5 Simple Things – Getting My Groove Back
In case you haven’t noticed, I have been out of sorts for a while. Probably since July when I shut down Top Blog Posts after being burned out. I haven’t been burned out for months, but I just never really got my groove back. I still don’t have an answer as to why. Maybe I just needed an extra long break after having 2 children and completing an MBA in the last 3+ years, who knows? It doesn’t matter, I am ready to move on.
This is where my idea for 5 Simple Things comes into play. The plan is to create 5 simple goals, one for each of the most important roles/areas in my life. And when I say simple I mean very simple. Simple enough so that you can get your victory juices flowing again. Simple wins that help get you keyed up for larger changes. Its very similar to the psychology behind the debt snowball.
Here are the main areas that are important to me:
- Husband
- Father
- Disciple(Christian Faith)
- Entrepreneur
- Employee
- Outside Relationships(Friends and Family)
- Personal
Obviously I am not going to address all of those with 5 simple tasks and honestly that isn’t the point. The purpose is to see what is important to you and make an intentional decision as to what you will tackle to get things moving in the right direction. Below are the 5 simple things I chose to accomplsih in list form so that I can cross them off as I go.
- Plan a date with for my wife(Husband)
- Get more sleep(Father)
- Go to bed at 11:30 on 12/2
- Go to bed at 11:30 on 12/3
- Go to bed at 11:30 on 12/4
- Write a blog post(Entrepneur)
- Spend5 minutes in prayer before work(Faith)
- 5 minutes on 12/2
- 5 minutes on 12/3
- 5 minutes on 12/4
- Spend 10 minutes working out each day(Personal)
- 10 minutes on 12/2
- 10 minutes on 12/3
- 10 minutes on 12/4
There you have it. Uber-simple. Easy too accomplish. Very important to me and in a relatively short time frame.
I didn’t overextend myself, yet it will still require dedication and effort. I will reevaluate this weekend to see how I feel and what I think the next step will be. If anyone is interested in joining in with their own 5 simple things, I would love the company.
Update: I call the experiment a success even though I technically failed. Twice my littlest son woke up sick at about 11:15 right once during my work our and once on my way to bed. I did accomplish everything on the list, although bed times were slightly off due to circumstances out of my control. The success did give me a boost; unfortunately I am crazy busy at work which will cause a life imbalance until the month is over. I think I will have to wait until the new year until I will have the time and energy to kick some more todo butt.
In search of some public attention
Having Goals Is Great, But Having Purpose Is Better
I like this a lot. Baby steps are a good idea, and I also like the very short timespans to start with (5 minutes of prayer, 10 minutes of working out). Hard to get distracted or discouraged with such a small starting commitment.
I hope this works for you! Best wishes for getting your groove back, and finding your purpose and passion.
Craig
I’d suggest a little longer on the workout though. Honestly, at least 30min to really sweat and clear one’s mind.
Great point you make there. I think it’s all about having goals for yourself-long term or short term. Having a set of goals will help you better accomplish what you need to do to get your life together! Glad to see you’re setting aside some time for yourself.
@Craig – Thanks for the support
@meh – Think simple. 10 minute workouts isn’t a long term goal, just a starter goal. 30 minutes a few days a week is more reasonable longer term goal.
It’s always good to set goals, especially as life can wear anyone down. I think that rebalancing your life is an excellent idea, after all it’s not all about blogging! Hope you have a wonderful christmas and that you manage to stick to your goals