Time’s a-ticking

From - http://www.possibilityvirus.com/blog/(Thanks to Margaret Cooter for yet another useful link) This was posted over a month ago, so time scales have slipped -

Can you believe it - the first 90 days of 2009 are almost done and dusted.

(As of Thursday 12th we’re at day #71 … almost exactly 20% of the year has gone and we’re charging fast towards the end of the first quarter.)Things don’t seem to be slowing down any, do they?

What do the next 90 days hold for you?

The next 90 days beckon, and you’re going to be at the end of June soon enough no matter what you do.So what if, instead of just getting through them, you decided that they would be extraordinary?

What if you lifted your game from now until June 30th?
What if you made this 90 days of more Great Work?

(Why 90 days? It seems to be a perfect planning period. Not too short so nothing can really be done. Not too long that your plans don’t deteriorate into “5 year plan” fantasies. It’s the Goldilocks planning period… not too long, not too short…just right.)

How to make a plan

It’s all about focus. Don’t try and plan the world. Don’t try and “boil the ocean”. Focus on “the valuable few”, the things that will really make a difference, the things that really matter to you.

Try following this structure to see if it helps.

1. Write down two things that you’d like to remember 2009 for. Two things that, if you achieved them, would make 2009 an uncommon year, a year to remember.

2. Turn your attention to the next 90 days. For each goal, write down a project or an action that would move things forward that would
=> Be the easiest thing to do
=> Have the biggest impact
=> Be most fun to do
=> Take the most courage
=> Be Great Work

3. Pick two of these. Pick the two that would have the most impact … and that you will truly do. You should have four in total, two for each of the 2009 goals.

4. For each of the four actions or projects, list the two things that will mostly likely get in the way of you completing them.

5. For each of the four actions or projects, list the two things you need (eg resources, support) that will most likely help you accomplish them

6. Make a commitment to someone about what you will do by June 30th

I'm not going for the plan, not in public at least but one thing that would make 2009 a year to remember would be if it was the year that my quilt making became my art rather than my hobby. But that is very big and very scary, so instead I'll stick with a public declaration of two things that I'll do by June 30th.

1. Going with the idea from my last post, I'll commit to building in some time to sew everyday that I'm at home, and

2. I'll finish some of the pieces I've committed to which I'm not making for me - a group challenge, a Linus quilt collection etc. (There's nothing wrong with these - I need a change of tempo at times, but these particular pieces have been sitting nagging at me for a while and I know that they're stopping me from doing other things.)