You may want to use an action board. This can be a large bulletin board (I use 22×34 and I have 4 of them). My bulletin boards also have copies of paintings, nature, and the ocean along with my goals.

You may use 3 x 5 cards on your bulletin board under 4-5 goal headings. Be sure to include the estimated deadline for each goal. You may use general headings: such as, goals-dreams-problems-solutions. You may choose to add post-it notes to your index cards. I use dressmakers’ pins which are long straight pins. I use these because they make smaller holes in my pictures and they work great on the bulletin. You may want to save the old index cards to watch your progress. By using multi-colored cards you can easily track your progress with a glance.

If you have the room, you may choose to cover the entire wall with corkboard to have a large area for your planning.

In a large office setting with meeting room capabilities for large groups, the walls may be lined with dry eraser boards to use for brain-storming sessions which may be a weekly event.

Remember to be specific with planned completion dates. Some sample goals may be:

• Personal development

Develop a support group of 3-5 people during the next month.

Join a volunteer group; for example. Teach someone to read by joining a literary group.

Sign up for computer class at a local college.

Arrange to take some tests that show your interests and/or abilities.

• Family development

Set aside one weekend per month to arrange special dates with your spouse.

Schedule separate quality time with each of your children.

• Spiritual growth

Set aside 15-20 minutes each day to practice meditation.

Choose a topic about spirituality and study everything about it.

Using a steno pad or similar notebook, find a topic for study in a concordance of the Bible or other spiritual literature and record the verses you find for the topic you’ve chosen.

On 3×5 index cards, record valuable quotations for spiritual qualitites you want to work on.

Marketing statement: in 25 words or less, define what you believe your work offers to the world.

Photo credit.

By Fr Antunes

Develop a weekly action for dealing with the reality of stress. Have a Sunday night review to plan for the following week. You may use a notebook or a dry eraser board.

1. Use creative visualization (also called guided imagery)-your imagination is a powerful stress management tool. Changemaker will be including samples of guided imagery to get you started on using this valuable technique of visually creating the outcome you want in challenges.
2. Be continually aware of the outer world of nature and what I call the “little creatures” such as birds, frogs, butterflies, squirrels, etc.
3. Become aware of negative self-talk.
4. Include relaxation techniques; such as, autogenics, progressive body relaxation, deep breathing, or meditation techniques.
5. Be sure to get enough rest and exercise.
6. Accept those things you can’t change or move away from them emotionally.
7. Be honest and express your feelings when appropriate.

At some periods in our lives, we tend to experience more stress than at other times. During these periods of change:

1. Learn to “gentle yourself” through these days.
2. Gauge your reactions to future events by asking yourself how you feel about this and listen to your feelings. Feelings aren’t right or wrong, good or bad, but are appropriate or inappropriate. So let your feelings be.
3. Many times we use our energy to try to change or stop what change is coming. Learn to “read” the change that is coming and make early decisions about which part of the change you can accept.
4. Bless what there is for being and let go of the rest.
5. The “blame and shame” game is a total waste of time and energy. The way to evaluate this is to ask if finding the “culprit” solves the problem. Generally, the answer is no, as the rug still needs cleaned, the door is still locked, the work is undone. Ask yourself if you’d rather be right or be happy.

Weather by kevindooley

Goals are dreams with a deadline. Do you have both short-term and long-term goals? If you set a few hours aside each week—Sunday evening is my favorite—you can develop goals that you can easily transfer into short to do lists. Each week you could choose one short-term goal and one long-term goal. The trick is if you finish the long-term goal during that week—do not choose more. Instead reward yourself for living a balanced life.

When my life is out of whack, the first thing I do is to evaluate on a short note how much time I’m spending with the major areas of my life. Generally—but not always—I am spending too much time living in the past or in the future. Forgetting to live in today is the major way I get out of sorts—emotionally and in all ways.

Mindfulness takes such a little bit of time for the vast rewards it gives to my serenity. I have to have that inner calm to make and keep goals and to enjoy my life everyday. Some of my favorite places for mindfulness exercises are:

(1)  Anxiety Insights: Workplace Meditation and Yoga can Lower Stress--“

Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests.

The study offered participants a modified version of what is known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a program established in 1979 to help hospital patients in Massachusetts assist in their own healing that is now in wide use around the world.

(2)  Jack Canfield in “Shift Your Life to be More in Line With Your Vision” writes about: ”Where are Your Habits Leading You?”