Has this ever happened to you?

There I sat. It was a beautiful fall day in Southern California. I sat sipping my tea and enjoying the beautiful view from my office window. Then, reality set in and spoiled my perfectly wonderful morning. My eyes slowly became focused on my desk. Rather, my eyes focused on the several inches of paper that covered most of my desktop. I had finished my latest project the day before and realized that I wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. All those pieces of paper referred to different things that needed my attention. Initially, I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Then, I began to feel a bit depressed. How in the world would I get all these things done? Then, a little voice in my head said, "It’s time to get your goals in order!"

Feelings of being overwhelmed, depressed, or a bit hopeless are all sure signs that you are functioning without a structured set of goals. They can result from projects at home, work, or in your community. It’s like a sailboat that has gone off course, turned into the wind, and is sitting dead in the water with its sails unable to take advantage of the prevailing winds. You’ve lost your flow, your momentum, and your motivation! Moving through life without a set of prioritized goals will cause you to forget things that you should do and decide not to do things that could result in greater success.

If you have a goal chart formulated, then you can review it and know what you should be doing next. What? You don’t have a goal chart? Well, let me help you out of your present distress, and then guide you through the initial stages of preparing your goal chart.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and determine what it is that you need to do. Take the time to clear off your desk, or at least a good portion of it. You may find that much of the clutter is from tasks that have been completed or things whose deadline has already past. File or throw out those things that can be dismissed.

The next step is to develop a "Priority List." Then, make a list of the things that remain on your desk. Use that list to determine what things need to be done now, and what things are less important. Break the items down into four categories: survival issues, matters of importance, items that you would like to complete at some point, and good ideas for long term projects. Then, prioritize all of the items within each of the four categories.

Now it is time to expand your list of priorities. After all, your desk can’t possibly have remnants and indicators of all the things that you would like to do on it. Include all of the "hot ideas" that you have written down from time-to-time. Write down all the things that you would like to accomplish. Consider what it means to be a success. You may wish to review my article, The Personal Pinnacle of Success: Defining Success and Climbing the Mountain on Your Own Terms*, to help you solidify your ideas about success.

Finally, develop a goal chart. A goal chart contains a series of steps toward your Personal Pinnacle of Success in one specific area. Ultimately, you will want to develop a goal chart for each of the five key areas of life.* Each of the steps that you develop will contain a series of items to complete in order to reach each goal.

Well, there you are. This article was written to be short and to the point. Put the wind back in your sail. Get your goals in order. Become inspired to move closer to your Personal Pinnacle of Success. You have no time to waste because you will never have another chance to rewind today and start all over. So, get going!

There you have it. Clear off your desk. Develop your "Priority List."

As always, thank you for subscribing to the Pinnacle Perspective!

Warmest regards,

Susan

Copyright © 1998 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.

Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D. is the executive director of UnCommon Courtesy & Coaching. To find out more about Dr. Rempel, please visit: www.uncommoncourtesy.com/dr.htm. Read other articles Susan has written at http://www.uncommoncourtesy.com/newsletterarticle.htm.