Do you ever find yourself waking up at 3 a.m. worrying about your to-do list and have a feeling of being overwhelmed?

If your answer is yes, don’t worry you are not alone.

In today’s times, we are all asked to do more with less and it can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  If you’ve ever heard the saying, “When Mom is happy, everybody is happy” has a bit of truth in it, but not just for Mom.  If we are happy with ourselves, then everyone around us seems to be happier.  It’s because we attract what we put before others in the way of our attitude.

So…how do we do more with less?

We cannot create more time in a day, but we can create more time within our life if we utilize S.M.A.R.T. goals.

The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

People usually set personal goals in the form of a New Year resolution.  Most of the time, our goals are things such as I want to lose weight this year, I want to make more money this year, but these days there’s probably a new one – I wish to be more organized because there’s just not enough time in the day to get everything done.  They are only ideas at this point, but to make them goals, we need to add a few more elements to them.  Let’s use I want to be more organized this year as a specific example.

Here’s the S.M.A.R.T. goal perspective.

Specific – My goal is to be more organized so I can spend 30 minutes to myself everyday doing for just me.

Measurable – Make a list and write down everything you do in a day – you would be surprised as to what can be consolidated to make more efficient use of your time.  Writing things down gives you permission to forget as if we keep too much information in our brain, our thought patterns cause us to go into overdrive and become overwhelmed.

Attainable – Lists make things more manageable and give you a sense of accomplishment when you cross items off.

Realistic – It may be that you can create 15 minutes a day or 45 minutes a day, so based on what you’ve done so far you see your goal is attainable and you also see that it is realistic.  We want our goals to be challenging enough so we have a great sense of accomplishment when we do reach them, but not so challenging that we give up because they are unrealistic.

Timely - Set a deadline.  I am spending 30 minutes every day doing just for me by March 31, 2011.

Here’s where we get ourselves into trouble – setting too many goals.  If we segment our lives in the way of personal, professional, health, financial and spiritual and come up with one goal for each area, it becomes overwhelming and nothing gets done which is counterproductive.  Life is a process, not an event.  We treat goals like they are events.  In reality they are a process that culminates into an accomplishment that will lead to another goal, so it will always be an evolving process.  The most effective way to set a goal is to choose one for this coming year that would have the greatest effect on your life with the least amount of disruption in your daily routine.  This leads to less stress because life seems more manageable.  It may make you feel better mentally and physically which will make you more productive.

So don’t wait until the last week of this year to start planning for your best year yet…think about it today or this week and implement it by the beginning of December and by January 1, 2011 you will be well on your way to doing more for yourself which makes for a more productive life!

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Kathi Lester in your blog, article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Kathi Lester (www.klarityinc.biz) has more than 16 years of executive level management experience in the broadcasting industry.  One of her many strengths includes leading individuals, staffs and companies to unprecedented levels of success.  She takes an innovative yet methodical approach while considering all possible paths toward making her clients’ visions reality.  Her tremendous energy, collaborative working style, enthusiasm and passion for excellence instill a sense of trust and loyalty among those with whom she works.  Her unique ability to motivate individuals and connect with her audience makes her a valued speaker and facilitator at workshops and retreats.  She has led numerous workshops on a wide range of topics for businesses and non-profit organizations.  Kathi has her own consulting firm located in Greensboro, NC, that focuses on helping individuals and companies achieve their goals by creating actionable plans that center around focused strategies that provide clear results.

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Work Your Plan/Plan Your Life for 2011 – SMART Goals Work in many Settings

Do you ever wake up at 3am worrying about your to-do list?  Are you overwhelmed by your ever growing obligations?  Learn proven techniques and principles based on S.M.A.R.T.© goals that can be incorporated into your current lifestyle.  Begin today defining your strengths and skills that will lead you to a more rewarding future.

What: Work Your Plan/Plan Your Life for 2011

When: Saturday, November 13^th

Time: 10a-1p

Where: Twin Lakes Lodge

2700 Twin Lakes Drive

Greensboro, NC

Cost: $35 includes lunch

This workshop will be facilitated by Kathi Lester of KLarity, Inc., a consulting firm located in Greensboro, North Carolina, that focuses on helping individuals and companies achieve their goals by implementing focused strategies that provide clear results.  She has more than 16 years of leading individuals, staffs and companies to unprecedented levels of success.  She takes an innovative yet methodical approach while considering all possible paths toward making her clients’ visions reality. Her tremendous energy, collaborative work style, enthusiasm and passion for excellence instill a sense of trust and loyalty among those with whom she works.

Email Kathi today at klester@klarityinc.biz or call 336.253.6292 to reserve your space!

~Please note any special dietary requirements or food allergies~

October 13: Focusing on YOU in Today’s Job Market presented by Joyce Richman & Barbara Demarest, Executive Coaches & Noted Authors (Talk to the Experts and Ask YOUR Questions)

January 19: Tell Me About Yourself” Answering those Difficult Interview Questions presented by Ronnie Grabon, HR Consultant and Executive Coach  (Bring your most challenging questions)

The JFS Employment Initiative is sponsored by Jewish Family Services in Greensboro, NC.  Association Coaches volunteer their time and talents to help with the monthly programming that JFS initiated to combat current unemployment rates.

Click here to access Ronnie Grabon’s coaching profile.

The TwitterLab date has been set!

I will be conducting a one hour multi-technology session for novices to learn about Twitter.  Here’s the plan:

1. You have to sign up ahead of time so that I know who is coming and how many people will be involved. You’ll do that via the link below to PayPal where you pay/register.
2. After I get your payment, I will send you a PDF with instructions on how to set up your Twitter account if you don’t already have one yet.
3. I will also send you the phone conference phone number so that you will have that to call in on Monday, October 12, 2009.
4. Once you are set up in Twitter, the PDF instructions will tell you some things to Tweet me so that I know you are ready.
5. On Saturday, October 10, 2009, I will send you the presentation so that you can have it on your computer or you can print it out to follow during the session.
6. On Monday, you’ll call into the conference line that I will send those who register and I will go through the presentation for about 20 minutes.  Then we will do Q&A using Twitter as our tool (this will be cool, so get excited about actually doing something with it)
7. Then I’ll do another 10-15 minute presentation on how to use Twitter to further establish your online presence and build your business network.
8. We’ll take another round of questions and then wrap up.

So, the multi-technology part is that you will be on your regular phone listening via conference call, on your computer logged into Twitter and practicing (this is a learning lab, not just a lecture) and you will have the hard copy of the presentation to follow along.  Phone, computer, paper – can you manage all that?  I hope so, because this should be fun.

Here are the logistical details:

Registration process – to register, you will use PayPal, the link below takes you there.  The cost is $25.  If you want to have 5 people in the room watching you, that’s fine too. This tele-seminar is free to The Coaching Association paid subscribers and TCA Coaches.  If you are reading this and are TCA Coach listed on www.thecoachingassociation.com, email me at info@barbarademarest.com to register and I’ll get you set up.  If you are interested in joining the TCA as a subscriber, email me and I will let you know what is involved and if it is something that might fit for you.

Time to Allow for This – We will take at least 45 minutes, but no more than 1 hour to work through the presentation and to try some things on Twitter.  The idea is for it to be a lab and not just a lecture, so you will get the most out of it if you are fully engaged at a computer with access to a phone.  If the time that it is scheduled only works for you to listen on your cell while you are driving or something, that’s up to you whether or not to do it.  I am going to try to record this so that participants can come back to it if they need to do so.

That’s the plan, I hope you can join in.

Here’s the PayPal button to register, cost is $25.00

Two TCA Coaches, Joyce Richman and Barbara Demarest, will be featured.  Joyce currently appears on WFMY offering career and executive coaching advice.  She is serving as one of the sponsors and hosts of the event.  Barbara Demarest will offer “curbside” consulting to up to 250 participants during the 8-hour event.  Barbara’s will offer coaching to participants interested in using online tools in managing their career transitions.

More information about the event can be found on the WFMY News 2 website.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local_state/article.aspx?storyid=125845