. For example, you might want to schedule your development early in the morning so that it doesn’t conflict with your other obligations. You can use Appendix Form-F to complete this step as diagrammed: link to our PDF appendix for all forms.

You can copy and cut the form to size so that it can fit easily in your pocket or handbag. Take Appendix Form-F and write the physical development program in the space provided at the top of form.

Remember that old habits are hard to change. You can expect a hard climb. You need to force yourself out of bed if needed. Plant several alarm clocks around the room to prevent yourself falling back to sleep. You must resist the temptation to skip a day. You are changing life-long habits, and that requires perseverance. Make a commitment to complete the physical goal assigned for each day no matter what tempts you.

Develop the physical change as planned by performing the tasks or steps that you have designated. Evaluate your performance at the end of each day. Check the box if you completed the goal for the day. Appendix Form-E is a progress report that measures your daily progress and action. Continue executing this step for the next fourteen days.

You will return to this post next week to complete Step 7.

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