Moving Right Along

It has been just over one month since I decided to retire. I expected that I would accomplish so much with the time freed up from work. In fact, it seems that things pop up to fill that time and when I look back, I find that I have not been very productive. The truth is that the freedom from my job schedule has allowed me to slack off. I suspect that I have gotten less done than would have happened if I were still working. This is not acceptable!

Originally, I expected to develop a regular schedule that would accomplish much more work on my blog and my money making ventures with my newly freed time. It hasn’t happened. Looking back, it is clear that unless I sit myself down and demand some self-discipline, it’s not going to happen. I made a commitment to myself that I would replace my income over 2010. I think that it is a reasonable expectation…….. but it is not going to happen without a plan and some hard deadlines. I will just continue to drift.

Discipline is not my strength. I let myself off the hook all too easily and my attention flits from one task to another when what I am doing seem too much like work. I can tell myself what to do but it is much harder for me to actually crack the whip and hold myself accountable.

One problem is that I avoid making commitments and that makes it easy for me to rationalize when I don’t make real progress. So tomorrow, I intend to make a plan with some long and short term commitments, goals and deadlines. Within that framework, I will then establish a work schedule incorporating weekly and special commitments with enough time dedicated to the important tasks to accomplish them on schedule.

I don’t expect this to go smoothly. I don’t expect that I will change my nature. I do expect to become more focused and aware of my progress – or lack thereof. It is my life and if I don’t decide what to do with it, someone else will.

Is this an issue that anyone else has? What have you done that helps you stay focused and goal driven?