December Challenge: It's NOT too Late to Make this Year a Remarkable Year

HO! HO! HO! It's that time of the year... Not to celebrate and exchange gifts (at least not for me). On December 1st, it's hustle time. It's that time I push myself to get back on track and catch up on all pending to-dos, goals, and dreams. In other words, I use December as a month of challenge to complete the objectives I had for that year or at least get significant progress on that.

There can be so many distractions in life and the social media and the internet can eat up most of our time (it used to be TV). Now, to achieve goals, I first need to get organized:

1. Review my goals for the past year
2. Check the completed goals
3. Zoom on the remaining ones

When I have my remaining goals set clear on paper, I can then evaluate what can quickly be done immediately (if your goal is to get fit, you can already start doing today) and what would take longer to achieve.

For the immediate actions, there is no secret to this. I just make time for them on my calendar. Using the example above, I would schedule working-out on M-W-F from 7-8pm for the entire month of December. This will actually help me create a habit and by the end of the year, it'll be part of my routine.

The same goes for learning a new skill (language, cooking, music, etc). I'd schedule it on my planner as if it were an appointment I had to go to.

To succeed at my commitments, I'd need to limit distractions: set my phone on airplane mode or grayscale it, isolate myself in a quiet room in the house... In sum, I need to create the conditions for me to help myself achieve that goal.

Longer goals, however, must be chunked into small steps. If, for example, I have as a goal buying a house, the steps I can take on this December (to get closer to my goal) would be:
1. Browse real estate websites and checking with property counselors
2. Visit some properties
3. Have a meeting with my bank manager to discuss the financing/ Plan the house financing
4. Start getting the money and documents ready
5. Purchase the house

Now it is possible I do not get to point 5 and that's fine. I would have gone through the 4 steps and would be prepared in case a great opportunity comes up.

The idea is pretty simple, each day I need to get some progress on the 'remaining goals' to be achieved.

Some people, yesterday on the FB Live, mentioned the difficulty of working for others and at the same time making time to achieve their personal goals. I can understand that but you can still use your lunchtime break and after work hours to move ahead. One to 2 hours a day is great for you to see some progress. And make use of the weekends as well. Social gatherings can be good but when there are too many of them, they can suck up your energy and be a time-waster. Use your time wisely.

So, let's get the ball rolling! Don't delay. Start today and will touchbase again soon to see how you're doing.

Make this year a remarkable and unforgettable year.

Let the challenge begin! GO!!