Month: December 2022

From the idealistic to the pragmatic: Priorities -> Goals -> Tasks

On By MarishaIn My Organizational System, Organization & ProductivityLeave a comment

In the previous two weeks, I wrote about identifying your unique priorities and creating goals in order to make those priorities a reality. Now, it’s time to get very specific and identify tasks that will allow you to reach your goals, so you can live according to your priorities.

Once you identify important goals in your life, it’s time to break them down into actionable steps. What tasks can bring you closer to your goal?

If you want to learn to play piano, a suitable aim may be to play piano 3 times per week for 30 minutes. If you want to spend more time with friends, you can make it a goal to meet up with a friend for dinner or lunch once a week. Then, go ahead and make arrangements with your friends to that end. The key here is to make the steps actionable, so it’s clear what you need to do to move closer to your goal.

Next, you should put the action you’ve identified on your calendar and/or to-do list. Put it somewhere where you won’t forget about the activity, you’ll be reminded of it, and you’ll be able to review it. My calendar and my to-do list (both digital) are my best friends in this regard because they are always by my side (on my phone).

It’s very important to be practical and to plan your activities in detail. Multiple studies have shown the “when, then” approach extremely effective in modifying behavior: for instance, “when I come home from work, I will play piano for 30 minutes. Thus, identify when exactly you will do your new behavior, and decide on what exactly you will do. Be as specific as possible.

We should aim to break down our big goals into small, manageable steps and plan when and how we will carry those out. This is the way to make our goals happen.

Design your holidays

On By MarishaIn Marisha Manahova CoachingLeave a comment

What would you like your holidays to look like?

What are you going to do with any monetary gifts you receive these holidays (if any)?

Do you want to keep up one (or more) of your habits during the holidays, or would you rather take a break from all of them?

How to be flexible while respecting your non-negotiables.

What was your favorite activity this year? Can you do it again or recreate it during the holidays?

New blog post: Get specific with your priorities, so you can make your vision a reality. Set goals.


Happy holidays from us!

Be specific with your priorities: Set goals

On By MarishaIn My Organizational System, Organization & Productivity1 Comment

Last week, I wrote about how you can identify what’s truly important to you in your life. Now, let’s get specific, so we can make your vision a reality.

Now that you’ve reflected on the main categories of your life, we’re going to set goals to reflect where you’d like to be regarding each category.

In some of these areas, you may already be living life as you’d like it to be, and in other areas, there may be a mismatch between what you’d like your life to look like and what it currently is. In this exercise, you’ll gain awareness of where you are now and where you’d like to be.

  1. What goals and projects (activities, responsibilities, things you do) do you have in each category?
  2. Do you feel fulfilled by the combination of goals and projects listed here? Does the list feel “complete”?
  3. In an ideal world, would you remove any goals and/or projects from this category, i.e., would you take anything off your list?
  4. In an ideal world, would you add any goals and/or projects to this list? Is there anything that you feel is missing that you’d like to add?

Run through this exercise for each of the 10 priorities categories. You’re finished when each category feels fulfilling to you.

Now, try to take in the 10 categories together. Do they make for a fulfilling, purposeful life? It may be difficult to hold everything you’ve written in mind at the same time, but allow your gut feeling to guide you here. Does your intuition tell you something is missing? Or does this feel like a pretty good life?

Your identity can help you effortlessly stick to a habit

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The strategy of identity is very powerful in shaping our habits.

Your weekly reminder to ask yourself, “What is important to me?”

How to prepare for holiday expenses ahead of time.

Sometimes we need to be flexible in the moment in order to maintain our consistency in the future.

If you can’t reach for joy in the current moment, give yourself some grace. We aren’t always meant to be happy, and that’s okay.

What is most important to you? Identify your priorities

On By MarishaIn My Organizational System, Organization & ProductivityLeave a comment

One of the biggest stressors in an otherwise fortunate life is to not be living the life you want. It may sound like your life is great, but unless it reflects your idea of what’s important, it may not feel fulfilling to you.

But how can you identify your unique priorities? There are so many things to think about and so many things you find important in life, you may not even know where to start.

In order to make identifying your priorities feel less overwhelming, I invite you to consider the main categories of your life:

  1. Work & Mission
  2. Learning
  3. Finances
  4. Health
  5. Family
  6. Friends
  7. Care
  8. Relaxing & Fun
  9. Spirituality
  10. Purpose & Fulfillment

What is important to you in each category? What would you like to add in (some of) these categories to make them feel more in alignment with how you’d like to live your life?

What responsibilities are you carrying in (some of) these categories that do not feel authentic to you? Are you able to spend less time on those, delegate them to someone else, or simply not do them? What can you remove from your life, so you can have more time and energy for what matters to you?

Note: These 10 main categories of life are loosely based on Brendon Burchard‘s work, but the ones listed here have been adapted by me.

The party continues: Preview the new month

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The new month has started. It’s time for the Monthly Preview!

At the beginning of the month, it’s smart to prepare for this month’s spending and unique financial needs.

My personal approach is that I like to remove decision making for a habit via the calendar.

Should you be flexible and adapt, or should you stick to the schedule? Tricky question…

Guilt is an indicator to reflect, not a reason to immediately act.

Party time: Let’s do the Monthly Review!

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Since it’s the end of the month, let’s do the Monthly Review!

At the end of the month, it’s time for the financial monthly review!

Modify a habit by removing decision making as much as possible!

When my son was ill, this is how I adapted my schedule to still get some stuff done.

Boundaries are not selfish. Mind is blown!

This was William’s birthday cheesecake!

It’s getting cold over here, so we brought tea on our latest hike. I managed to catch this priceless moment 🥰