This is my second installment of the Year-End Countdown Series. This week, the challenge is to make an 
appointment with yourself, three times a week, for at least 30 minutes each, until the end of the year.
Why am I asking you to make an appointment with yourself? Three reasons:
#1 If you’re like most, you always make appointments with others and not yourself. You’re just as important as everyone else in your life!
#2 With always putting others first, you likely run out of time to spend time on things that are just for you — and especially as year-end approaches.
#3 If you make an appointment, you’ll value this time even more because it’s specifically set aside for you to get things done!
How to use your time …
Reserve this time for doing things that are really important to get done before the end of 2014. Here’s an example:
I’m going to reserve 3, 30-minute appointments on my calendar to accomplish some things that are really important to have completed by December 31, 2014.
- Clean my office. Larger in scope than just cleaning my office on a weekly basis, I’m going to use 30 minutes each week to go thru computer files, paper files, books, file structures, paper, pens, everything in the office and change it in some way. I might get rid of the item, re-organize it or package it up and store it. If it’s in the office space, then it’s going to be reviewed in detail and refreshed prior to year end.
- Clean my storage room. I have a small room where I store many of my things in boxes. I’m going to spend 30 minutes, each week, rearranging things, discarding things and creating boxes of things to give away to charity.
- Miscellaneous projects. I’m going to identify a number of projects that I can do in 30 minutes or less (or perhaps finish in another 30 minute session), that I need to get done and don’t really want to do – icky projects. When I know I have just 30 minutes to focus, I can work quickly to make great headway. And, the task will be over before I know it! It doesn’t get any better than that.
What do you want to do?
This is your time and you can do whatever you want with it. So if you want to merely be quiet and just day dream, then add it to the calendar. If you want to finish a task you don’t like, do it sooner rather than later. Get things done now and then you don’t need to think about them any more!
Keep it flexible and keep it fun!
I like to keep things flexible. So I might plan to do all three 30-minute appointments on a Saturday morning and just get them out of the way for the week. Or, depending on how I feel, I may spread them out during the week.
I also use a kitchen timer to keep myself on track. I certainly won’t mind working longer than planned if I’m really in the flow, however, for the “less fun” projects, a timer gives me an endpoint and relief!
If you don’t have a kitchen timer, pick up a digital one for less than 10 dollars in the kitchen supplies area at your local store. Alternatively, use the timer on your smartphone or other device.
That’s all there is to this week’s Year End Countdown. It’s simple and powerful. So try it out and let me know your results!
And, the lyrics to the song, quoted in the subject line of the email are below –Steve Miller Band — Fly Like an Eagle.
Tara’s Extra Notes Alert
“Fly Like An Eagle” by Steve Miller, Copyright Sailor Music
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
To read the full lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/stevemillerband/flylikeaneagle.html
This song is performed by Steve Miller Band and appears on the album Fly Like An Eagle (1976). To listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb9By-lODgk
To your success!
Tara Kachaturoff
Tara Kachaturoff is a high-energy creative business strategist who works with entrepreneurs who want to create more visibility and credibility for themselves and their businesses through implementing a variety of personal branding and marketing strategies. Working exclusively with high-performing motivated entrepreneurs, she inspires her clients to optimize their most valuable assets – their vision, values, strengths and talents. She provides information-packed, quality-oriented insight that inspires and enlightens. She is Michigan’s first Reach Certified Personal Brand Strategist. She is the producer and host of Michigan Entrepreneur, a weekly television talk show featuring entrepreneurs from startup to stellar – now in its 9th year of production. More recently, she was a contributing author to Susan Chritton’s bestselling book, Personal Branding for Dummies, contributing a section on personal branding and TV.
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