3939: A New Approach to Goal Setting AND Why is Time Management So Important by Chalene Johnson

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1:01This is Optimal Living Daily, a new approach to goal setting. And why is time management so important? Both by Shaleen Johnson of ShaleenJohnson.com and I'm Justin Malik, your narrator. Sometimes I share two articles in one episode and that's the case today. So let's get right to them and continue optimizing your life. A new approach to goal setting by Shaleen Johnson of ShaleenJohnson.com Goals. A goal is anything you want to achieve or obtain in your life. Most people are afraid of big goals because they seem too large to complete. Some people have tried to complete big goals in the past and have met resistance or even failure. And for that reason they aren't ready to try again. Big goals are typically based on things we see like wanting a house or a car in our very specific examples of visual success. But what if we could set goals another way? Instead of wanting what other people have or what we see on television,

2:01what if we could set goals based on how that process and achievement would make us feel? Feelings. When I'm looking at setting a new goal for myself, I focus on one thing. Will I still feel freedom of choice? I want to always feel in control of the choices I can make, so making sure I feel freedom of choice no matter the goal is important to me. Instead of thinking about what the goal will get you like a car or a house, try thinking about what you want to feel or what needs to be met in order to feel happiness. Happiness is a little general, but it's a good starting point. In my life, I want to always have the feeling that I have freedom of choice. If a goal or situation comes up, I ask myself if I will still feel freedom of choice if I do that thing. If the answer is no, then I will detract from my happiness and isn't a good option for me. That was me think of the phrase, I need to feel blank in order to feel happiness. You already know what you need to feel happy and putting your goals in terms of happiness will make them easier to set and achieve. Goal setting.

3:01Now that you know what you need in order to feel happiness, it's time to start setting goals. Focus on how the goal would affect you based on the I need to feel statement. When you're working on your goals, it's important that you don't focus on money or status just on your feelings in your life. A useful phrase would be, would saying yes, give me a feeling of blank. The blank here is the blank in the previous step and it's individual to you. This only works if you're truly honest about everything. It won't work if you aren't because you need to be true to yourself and about what you really want. Excuses are easy for us to come up with. Reasons to go for the goal despite it not bringing us joy. Excuses only move us away from happiness and won't work in the long run. This also works for those tough life decisions. In order to make difficult decisions and push your life in the direction you desire, you need to use that I need to feel statement as a qualifier. This is your guiding principle to measure your decisions against. It's important to be honest with yourself here as well because the decision is already tough.

4:02You don't want to steer your life in the wrong direction by being dishonest with yourself. Why is time management so born by Shilline Johnson of ShillineJohnson.com? Time management can be tough because it seems like there's always something that needs to be done. How do we decide what has to get done today and what can wait until tomorrow? How do we make something in priority and ensure it gets completed? I'll be the first to admit that time management is difficult, especially in the digital world we live in. Everything is beeping and buzzing, demanding our attention. So what comes first and what can wait? Let me outline it for you and hopefully help you structure your day so you get more completed and reduce those distractions. Recognize destination procrastination. Destination procrastination is anything you do or go to that feels productive but really isn't. A big one is social media like Facebook but others include podcasts, tidying the house or answering email.

5:04All these things feel productive but are actually distractions because they aren't a top priority. Recognize what you do to distract yourself so they can stop doing it and set aside time for these tasks. A big one for me was emails and phone calls. Once I realized I was spending lots of time on them, I built windows into my day to check in and others to silence them so I could focus on something else. To do lists. If you want to get better at time management, to do lists are a must. So many people think that they can't go back to paper and pen because we live a digital life but they're so wrong. Writing down your daily tasks and events connects you to the list in a way tapping on a screen can't. Using your hand and pen to write out your day will let your brain think through what needs to be accomplished and will let you prioritize your tasks. I read out my list each night before bed and in the morning take a photo of it and put it in my to-do list app on my phone. That way I always have it to reference. Another great tip is to make your to-do list app the only app on your home screen.

6:04Then whenever you check your phone it's seen first and redirects your attention. The best approach to to-do lists in my opinion is to write out your top three tasks of the day and then follow up with three to five secondary tasks you'd like to accomplish. Those top three are the highest priority and will be focused on first then if you have more time you can try to knock one or two more off the list. Accountability. A big part of time management is holding yourself accountable not only to the tasks of the day but to the whole process. Tell someone of your new plans so they can help hold you to them. If you feel like you have to answer every email and phone call as soon as it comes in, change your availability and announce it to everyone with an email and your voicemail message. Once people are aware that you only answer phone calls in the afternoon they will adjust your schedule. I like to read email in the morning but answer in the afternoon and I silence my phone for most of the day checking in at lunch and returning calls in the afternoon. Find a schedule that works for you and you'll be infinitely more productive.

7:06You just listen to the posts titled a new approach to goal setting and why is time management so important both by Shaleen Johnson of Shaleen Johnson.com but I'll be right back with my commentary. Spring styles are at Nordstrom Rack stores now and there are up to 60% off stock up and save on rag and bone made well Vince all sings in more of your favorites. Why do we rock for the hottest still just so many good brands join minority club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first and more plus buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Score more with the college branded Venmo debit card and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash. Got paid back with the Venmo debit card you can instantly access your balance and spend on what you want like game day snacks gear tickets and more. The more you do the more cash back you can earn plus there's no monthly fear minimum balance sign up now at Venmo dot com slash college card.

8:13The Venmo master card is issued by the bank court bank NA select schools available Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo dot me slash stash terms max $100 cash back per month. It's an interesting way to look at goals thinking about it more based on feelings rather than things for her she mentioned it's freedom of choice I can definitely relate to that. But for you or someone else it might be connection or security that's a common one or maybe creativity could be a lot of things. But knowing what you actually need to feel happy or contentment that's the key otherwise we might just be chasing things we think we're supposed to want. As for the second article I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge planner. But I think the point about destination procrastination is spot on we do things that feel productive checking email, tidying up scrolling social media but they really just distractions from what actually matters.

9:14The idea of top three tasks makes sense to me then it's more manageable because with a list of 20 things it's overwhelming and we might end up doing nothing or for lucky the easy ones only. But those don't really end up helping us move the needle. So today maybe we can try that out what's your top three. If that thank you for being here and actually thank you if you've shared this show with someone else have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.