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Mapping Out 2003 For A More Balanced Life

During that slow time between Christmas and New Years, I sat down with four coloured highlighters to create my Annual Roadmap™ and I planned how I would spend the first quarter of 2003.

While the New Year is already a few days old, there is still time to apply this approach to decide how you will use your time during 2003. The Annual Roadmap™ and the 90-Day Wonder™ are tools Edmonton-based speaker and consultant Wayne Cotton developed. He has kindly given me permission to share these techniques with readers of Briefly Noted.

Wayne challenges us to create a more balanced and enjoyable life. “It is important for you to plan a satisfying year...one that has balance and enjoyment combined with the achievement of exciting business goals.”

He breaks the year into four coloured coded themes and allocates a theme to each day:

Blue Sky days are the time for thinking and strategizing. This is when you work on your business and life instead of in them. Ensure your goals are clear and that you are committed to them. Wayne suggests we need one to five Blue Sky days at the beginning of each quarter.

Mellow Yellow days are your time. Step back from your work. Relax. Take a vacation. Spend time with family and friends. Too often, we do not plan for “time off,” confident we will have time for ourselves when everything else is done. Wayne suggests that we plan Mellow Yellow days first, beginning with every Saturday and Sunday and then blocking out regular vacation time.

Red Tape days is when we focus on “administrivia,” our own education and anything else that is neither work nor recreation. Wayne suggests that most people should designate one day a week as for these activities.

Green Machine days are all the remaining days that we use to generate revenue. This is a time to be productive. There is no time to fool around. On these days you make progress towards the goals that were identified on Blue Sky days.

Once your Annual Roadmap™ is complete, shift your attention to building your plan for the next quarter, your 90-Day Wonder™. In addition to colour coding each day, this tool provides the opportunity to set up to 20 objectives related to the four themes for the next three-month period and then measure your progress at the end of the quarter.

Why 90 days? Wayne feels this is the best planning timeframe. A year is too long and a month too short to really accomplish anything. Three months is long enough that you can accomplish many things, but short enough that you can see the end.
While is unlikely you will be able to adhere to your schedule completely, it is a good starting point for the year or the next quarter. “I fully realize that you can’t possibly know exactly what is going to happen throughout the year, but you can build a plan and your plan will drive a lot of your decisions,” Wayne writes.
Instructions and blank 2003 calendars are available by visiting www.cottonsystems.com and clicking on the Life Planning section. While there, check out Wayne’s other services and resources.

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© Nelson Scott.  All rights reserved.

A professional trainer, speaker, and consultant since 1995, Nelson Scott works with organizations that are committed to making the right hiring decisions, developing and retaining productive staff, and strengthening relationships with customers.  Learn more by visiting www.seaconsultingonline.com or e-mailing nmscott@telus.net. 

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