Beware... summer drift

 Summer is a tricky time for staying focused on your goals. Kids are out of school. You have trips and stuff planned. Coworkers are in and out of the office. Life gets full. It’s the peak time of the year to drift. To allow disruptions, distractions, or even fun detours to throw you out of rhythm as you continue working on your 2024 goals. On one hand, this is a good thing. We all need times of the year that allow for a little more flexibility and freedom to unplug and recharge a bit. For example, my family’s spontaneous summer tradition has become the Adventure Bag. It’s a small pouch that has a dozen or so little cards inside. On each card is written some sort of adventure: fire pit with s’mores; go hiking; Mario Kart party night; and so on. Each Monday morning, one of our boys gets to draw a card out of the adventure bag. We put it on the fridge and that’s the adventure we’ll do as a family on the upcoming weekend. It’s fun. It’s unpredictable. It’s what summer is all about. But in the midst of all the summer randomness, there is at least one thing that remains constant for me: > >> Each week still begins with scheduling out what’s most important. I’ve even created an area for it — a special side of my corner desk that I call the Analog Desk. My “analog desk” has a ton of free space for spreading out papers or books and for writing out my plan for the week. Here, I schedule out everything. Work stuff, family stuff, personal stuff. Even if it’s 90 minutes to read in the middle of the afternoon, I’m scheduling it. I know what you’re thinking: “Taking the time to schedule every minute of the day is a waste — the schedule never works out perfectly anyway!” That common myth is tricky because there is some truth mixed in (especially during high-distraction times of the year like summer). While it’s true that nobody’s schedule ever works out perfectly — not even mine — consider these two important factors: - With a schedule you’ve got a plan for when you’re going to do work that matters. This means you’re FAR MORE LIKELY to do the most important work in your day. - With a schedule you can budget the time you need for other important activities (family, exercise, rest). And these are HUGE contributors to your overall health and baseline level of happiness. It’s okay if your schedule doesn’t work out perfectly. In fact, that’s normal. When things come up, take longer or shorter, etc. that’s fine. I just roll with it. My schedule is simply a blueprint for how I’m hoping to spend the day. It keeps me moving forward and helps me stay proactive (instead of reactive) with my time. It’s an essential ingredient for consistently spending my days and weeks the way I want to spend them. And yes, it’s something we’ll be working on in the upcoming Build Your Dream Week Summit in June (details to come soon!). For now, think about the coming summer months… What’s most likely to knock you off course or distract you from the things you value the most? Do you have a plan for withstanding it? — Shawn P.S. “Work more” is not a plan. Or at least not a sustainable one. Eventually, you will burn out and be right back where you started (or worse). If you’ve tried strategies like time-blocking but have struggled to make anything stick, make sure to circle June 11 on your calendar. That’s when we’re kicking off the Build Your Dream Week Summit — a perfect opportunity to get clear on what’s most important and start designing your weeks around it. Can’t wait! [In-Depth App Training for Power Users]( To unsubscribe, click [here](. Blanc Media, 714 Main St., Grandview, MO 64030, United States