If you are anything like me, you find it extremely hard to know what to do next. It may even get to the point where you say, “Fuck it! A nap sounds pretty good right now…” Well, there is a way to fix this. Instead of waiting for free time to figure out what you want/need to do, how about you make a plan!
There are 3 main phases to how I make my plan of attack when it comes to my “life’s work”. I have just begun this method and it seems to be working out fairly well for me. It would be going so much better if this damn weather would cooperate. -5 air temps are no fun.
*Hint: A large desk calendar comes in super duper handy*
Phase 1: The Monthly Plan
This is where you will plan out what you need to do this month. This can include what days your bills are due, any doctors appointments, etc. The main items that should go on anyone’s calendar. If you are an internet content creator, this is where you would set up your publishing dates. Think of the monthly plan as your Final Step for any projects. This is all of your due dates.
Phase 2: The Weekly Plan
Every week is going to be different. That being said, you should pick a day to plan out your week. I like to do mine on Saturday nights (I know, I’m lame). I usually plan through the next Sunday, that way I have more than a day’s notice to prepare for what I have planned.
For the weekly plan, you should figure out what goals/milestones you need to hit each day in order to make you monthly goals actually happen. These are not scheduled by times, just what needs to get done each day to bring you closer to your goals. For example, on Monday, your task could be to reach out to potential sponsors for your podcast. Then, on Friday, one of your tasks could be to make sure you received a response from that sponsor.
If you have a blog, youtube channel, etc and you know that you want your content to go live on Friday mornings at 5:00, then your weekly plan should include the small steps that will get you there. Some posts or videos will take more time to research and perfect. This is where your monthly plan comes into play. If you have set a publish day for each of your projects, your weeks leading up should include the small steps to get you there. When you have an idea for a project/post you can add to your weekly plan the groundwork phases for what your need to get to the final product. Once you know you are close and you can set a firm finish goal, that is when you enter that into your monthly calendar.
*I know this sounds confusing, but once you get started it seems to just come together. If I was more computer literate, I would have all sorts of diagrams, but I’m not that smart. Yet.*
Phase 3: The Daily Plan
Once you have completed your weekly plan, you need to start scheduling things. For your daily plan, you want to schedule out everything you want/need to get done. I have a full time job so the majority of my day is blocked off for that. I also like to workout regularly, so I need to schedule a time for that. I need to set aside time for what I call my “life’s work” which is all of this stuff; Barefoot Buffalo blog, my youtube channel, my podcast, everything that I am doing that isn’t my “real job”. A typical day for me looks like this:
As you can (maybe) see, is that I just block out times where I intend to work on shit. Inside each of those I have a description that tells me exactly what to work on, when that item is due to publish etc. I’m still working out a ton of youtube videos. There aren’t even on my Monthly Calendar because they aren’t even in the recording phase. Once I get the videos/posts everything into the editing phase is when they go on my calendar.
To summarize, the three phases go from the big picture down to the small picture. You plan your main items first, then fill in with what needs to get done then figure out exactly how to go about getting it done.
When you have a plan, especially like this, it becomes extremely easy to not get off track. If you have every little step planned out, you won’t find yourself with free time thinking ‘I know I want to do something, but what do I want to do?’ You’ll just end up wasting your free time trying to figure out what it is you want to spend your free time doing.
Your plan doesn’t need to be as complete as mine. I need mine to be more specific or else I end up taking naps. And naps are not productive. They feel great! But, they don’t really do much to further you along your path.
I use Google Calendar. I have my iPhone calendar set up so that I can see my Google Calendar in the iPhone’s Calendar app. It was a pain to set up, but it’s worth it. Super streamlined and accessible everywhere.
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment and I’ll respond! I like talking with people. It let’s me know someone actually reads these things.
Long days and pleasant nights,
Shoeless Joe
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February 23, 2015 | Categories: Life, Personal Legend | Tags: daily planning, Goal Setting, google calendar, monthly plan, naps, personal journey, personal legend, tips, tricks, true calling, true passion, weekly plan | Leave a comment
Sometimes you have to make the tough decision of putting yourself or others first. Before you make your decision you need to look at the entire situation. Does what you want to do interfere with what you should do or is it something that you want to do to make others happy? That’s the big question right there. Is this something that makes you happy or someone else happy? You need to remember that this is your life, not someone else’s that you are living. If someone wants you to do something (move to a new area, get a different job, change your hairstyle, your fashion style, anything) and you don’t want to do it you need to ask yourself if this is part of your plan or is this simply a distraction? Sometimes it can be hard telling someone you are close to that you are going to do something against their wishes.
If you have been putting yourself second to others it may be time for a change. You only get one trip on this world so you need to make the most of it. If someone tells you that you need to do something to make them happy but in the process you lose part of who you are I wouldn’t do it. It’s hard to change your lifestyle and even harder to go against others wishes. You need to do whatever makes you happy. If you’d rather take a job that pays less, but you have more free time to live your life why not take that chance? What if you pass that by and the opportunity doesn’t come back again? Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith and stick to your guns.
When it comes to making decisions you are the only one who decides the outcome. Start putting yourself first. It’s your life so why not take control of it. Everyone has the power to lead. If you can’t lead your own life how are you going to reach your personal legend? We are not children anymore. We are the future and the future is here so let’s make a stand for what we want and what is right!
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December 17, 2011 | Categories: Life, Personal Legend | Tags: life, personal legend, true calling, true passion | 1 Comment
Let’s recap: We have learned about the Weekly and Monthly Bucket Lists. These lists are helping us to be more active and bring more excitement into our lives. The planning of these events is half of the fun. When trying to come up with something to do each month that goes above and beyond your normal activity level you look deep into yourself and decide what you can and might not be able to do. Take those might nots and go for it.
Once you decide what is going on your lists the planning starts. Figure out exactly when you are going to do these events and with whom you plan to do them with. Is it a solo run or a group one? What’s the agenda? If you are traveling, where are you staying? What else can you do on this trip? Planning a bucket list event is half of the fun. You psych yourself up so much for it that you are basically living it while you plan. You’ll see when you begin to work on the next list.
The last list that you will need will be your Yearly Bucket List. This is the list that will most closely resemble a “typical” bucket list. This is where you put the big boys.
- Sky Diving
- Free Diving
- Go to a different country
- Go to a different continent
- Go see my sports team play on the opposite coast.
You know what the big ones are and what you want to do. This is where you put them. You will want to make this list for you. If you cannot afford to travel; don’t. You can come up with cheap/free things to do for a Yearly Bucket List. If you like to camp you can try extreme survival camping. Go out with only a tarp and some string (food too, you don’t want to go outside your skill level). Take something you like to a higher level. That’s the point of this list: To take what you’ve been doing with your other lists to the extreme.
Remember. Don’t make a “standard” bucket list. A bucket list is a list of dreams with an untangible deadline (no pun intended). When you make a list of things to do before you die, you can slip into the mindset of, ‘Well…I would like to do this, but I still have time…’ When in reality, you don’t know if you are going to see tomorrow let alone next year. It’s a sad fact but that’s why I’m sharing this with you. Live your life to the fullest. Make everyday an adventure and have fun! This is your life. You only get one chance so why waste it doing shit you don’t like?
Long days and pleasant nights,
Shoeless Joe
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November 30, 2011 | Categories: Adventures, Life, Personal Legend | Tags: Barefoot, bucket list, Buffalo, Buffalo NY, Happy, life, personal legend, Shoeless Joe, true calling, true passion, yearly bucket list | Leave a comment
After you have started working on your Weekly Bucket List it is now time to move into something a little more involve. This would be the Monthly Bucket List. Your Monthly Bucket List is reserved for things that are more intense and time consuming. Items would be put on this list to get you out even more than your Weekly Bucket List. Some ideas would include:
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Go see a musical.
- Or a concert. Something that gives you enjoyment and gets you out of the house. In the summer you can find a lot of free outdoor events. Just find the website for your cities events and go from there
- Take a weekend trip somewhere.
- Go somewhere different. Maybe there is a cool state park nearby that you can go to for a day or two
- Is there a festival happening nearby
- Heritage (Scottish, Irish, German, Hellenic, etc.)
- Music
- Town Festivals
- Do you have friends or family that is a little out of the way that you would like to see?
- Go to a local landmark.
- I live near Niagara Falls but I don’t go there at all. I’ve been in Buffalo for 6 years and have seen the falls 4 times
- Go to a Museum
- Science Museums
- Planetariums
- Art Galleries
- Go to a sporting event.
- Having the chance to yell at the people in real life that you normally yell at on TV feels great.
Your Monthly Bucket List should be 1-2 items that you will cross off your list each month. Try not to count the same event multiple months in a row. If you are an avid sports fan and go to a professional game every month that doesn’t count for your Monthly Bucket List. The idea here is to get you out and doing something more intense than your weekly lists. Do you see the pattern yet?
Good luck working on your Monthly Bucket Lists. Let me know what type of things you are putting on your list for December.
Long days and pleasant nights,
Shoeless Joe
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November 26, 2011 | Categories: Adventures, Life, Personal Legend | Tags: Barefoot, bucket list, Buffalo, Buffalo NY, life, monthly bucket list, personal legend, Shoeless Joe, true calling, true passion | Leave a comment
Your life is yours to live however you want so why not live one to the fullest?
Consider making yourself a weekly bucket list, a monthly bucket list, and a yearly bucket list. They don’t need to be a long list of ridiculous things, but realistic things that will make your life more exciting. I don’t like the idea of a bucket list because you never know when your time is up. If you keep putting something off long enough, you will kick the bucket before you have taken the chance to do it.
The weekly bucket list is a list of silly things. This is the list for things that aren’t really life changing but can make you a better-rounded person. Things that would typically be on this are:
- Watch a movie you normally wouldn’t watch.
- If you like chick-flicks, watch an action movie.
- If you like horror movies, try a comedy.
- If you’re into drama, try a musical.
- Take a walk to your local library.
- You don’t need to rent anything, but if you would go to Barnes and Noble to look around, why not go to your local library and support them! Most libraries let you rent books to your Kindle too!
- Play on a playground.
- I know, you’re too old for a playground aren’t you? I don’t, I go to my local playground all the time. It’s a great place to work out and relive your childhood. Being outdoors is amazing and it feels great to get off the couch and away from the TV for a while.
- Have coffee with a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
- If you have lost touch with a friend who still lives nearby, why not call them up and see if they want to grab a cup of coffee or maybe even hit up happy hour? There’s no reason to lose a friend because you don’t have “time”
- Join a book club.
- If you like to read, why not share that hobby with a group of people. Not only are you doing something that you enjoy, you may also make some new friends in the process.
- It doesn’t need to be a book club; a lot of bars have a beer club.
- If you are really enthusiastic, you could try helping out your local scouting organization. They are always looking for more people to help out with events and meetings. Even if you don’t have a kid, you may still be able to be a part of these groups; as long as you have a scouting background (i.e. Eagle Scout, your kid was a scout but moved away. You tried scouts when you were a kid and now you want to get back into it.) Just talk to these groups and see if they could use the extra help.
- Come up with something of your own. What do you want to try sometime? A new restaurant? A new recipe? Did you find out about a board game that looks awesome but haven’t had a chance to play? The possibilities are endless.
Your Weekly Bucket List should be 1-3 things that you would like to try out. These should be nothing too serious, but things that make you be more active and that’s the point. This will help you ease out of your sedentary lifestyle and move into an adventurous one.
Leave a comment with some more ideas for a Weekly Bucket List so we can see what you all are doing!
Long days and pleasant nights,
Shoeless Joe
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November 23, 2011 | Categories: Adventures, Life, Personal Legend | Tags: Barefoot, bucket list, Buffalo, personal legend, Shoeless Joe, true calling, true passion, weekly bucket list | Leave a comment
Barefoot Buffalo 