Saturday, October 3, 2009

DAY 55 The Bottleneck & The Plan

Day 55 of ReStart,  Saturday  Oct 3, 09



Hi Journal,


Over the years, in my search to "fix" me, I've read a lot of self-help books, articles on  how-to this and how-to that, newsletters from self-proclaimed personal life coaches.  Some has been helpful, some a waste of time.


One idea that I have been thinking about lately, that I think would help me is called the Theory of Constraints. Basically, it says that in any pursuit of a goal, there will be a bottleneck...that thing that slows down reaching the goal. The process either comes to a screeching halt, or goes slower than one would want.


So, the idea is to identify my main bottleneck, that thing I keep tripping over, and get it out of my path.The result of removing it is that the whole process of reaching my goal will be speeded up. The "experts" claim that concentrating my efforts on this one area is the most effective thing I can do to speed up the process of reaching a goal.



In asking myself what is holding me back...what do I keep stumbling over again and again...I would have to say, at this point in my journey, it's this time management thing. Since yesterday, I have been thinking about it a lot....running it through my imagination, and seeing how it would play out if I WERE consistent on my schedule. The imagined outcome is nice....I like it.


I made my WHY list Friday, and felt very encouraged (I talked about the WHY here). It refers to what Filippe from the Biggest Loser said: "You never do anything with all your heart unless your WHY is big enough."


I wrote at the top of a little yellow piece of paper: Hitch Your Wagon To A Star...drew a cute star next to it, and wrote out some short-term goals that improved Time Management will help me achieve very soon. 


I wanted them to be short-term goals because, well, to be honest, I need fast pay-off for my efforts, so I don't fizzle out! And they are enjoyable goals, fun ones, so that I am connecting doing something that does not come natural to me (going to bed early and getting up early, and consistently following my daily schedule) with something that feels like a REWARD. I need that connection to something enjoyable, to condition my mind and emotions to really WANT to do this.

After my little list of 6 short-term goals, I made a little list of behaviors that will help me achieve getting rid of my roadblock.  I always want to stay up at night and get things done...so I figured one way to help myself was to get caught up! I broke that down into 5 doable categories, that I will start on Monday...that's because when hubby is off work, usually on weekends, it is unrealistic to do anything extra.



I want to plan for success, not set myself up for failure by making unrealistic goals.
So, I am excited to start Monday...I won't get to play as much on the computer, but this is a worthy goal, and I am willing to pay that price. 


I feel like I am making progress...now I am off to make homemade tomato soup with the last of our homegrown tomatoes. Yummmm...

From Dr Phil's book: "Take a problem-solving approach to emotion-provoking events."



My verse for today: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."


My quote for today: "Sometimes it is not good enough to do your best; you have to do what's required."--Winston Churchill


Enjoy the Journey,


Loretta
=^..^=




7 comments:

Karen Elizabeth Brown said...

The best way I've found to reach a short term goal is to remember to have some kind of thing or person to help you have accountability. When I was trying to change how well I was taking care of my blood sugars I had a book I wrote down every test I took. Then, after a prescribed period of time I showed that to the person I was working with. What made it harder for me was, she could download my meters so I couldn't "cheat" by making the numbers look better. After a couple of weeks I discovered I didn't need all the alarms to remind me to check my CBS, I started remembering and they were getting better because I knew someone was watching me. Accountability works for me because I like that pat on the back once in a while when I'm doing good and I know I'll get at least a "pep talk" when I'm not.
Planning for success is excellent and I know you have the determination to stick to it. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

sounds good Loretta. I should do this as well.

Retta said...

Hi Karen and Nancy,
Yep, it's a learning process. We'll get there. :-)
Loretta
=^..^=

{ALL} for a Better Life said...

Oh girl, I know you can do this and I can't wait to hear about your goals. You are in control of this thing called time management, that is a good thing. Making small obtainable goals is imperative to continue the momentum!

I think my bottleneck without thinking about it too long is failure - I am afraid of failing YET AGAIN.

Retta said...

Thanks, {All}, for the encouraging words.

I think a lot of us struggled with that fear thing, especially in the beginning. I felt I would be crushed, and just could not take ONE MORE FAILURE, that is would destroy me.

So I really did a lot of soul searching, and reading and praying...and finally made the choice to go forward, no matter what. Never quit. Keep going. Stumble...get up. Poor choice...learn from it and keep going. But no matter what...never quit.

This will not be a "perfect" journey. But we will make progress, and learn, and get better at it.

We WILL make it...all we have to do is make one good choice at a time, and never quit. :-)
Loretta

Scarlet Simple said...

Retta I really don't think that there is such a thing as a perfect journey. I think that imperfection is what makes us special.

Never quit! I can not wait to see your goals!

Retta said...

SCARLET: I sooo agree! Trying for perfection will just set us up for big time frustration and failure (speaking as a certified Ex-Perfectionist). I much prefer the phrase "a standard of excellence."
Loretta

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