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Weekly Challenge - What Will April Hold For You?

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What will April hold for you?  No, I am not asking you to go read your horoscope, although for the record mine says I will not pay attention in the workplace this month (uh oh).  Seriously though, what will you do in April?  What do you want to do?  What will you make happen?  We've been practicing writing weekly goals, some we achieve and some we don't.  (I did not get 500 page views this past week for example.  More importantly, I know why I didn't.  Life happened and I did not put into this blog what I needed to get out what I wanted.  That being said...there is always this week!)  Let's take it a little bigger this week.  Sit down and come up with four goals for the month.  One for work (obviously mine will be to pay attention), one for family, one for self, and one wild card (it doesn't have to be wild, just your choice).

If you need help coming up with goals, start by thinking about your core values...which values do you want to honor in April?  Loyalty?  Excellence?  Family?

Write your goals down!!!  I write mine on a pretty piece of paper and put it on my magnetic board above my laptop.  They are always there when I look up.  Not as a taunt, but more as a reminder of what is important to me when I don't have time to stop and reflect.  I also keep them in a file on my Evernote so I can access them anytime I want or need to.

Pull out your calendar and write down specific things you will do on specific days to reach your goals.  This doesn't have to be rocket science.  If your family goal is to go to the zoo, you can just put the zoo on one day on your calendar.  If you want, schedule in a rain date, too just in case.  For the bigger projects, break your goal down into 15-30 minutes chunks if you can and schedule those in.  Let's face it, we won't get two straight days during the month to sit down and read that business book that has been sitting on the nightstand for two months.

Tell someone else what your goals are, ask them to join you in setting monthly goals, and check in on each other!  It is not cheating to help each other, either.  If you both want one night at the movie - exchange babysitting duties.  Better yet, share a babysitter and go to the movies together.  Tell us your goals too by commenting on this post or share on the Strategic Serendipity Leadership Facebook page! (Like it while you're there!)

Keep a journal of your progress through the month.  How do you feel when you accomplish one of your tasks.  What did it mean to have a special day with your children and family?  Did you have to reschedule anything?

To get us started, here are my four goals...

  1. Finish two teaching certifications.  (I am already registered, I just need to make time to do the online work.)  This one is a bit of a stretch but not outside my comfort zone.  I will definitely need to schedule it in chunks to accomplish both by April 30.
  2. Take my son to the Zoo.  April 20 or 27 as a raindate.  
  3. Read two non-work books.  I love to read.  I read a lot for work and don't always take time to read just for the sheer joy of getting lost in a story.  Taking this much time for myself is a huge stretch for me, but it will balance out the chunks I'm scheduling for work.
  4. Write 15 posts on this blog.  While not a huge stretch, it is a consistency commitment for me.  
Okay, your turn.  What are your four goals for the month?

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