Happy new month loves! Last week we said “imagine” and this week, still on our first semester goals we say “record”.
Before we continue let me ask, do you remember your list of goals for 2017? Do you remember your list of items you bought from the last time you went to the market? Can you quote the amount of money you spend annually? Do you often double book yourself? How about you remembering all special dates like the birthdays of family and friends? Well, I have news for you: Your life could turn out a lot easier if you learnt to record.
Keeping a record/s is such a powerful tool to achieve optimum levels of success in life. I am a firm believer of this life principle as it has proven to work for so many including myself and for this reason, I highly recommend it to just about everyone who has an ability to write and has the slightest ambition of ever getting something done. Whether it is your grocery shopping; tasks; meetings for the week or deadlines, recording them makes life a lot more manageable, organised and stress-free.
I was invited to address a group of young women a few years ago, matriculants to be specific. I asked how many of them had a journal, a diary or notebook in which they use to keep records of things or events in their life and the response was nil. Which then prompted me to stress the point of recording things/events in writing, I went on to encourage them to get into the habit of doing so. “Start writing! You’ve not committed to it until you’ve written it down,” I said. I seriously feel strongly about this statement -until it’s been in writing or recorded somewhere it just does not exist.
Writing forces us to think things through or process them which also enable planning. Ordinarily not a lot of people set aside time for planning and so when you write, planning then becomes a by-product. You are then able to utilise the time to purposefully consider and re-consider what it is that needs to be done. Once you’ve written it down, you now have something to commit to which then gives you a sense of accountability and so you are propelled to act. I also advice you to re-visit your writing especially the lists for editing purposes and for ticking the things you have done as you go along, which is a rewarding feeling and serves as encouragement for you to see it that the rest gets done. This system is also a sure way of keeping one’s life organised, because you get to organise your life with a minimal possibility of leaving any crucial detail behind. But most importantly, when you write, you commit it to your memory.
When I was a teenager, growing up I had a diary, this excludes my school homework diary by the way. I recorded events about my life daily; it was more of a personal journal and had every significant detail both sad and good. Along the years I have learned that one can record just about anything, your dreams; prayer; goals; achievements; recipes etc. It is really up to an individual. Right now my focus is recording your goals in order to live a fulfilling life. It will be ideal to start with a general outline for your life and then break it down to a year plan and then in to a monthly plan for a long term idea. However, for your short term control you could have a weekly plan which can then be broken down to a day to day to do list. Once you get into the habit of putting things on record, it really makes the difference.
With today’s technology we even have applications on our mobile phones that enable us to make notes; schedules and appointments. So if the idea of ink and paper is what was discouraging you before now then you have run out of excuses. There is no longer an excuse for being late for that meeting, missing a deadline or forgetting your mother in law’s birthday. Just save yourself the trouble and record it already.
By Lerato Charlotte Letsoso/GhOne TV | Email: leratokayise@gmail.com
