Hello Everyone!
I am so excited this is the first volume of my Pixelated newsletter! For this month I wanted to focus on recalibration. It may seem mechanical to use that word but with the wishful planning of January and December, it is important to take time to recalibrate our goals, our processes and … ourselves!
February crashed into me in short powerful waves. As each wave receded, it took with it pieces of my planed productivity and structure. December and January seem so far, each plan I did also seemed out of place. I planned out my structure during what I call the planning honeymoon. Reviewing your previous year you make goals and the strategies around them. But sometimes we can be in an oblivious or different mindset. The mindset of creating the steps compared to the mindset doing the steps needed. You watch as those differences clash, and your well laid plan crumbles like a sandcastle in high tide.
So what do you do after your planning honeymoon is over?
Like you, I am a complex person. I have the bad habit of over simplifying myself. Of not including my nuances or energy levels into plans with me being the agent of action. When I started this year I was trying to plan for the person I want to be , not the person I am. I imagined myself a maven creating engaging content. Platforms conquered, Canva streamlined, my imagination made me into a well-oiled machine. I have the time so why I couldn't I? Then February came in and then it became harder and longer to write or create. The domino effect left me scrambling. In my vacuum-sealed plan I didn't allow myself to breathe.
For plans that are a little bit too complex, too tight or not a right fit, take time to recalibrate. Think of your structure as a test model. Make notes on what worked and why. Too busy for block-scheduling because of a rush of urgent items? Adjust to list the top tasks of the day. When you sit down to review remember to not be hard on yourself. The structures you make should help you automate your routines and your processes.
But make sure you are realistic for yourself.
Allow your plans wriggle room, and flexibility if things need changing immediately. While I would like myself to be my imagined image. Imagining myself fired up writing pieces of content being creative 24/7. But to be honest, some days I don't want to leave my bed. There would be times I would get posts out in an energetic push. But this followed days of drawn out writing. When recalibrating I allowed myself changes to my content plan. I made a more realistic timeframe to account for both high and low energy days.
This also applies to your goals. If you haven't use the S.M.A.R.T method of planning goals this is a recommended go to. It can help make the difference between an actionable goal and wishful thinking. For those who have used S.M.A.R.T you are allowed to rework those action items.
This does not mean moving the goalpost but angling your kick better. Re-incorporate these tasks into your process or day to day. While getting to the goal is hard work be mindful, patient and real with yourself. It might be a slower path but remember progress and growth isn't always a checked off list, its a forward motion.
Things to Do
Review your strategy or productivity structure. List at least three things that helped or spurred you to finish a task or action item and three things that didn't.
Note if the time of day or mood effects these things' effectiveness. While it is good for processes and habits to work / be useful most of the time, there are some instances that other variables ( time of day ,energy level, mood, hunger ) might cause them to not work. Noting your mood or time of day with the usefulness of your processes might help shed light of the level of productivity you can achieve at a certain time!
Write three ways to breakdown or incorporate your goals into your recalibrated system.
If you haven't used the S.M.A.R.T method try it with your to make them more actionable and add clarity for your progress!
Leave me a comment what things you like about your productivity process and things you would want to try!
Thank you all for reading!
Cadet <3
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I love the SMART goal setting method! I also agree about allowing yourself to breathe...I have to remind myself, "even computers need to reboot sometimes!" I truly value the concept of rest more than ever before...not about that hustle culture, but I am determined to live my best life. Balance is key!
I really like the analogy to waves. It described how I felt about February too. I've never heard of the S.M.A.R.T method, so im going to try to implement this into my worth method too. Thanks!