The "project card": Why life will never be the same again

One of the things that makes creating and maintaining a planning system like "A life well led" is the myriad of discoveries that I make over time.  One of those flowed from my reading James Altucher's excellent new book "Choose Yourself (my thoughts about this book and a a link to it on Amazon can be found HERE and HERE).

One of the primary success factors that I've found have led to consistently goal completion is to revisit your goals often (I wrote about this recently and you can find those thoughts HERE), and the "project card" concept is one that has made that effort significantly easier to attain.  As you can see from the pic below, the front of the card is about the "macro" of what I'm trying to accomplish this month... And doesn't change much over time.  

Built primarily around Altucher's concept of looking daily at what you are trying to accomplish, the goal is to do several things daily including:

Assess daily the 4 legs of your life:

- Physical needs

 - Emotional needs

 - Mental needs

 - Spiritual needs

In addition to looking at each of these "legs" daily, I also try to do the following each day:

 - Read for 2 hours

 - Document 10 ideas (I've been this far unsuccessful at nailing down 10 ideas per day, but having lofty goals is what helps us shoot higher right?)

On the back side of the card is a breakdown of the "big" projects that I've got underway and this piece changes as I reset my system each month (more on that in a future edition).  It also helps to "limit" me in that there is a finite amount of room on the card and keeps me from "biting off more than I can chew" - which is a challenge I've faced repeatedly in my career.  Each day I take the card out and have in front and center either on my laptop, or in one of my notebooks, which helps keep me focused on my daily efforts as well as the larger projects which won't get done in one day.. But need attention each week to complete them. 

This card had changed my life.  One of the main issues I've had in completing large volumes of work across multiple projects had been keeping track of what needed attention when...and by having this card available for a quick glance at various times each day... My ability to focus, execute against each effort AND ensure that I'm making progress daily is assured.

So do you have a "project card" in your efforts that helps you achieve success?  Have a online/offline tool that makes your life easier to manage?  I'd love to hear about it either directly - donegalhold@yahoo.com or in the comments section below.

Here's to you.. And another day in a Life Well Led.

Thanks for reading.... And make it a great day!

10 ideas a day... A concept whose time has come

Several months ago I read the superb book "Choose Yourself" by James Altucher (I've enclosed an Amazon link to that book below) and in it James challenges the reader to begin what he calls the "daily habit" and while I'll cover that in a future edition, one piece that struck me was his call to document 10 ideas you have each day.  When I started this cycle of the 12 week year plan I'm in the midst of in July, I added this piece to my "project card" (I'll explain what that is later this week) and embarked on an attempt to do just that... And come up with 10 ideas each day.

 

Wanna know what happened?!  I failed - miserably I would add - and have barely come up with 10 ideas since July 1st... But here's the exciting part... That's right... I came up with 10 IDEAS ... And now have them all documented in my trusty moleskin notebook that's my now constant companion. 

It also altered my mindset.  No longer am I content to simply see, hear or think about something and just let it slip by.  Instead I'm conscious of the fact that I'm constantly surrounded by seriously smart and thoughtful people... And you never know when a concept mentioned in passing... Becomes something that can alter your life or that of others for the better.

So I challenge you.  As you start your day.. Think about the amazing volume of thoughts, concepts and interesting people that pass through your life today... Isn't some of that worth capturing?

I'd say it is... You'll be richer for it.

Here's to you.. And another day in a Life Well Led.

Thanks for reading.

Choose Yourself!  Be Happy.  Make Millions.  Live the Dream by James Altucher