Have you ever noticed that there’s something about September being on the horizon that invites making space for new things?

In my case, a catalyst was a blog post written by a good friend of mine about becoming the person you would be if you had the work and life you want. Reading it, really reading it, and thinking about it, made me realize that I’d been coasting for awhile…and that it was time to stop.

And the next realization was that organized structure was going to be a key area for me to implement.

You see, there are some areas in my life where I’m extremely organized. (Just ask the foolhardy person who puts one of my cooking utensils away in the wrong place, so that it’s not where my hand expects to find it next time around!)

But in some others – like actually making a plan for how to work systematically towards a goal – I’ve always been somewhat lacking. Once the goal was made, sometimes written down, often just residing in my head, it usually fizzled out shortly thereafter. Some genuinely important things never seemed to get beyond good intentions.

My guess is, I’m not alone in that.

organized structure was going to be a key area for me to implement

Anyway, the first thing I did was to write down a list of a whole bunch of things I’d like to accomplish.

Some important ones centered around:

• Caring for my spiritual self
• Parenting in a more deliberate and meaningful way
• Mulling over what’s next for my business

Along the way, a couple of terrific resources I found (which helped me crystallize these four ‘secrets’ in my own mind) are:

Do It Tomorrow, by Mark Forster

The Organizing Sourcebook, by Kathy Waddill

So, here goes!

Sharpen Focus

Here are the questions I came up with as the first stage in goal-setting:

• Why do I want to commit to this?
• What will committing to this mean, in terms of resource allocation? Do I have or can I realistically access those resources? Is it important enough to justify that? Why or why not?
• What is my vision for this? How will I know when I am successful?
• What are smaller goals I can set that will act as stepping stones on my way to ultimate success?
• What are my plans for maintaining the required level of effort?

Monitor Progress

Having decided that a goal is worthy of committing to, I set appointments in my calendar for things like:

• Think about…
• Make decision about…
• Plan…
• Review…

Part of the appointment includes setting up tasks to accomplish on the way to the next thinking/deciding/reviewing milestone. And since I learned about will-do (as opposed to to-do) lists from the eminent Mr. Forster, these tasks do actually get done. (Publishing this blog post today was one of them!)

support enough to make the outward behaviors I’m seeking  happen as a natural consequence

Pay attention to one’s own mind and emotions

It’s easy to get tired and discouraged along the way and this can break you if you don’t address it. For me, this means more questions, like:

• Since success begets success, have I set my goals too high to enjoy consistent success along the way? Do I need more ‘stepping stone’ goals?
• Is my original ‘why’ for committing to this goal still compelling? Why or why not?
• What structure can I put in place to help support me? A coach? Working on bite-size pieces at the same time every day so that it ‘just’ becomes part of my life?

Develop a plan, before it’s ever needed, for when you get derailed

I had this happen recently when we went on vacation and the exercise program I’d been following faithfully went out the window for a week. I can’t tell you how many times in the past a missed week would have stretched into weeks and months, with every passing day making me feel worse about the issue and simultaneously making it harder to get restarted.

This time, when I started my program, I decided to get smart. I know myself – and I know my little, internal danger signs: denial and sluggishness. So as planned, as soon as I got home, I got out my book, The Flat Belly Diet, which includes twenty-eight short but contemplative writing assignments. And I committed to doing one each day.

So much of success in things like this is a mental game and I knew that this would be support enough to make the outward behaviors I’m seeking  happen as a natural consequence.

So there they are, my four secrets (really, all structural) for keeping projects moving forward to shining success!

I’m on vacation this week, but I was reminded of a business truth in the midst of it.

After seeing a movie together, my family and I decided to go out to dinner. We settled on Chili’s, a family-friendly chain restaurant. It was a tasty meal.

But what really stood out in my mind was the quality of the service. It was good. Really good.

Our waiter, Josh, was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. He took the time to talk with the kids about their meal selections (tacos), explaining the options, sharing what his favorite combination was and why. When I said I’d prefer my fajitas without any sour cream on the side, he took the initiative to ask if I’d like extra of any of the other toppings, rather than waiting for me to ask. We mainly ordered finger food, and he thought to provide individually wrapped hand wipes, in addition to napkins. Smiling and relaxed, his entire demeanor made me feel that he was genuinely interested that we had an enjoyable time.

Just little things. But all together, they made me feel like someone was looking out for us. And that was a wonderful feeling to relax into. Moreover, I gladly left a particularly generous tip. AND complimented Josh’s service to the manager.

The experience made me think about business in general. How empathetic is our approach to marketing? How “seen” do our customers feel when we serve them?

Seem needy, seem desperate for work, and you invoke only nervousness – as surely as the stance and gaze of a hungry wolf makes a prey animal run.

Of course, among other reasons, we’re all in business to make a living. (At least that’s true of all the business owners I know.) No money = no business.

And to make money, you have to have clients who pay you. That’s an immutable truth.

Still, there’s a paradox at work.

Seem needy, seem desperate for work, and you invoke only nervousness – as surely as the stance and gaze of a hungry wolf makes a prey animal run.

So even if you do desperately need work, shift the focus. Really listen to your clients and prospective clients. Pay attention to what they say and what they don’t say. Not because you’re trying to “catch” them. But rather, so that they know they’re in a safe harbor – with someone who understands them, cares, and can actually help with whatever problem needs solving.

Reach out in that generous way and the day will come when you won’t feel that you have to chase work. Because work will come to you.

I have a special client who is a wonderful healer – sincerely concerned about other people and very giving. But computers aren’t her thing. In fact, to her, they’re more of a necessary evil.

In her ideal life, she’d never have to sit in front of a monitor and keyboard.

Some months before she met me, she was talked into buying a Macintosh laptop. She’d always used a Windows-based PC before.

Given how much the idea of technology intimidates her, she’s done an incredible job of mastering the new platform.

But the truth is, she’s hated it ever since she got it and she’s really struggling with whether or not to trash it and go back to what she knows or whether to keep plugging along with the Mac.

Either way involves a certain amount of upheaval, expense, and stress. She feels completely stuck.

So, what’s a person to do when she’s at a fork in the road, needing to move forward in some direction but feeling like a deer caught in the headlights?

When you’re feeling paralyzed, you need to give yourself some time out of time. No matter how much pressure you feel, be it internal or external, to make a decision.

First and foremost, realize that any decision you make based only on people, books, information, etc. outside of yourself isn’t likely to make you feel too good in the end. You need to connect with yourself.

Especially is this so for those of us (myself included) who deeply need to know something on a feeling level, not just a logical one.

But I’m not talking about escape. I’m talking about time to deeply connect with what our heart whispers, so that we have some direction we feel at peace moving forward with.

…time to deeply connect with what our heart whispers, so that we have some direction we feel at peace moving forward with.

 If you’re this type of person, one of the best business primers I’ve come across is Unveiling the Heart of your Business, by Mark Silver. (Not an affiliate link.)

Two ways you can check out Mark’s work for free is by subscribing to his ezine and receiving a three-chapter excerpt from the book. You can also support yourself in taking some “time out of time” by taking up the 14-day Remembrance Challenge (also free).

The great thing? Even with just these free resources, you’ve got the foundation for unstuckness.

Check them out and let me know what you think.