Radical Action Plan

Photo by jonhurd

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a working vacation.  I call it that because I was working a little each day at my job while I was gone, but also because I was working on a music video that I’ve been waiting a year to film.  So it was very exciting to finally get that on film and to take time with my kids and friends.

One thing I noticed while I was on vacation is that whenever I was just wasting time with friends, I missed working on my goals.  It seemed that everything I was doing was just reminding me that I could be enjoying life a lot more if I would work just a little harder or be a little more focused when it comes to my goals.

I did so many things I love to do, and it was a constant reminder.  While I was gone I ate at great new restaurants, walked around a fun city with great friends, went to an aquarium, zoo and butterfly sanctuary with my kids, and so much more.  I got to spend time with my friends, go to the mountains, and spend time in some very beautiful and very wealthy neighborhoods.  I was surrounded by some of the best things in life and I got to see some of my favorite cars in the world.

In fact, it seemed that everywhere I looked, I was reminded of my goals and dreams.  It reminded me that I could be making more progress, but I haven’t been.  Instead, I’ve slacked off a bit and this vacation really put things into perspective.  So I decided it was time for some massive progress when I got home.

It was time to make a plan and practice some radical discipline.  I decided that I will give myself a 3 day time period to see what I can accomplish if I practice radical discipline.

By radical discipline I mean that I will force myself to  cut out all time wasters from my life for 3 days.  This means no-

-facebook

-myspace

-email (except for a few minutes before bed)

-TV (except during scheduled relaxation time before bed)

-Friends (no meeting friends on a whim) two scheduled meetings will continue as normal.

-random trips to run minor errands that could be tasked together.

This also means that I absolutely must spend the time I have doing the things necessary to make my goals each day.

As much as I have dreaded doing this, and no day more than today, I am certain the progress I make will be astounding. And I will push through a lot of emotional barriers I may have felt toward achieving my goals.

For those of you out there reading this, you probably know that I like to post my goals publicly, just so I have accountability.  So here is the goal list.  Goals must be accomplished by Tuesday night.

-edit daughters Kindergarten graduation video and post online for other parents.
-import music video – place in proper timeline with each location separated for editing.
-write sales copy for new exercise book – 20 Minute Slim -I just finished editing the book yesterday, it’s time to get it online.
-write sales copy for exercise book – 4 Minute Slim – this one has been sitting on my computer hard drive gathering e-dust and it’s time to get the sales letter written.
-post this post -if you’re reading this, I’m making progress.
-have a rough scene by scene outline of dramatic short film – this one has had me stuck for a long time, so I am going to just make up a rough outline as quickly as possible and see what I can do with it.  I have to have this and 3 other short films filmed and edited by August.  Time to get to work.
-work at least 30 hours at my job-  I control my schedule for the most part so I am able to work extra some days and spend less time working on days I have my kids.
-clean and organize house- it’s just messy!
-make changes to adwords campaign – keywords – new adgroup.

These are the major goals I must have accomplished by Tuesday night. I will assess my progress each day and ask myself at least 3 times a day, though I’m sure it will be more, “Am I doing what I need to do in order to accomplish my goals? Or am I wasting time?”

I will post progress after Tuesday.

Now it’s time for me to ask you?  Are you getting where you want to be with your goals? If not, maybe you should also take a day of discipline and try to get as much done as possible.  Even if you don’t get it all done, you will get more done than if you didn’t take a day of discipline.  How about it? Will you challenge yourself to do more today?

I will.  How about this, even if it’s not a day, take 15 minutes and work on your goal today with no interruptions.  If you do just that little bit every day, things will start to add up.  Post a comment to let me know that you did something!

Talk to you all soon,

Ryan

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!