For someone who makes a lot of lists I have come to realise that organisation and planning is actually an issue for me. I might think I am good at this but upon reflection I am really not, I put things off constantly and let things pile up. I don't stick to a plan at all either, I would rather change plans all the time and then complain when things don't get done like I would have hoped even though I know that it is my fault why it is like that. The lack of planning and organisation has also meant that I haven't been able to grow my websites as I would like to as I forget to have posts written, forget to click publish and forget to add images yet I know if I was organised and planned ahead I could get way ahead of myself and have content going up consistently which I have wanted to happen for so long, this is the same for social media too, I just forget about it due to the lack of organisation. All this does have a negative effect on me in the end too as it gets me down and fed up so 2024 is the year of change... I am going to be so much more organised and planning is going to be a big part of the year.
The first big change is going to be that a block of my Sunday's will now be filled with a few hours of planning. This will mean either after the football or before depending on kick off time I will be shutting myself in the home office area and just planning out the week ahead so I know where I will be each day and what I need to be working on. Here are the sort of things I will be planning in this time...
Blog posts
This will be a case of planning out where pictures need adding etc for the week ahead and what posts require writing for the future so that I am always a step ahead of myself rather than being behind like I usually am. This will tie up any lose ends for the upcoming week but I will also add to my to do list what needs writing, what images are needed and just the progress of where I am at with them. This will be done in my notebook and on my spreadsheet so the reference is always available. I will also use this time to put in my Google Calendar what site I need to focus on each day so that I am not getting overwhelmed like I previously have.
Fitness classes/ sessions
With my weight loss journey being a big part of 2024 I will be ensuring that I am planning in all my gym sessions & weight lifting classes so that I know where I am already booked so I am not agreeing to a trip to the shops etc like I used to. I need to make sure these are all planned in so that I am not skipping them for the sake of it, I need to be hitting these sessions to progress on my journey so these are some of the most important things I will be planning.
Football matches & training sessions
If you have read this site for a while you will know just how big of a part of my life football is. With multiple matches for Bradford City most weeks now due to Tuesday evening games and the usual Saturday's I need to make sure these are all planned in so I know exactly where I am meant to be, this is the same for Manchester United Women too so I can see where a dog sitter may be required. I am also starting to play for a new team so I need to add in their training sessions and match days so I can make sure there aren't too many clashes with Bradford City and Man Utd Women, it also means I can tell the team when I am and aren't available which will be a big help for them too.
As I say these are the two big things that need planning and I will make sure they are added to my Google Calendar as well as my paper diary which will be coming everywhere with me in 2024. I will also add my blog things to a to do list notebook I have so I can track the progress I am making. The blog things will also be added to my blog content calendar on Google so that I can do some more in depth tracking and ensure everything is getting done, I also have a similar calendar for Instagram which I will be sure to check every Sunday and make any plans and adjustments needed.
Once the two more important bits are filled in I will be moving on to planning out my meals, these will be planned around the activities I am doing to ensure that I am fueling my body correctly for a change to make sure I am making the most out of all the exercise I am doing rather than doing the hard work at the gym and spoiling it with a poor diet. This meal plan is going to be a key piece for staying on track and cutting out the takeaways that have started to creep back in.
After the meal plan is done and dusted I will be moving onto getting all my outfits pieced together for the week ahead. I will be getting my clothes out and put together to make sure I am not spending longer than I need to in a morning getting ready and the hassle is taken away. It also means that all my workout clothes will be out and ready so I can't use it as an excuse for not doing my session as everything is going to be out and ready for me. I am also hoping this will help me be able to put more effort into my outfits too as it means I will have more time to see what goes together and looks good rather than just throwing anything on.
The final parts of the planning and organising session will be scheduling in what I can for the blog and Instagram, this just means there will something going up on each day rather than me rushing around last minute trying to find what to post, especially with Instagram. All these steps should just hold me that bit more accountable and help me keep on track with the things I am aiming for throughout the year. I will also be posting daily plans of actions over on Instagram so that I can be doubly accountable and see the progress I am making day to day and seeing where I fall off track. It should also help me avoid burnout too as I will only be planning what I am capable of and those last minute rushes will be disappearing meaning the chance of burnout will hopefully be reduced.
Let's hope this new form of planning and organisation finally gets me that consistency that I have been striving for and growth across my websites and Instagram at long last. Hopefully it helps me get closer to that end weight loss goal too if I stop skipping sessions at long last.
Now let's see if I can stick to this...
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