Schedule of Activities to Reach Goals

As I mentioned in a post earlier today, I have a schedule of activities that I use to help me achieve goals.  I started in 2001 by having a “to-do” list of New Year’s resolutions, but since then it’s evolved to be specific and focused on practical planning and activities to reach those goals.  I’ve used the format below for the last three years. 

It’s really more of an ideal than a practical record of how I actually use my time, as I fall very short of consistently doing many of these things.  For example, for about two years my early weekday mornings really did look like this, but I got out of the habit last year and am still trying to get back in.  I’ve done better with the weekend planning than at first, but it’s still not a habit.  I try to view goals and resolutions as things to develop over time by a process, rather than a monolithic thing that I’ll “start doing” on a certain day, anyway.  It helps me avoid burnout.

My schedule is based on two things: my life list at 43 Things.com, and my patriarchal blessing.  (I once went through my patriarchal blessing and made a list of all the things that I could glean from it that might be beneficial for me to work on, yielding a lifetime “to-do” list of 15 items.)  This year, I specifically noted on my schedule which items from those lists each of my goals is meant to develop, with the intent that it will help me keep those long-term goals in mind and stay motivated. 

Here it is:

 

ROLES AND GOALS

ROLES	DAILY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY
Discipleship	1. Personal evening prayer after couple prayer—gratitude only PB 15	1. Make a prayer list, use daily, update each Sun. night PB 15; 43.5 2. Personal service project- plan Sun night PB 14; 43.5 3. One pass-along card PB 6; 43.3	1. Fast on 1st and 3rd Sundays PB 15 2. Temple attendance 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 5:30 session PB 9, 15; 43.2 3. Review notes on Jesus Christ—last Sunday 43.1 4. Plan ministering for HT—last Sunday 43.5, 7 5. Post, comment, query, etc. Book of Mormon article–work on 1st Saturday PB 6, 43.3, 8
Husband and Father PB 10-11	1. Daily gospel study/prayer with wife PB 10	1. Saturday night planning/budget meeting with wife PB 13 2. Date night every week-plan on Sat. PB 10	1. Review Elder Cook’s notes- 1st Sunday PB 11 2. Family council and interviews/blessings with children – 1st Sunday PB 8, 11 3. Romantic surprise—plan last Sunday PB 10; 43.11
Calling PB 7	1. Read a topic in handbook before evening prayer 2. Send an encouraging card to a ward member 43.5	1. Visits and interviews, Tues and Wed. night- plan on Sunday 2. Do something special for youth every Saturday 43.5 3. Review notes and needs for week each Sun. night / organize, plan	1. Organize bishopric binder: update information, etc. 2. Offer someone a blessing PB 8
Teacher PB 13	1. Grade at least one set of papers before leaving work 2. Send an encouraging card to a student 43.17	1. Lesson /unit plan 3-weeks on Wed./Thur. prep 2. Meet with a student and/or parent to improve performance 43.17	1. Organize materials last Friday each month 2. Review Marzano / effective lesson components 43.17
Self-Improvement	WKDAY MORNING 4:30-5:00 AM-scripture study and prayer PB 15 Monday: Conference talks Tuesday: Standard Works Wednesday: Jesus the Christ 43.1 Thursday: Standard Works Friday: Standard Works 5:00-5:30 AM—exercise M/W/F—gym; T/Th—yoga PB 3; 43.36   RESOLUTIONS * No more than 60 min. online news/blogs / day—timer! * Save as much money as possible PB 13 * Chinese flash cards at red lights—10 at a time PB 12; 43.27 * No fries or soda—limit sugar PB 3 * Optimism, positivity 43.34 * Less talk radio	SAT MRNG (2nd, 4th, 5th) 6:00-6:30 AM—Study House of Joseph in scripture/prayer PB 4 6:30-7:00 AM—Chinese study PB 12; 43.27 7:00-8:00 AM—yoga/gym PB 3; 43.36   SUN MRNG 5:30-6:00 AM— Gospel Doctrine lesson/prayer PB 15 6:00-6:30 AM—gospel Chinese study PB 12; 43.27   SHARPEN THE SAW * Music/art work in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci 43.35,40 * Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters 43.37 * crosswords/old movies 43.31/chess 43.20   GOALS * Eagle Scout 43.15 * writing 43.19, 42 * CHARITY   TO READ * Portable Dorothy Parker * Noble House	* Leaves of Grass * Master and Commander * Dost., Brothers Karamazov * Chesterton, Amis * Mr. Sammler’s Planet * Art History For Dummies * Death in Holy Orders *Buckley, Right Word * Kafka on the Shore * Hardy, Tess of d’Ubervilles * * Briefer History of Time * Proust, Swann’s Way * Pirsig, Zen * Mozart: His Life and Music * WSJ: Personal Finance Guidebook / Money and Investing * Tolstoy, War and Peace * Trollope, Way We Live Now * Rumi * Ulysses * Flaubert, Madame Bovary *Federalist Papers * White Noise * Pears, Instance of Fingerpost * Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago * Dickens, Bleak House * Eco, In the Name of the Rose * Transitive Vampire

Rev. 12/29/08