Have you ever sat there watching the sun go down and thought to yourself, “Wow, I didn’t accomplish anything today”? Unfortunately, I think this happens to more people than not, especially those who aren’t on a diligent schedule. I felt inspired to choose this blog topic because this week, I was that person, too.

There were four days in a row where I just felt like I didn’t do a single thing, and I hated it. Sunday started off okay; I went to church and then had to hit the road to go up to Orlando with my husband so that he could play in a practice round for his upcoming tournament. I won’t dive into all of the details of that day because honestly, it wasn’t that bad, and it was typical kind of a Sunday. For me, Sunday is a day of rest, even taking into account my Beachbody workouts.

So Monday is when it all started to hit me.

We woke up early for the 8:30 a.m. shotgun for my husband’s event and got to the golf course by 7:45. Now, if you’re not familiar with golf, this is a tough competitive round and on the high-end of the pace of play, which typically takes 4-5 hours. Monday’s round took, no kidding, almost seven hours to complete!

The windy weather was tough, and the format wasn’t conducive to the pace of play. To make matters worse, I felt like was in the middle of nowhere. I tried looking up “Things to do in Lake Mary,” but it didn’t help when #2 on the list turned out to be the golf course my husband was playing at that day. I mean, seriously? That’s it, TripAdvisor?

Anyway, I was able to find a TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, but that only occupied about one hour of my time. So, I read a little personal development content, posted some stuff onto Facebook having to do with my business, and did a Facebook Live video to create awareness for January’s Thyroid Awareness Month. Want to know what I did the rest of the time? I played Candy Crush and got too involved in a political rant on Facebook (I couldn’t stop reading the comments!).

It was a complete utter waste of time, and Tuesday and Wednesday were no better. We went to the PGA Show, which is the annual trade show in our industry. We met with vendors, bumped into colleagues, and even attended a Dierks Bentley concert being held in support of the Folds of Honor Foundation.

Now, you’re probably thinking, wow, that doesn’t sound too bad, but here’s the thing: there was no planning involved with this. There was an excessive amount of down time spent just walking around. Although I am obsessed with my Fitbit and I did get my steps in for the day, this lack of a plan drove me nuts.

On our way home Wednesday night I looked at my husband and I said, “I feel like I just wasted the last four days.” I couldn’t even really tell you what I had “accomplished.”

From my previous articles, you may know that I believe in writing goals down. Well, the same goes for writing down your schedule and filling it with mini-goals throughout the day. That said, I have a plan for you- especially my entrepreneurs- so you don’t feel like you’re a hamster on the wheel going nowhere.

First off, purchase a planner! If you’re in college or grad school, even better, they typically give them out for free. Not in currently in school? Go on Amazon, or a site like Etsy where you’ll find planners in every shape and design. Each day I want you to write down three goals. They don’t have to be massive goals and some might only take you fifteen minutes to complete.

Make sure you put the goal you want to do the least, first. Why? If you put the goal you are least excited about accomplishing first, you’re less likely to put it off. Once that annoying task is done and out of the way, completing the rest of your list should be a breeze. Plus, you’ll feel even better that the load is off of your shoulders. I also want you to use the planner to write down your appointments and insert when you will be completing your specific tasks.

For example, say one of your tasks is to listen to a podcast of your favorite motivational speaker (for example, Chalene Johnson or Gary Vaynerchuk are personal favorites). Write down that you’ll be doing that from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Most of us have a “Do Not Disturb” button on our phones- turn it on! This way, you will limit distractions during your designated time spent listening to your podcast. I know this may sound simple, but are you actually doing this already? If not, let’s make a deal: let’s both do it, starting with this week.

Life is too short to be wasting time looking at our smartphones. It’s like I tell my challengers, if you have 30 minutes a day to waste thumbing through Facebook or Instagram, then you have 30-minutes to get a total body workout in. It’s just a matter of what your priorities are. My priorities are about getting the job done and enjoying the rest of my day to do what I want to do.

How about you?

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