I am a planner. I love being organized, having a plan (and a backup plan), and being prepared for all that can happen. I am the person who will pack 5 outfits for a weekend getaway because you never know what could happen! But I am also someone who will start a new project I have been meaning to do in the middle of something else. I need to change that this year. I don’t want tens of partially completed projects or activities. I want full and completed things that are ready to go!

Now I could plan all day and everyday. But planning isn’t enough. As someone once said “The distance between your DREAMS and REALITY is called ACTION.”

My word for 2021 is ACTION!

The year 2020 was full of unexpected twists and turns. And it was also a year of changes for me and my family, even outside of what COVID-19 had to offer. I bought a new car after driving an old white mini van in 2019. My mom continued to be in remission (YAY!) We took a family adventure to Israel where my sister was studying abroad. School went virtual. I moved multiple times. I gained lots of extra free time to start accelerating my business. I started a blog and a business Instagram. My sister graduated from college. My husband and I got married! My mom started teaching at a new school after 30+ years at a different elementary school. My husband and I got 3 fur babies. My sister began her credentialing program. I started graduate classes to get my ESOL endorsement. 

That’s a lot of changes!

But now I am ready to set down roots and GROW. The year 2021 doesn’t (currently) have any major planned changes. Therefore I am deeming it as the year I take ACTION. I have a vision for what I want my 2021 to look like. 

And here is my 4 step plan to take ACTION: 

Step 1: Plan everything you want to accomplish.

I know, I know…I just talked about how I am a massive planner and that it tends to get in the way of me actually doing what I have planned. But “Action without vision is [a] nightmare.” -Japanese Proverb.

I make plans for the whole month in advance (I want to do the whole Quarter, but baby steps people!). I list out everything I want to accomplish for my business: Blog posts, new resources, social media posts, THE EXCITING THING COMING IN FEBRUARY!, etc.

For example, my goal is to post on my blog every Wednesday. That means January needs 4 blogs. So I decide 4 topics  that I want to talk about and add it to my list.

Planning things out in this way helps keep me accountable to my goals. It’s broken down my quarter, month, day, and hour. BY HOUR?! ARE YOU CRAZY? Maybe. But it works for me. And I will explain why I do that in Step 3.

Step 2: Prioritize what is important.

Some might argue that this should be Step 1. Sure. Whatever works for you. I like to know what I have planned for the month before I put it all together. It’s how my brain works.

To prioritize, I started by scheduling things in order of importance. Here is my list:

1. Family & Friends
2. Teaching
3. Life Necessities
4. Miss Kuiper’s Classroom
5. Instagram
6. Blog
7. NEW EXCITING THING COMING IN FEBRUARY 2021
8. Other social media

Now, I start to fill out my paper and digital planners in this order. This leads me to my next step.

Step 3: Put it on the Schedule

I find that to best preserve my mental health and boost my productivity, I work by a half- hourly schedule. It helps me see all of my time laid out and know that I have a designated time to do certain tasks. It has helped eliminate the “starting something new in the middle of doing something else” thing I tend to do.

Starting with Priority #1. My husband’s birthday is in January. Mark that day off to celebrate him. Plus my husband and I enjoy eating dinner together after he gets off work or if he gets off work late, we drink tea together. (Like a true old couple. But seriously, have you tried Sleepy Time Tea?) So I scheduled that time in.

Then Priority #2: I blocked off my class times and filled in my contract hours with school things that need to get done. Planning, grading, posting things to Canvas, etc.

Next comes Priority #3! I filled the time slots with things that needed to get done every week such as my chiropractor appointments, meal prep, pet appointments, workouts, etc. 

Now all the time slots left over, those become options for when I get to work on things directly pertaining to Miss Kuiper’s Classroom.

All of that might seem like I am micromanaging my life. And I kind of am! But in the best way because it has allowed me so much freedom as well! I don’t have to worry about creating a blog post because I know that I will do that on Tuesday. Or I can take my time in the mornings because I have scheduled an hour to wake up, drink my coffee, and journal. It is so freeing! And if one day, I mess up, I can reschedule and get it done!

Step 4: Take Action!

Everything is scheduled; you know when things are happening. Now you take action. You have things planned and ready to go. So do them.

Seems simple right? Sure! I have the things planned and scheduled out. However, it is a daily discipline to accomplish things. I know that I created this plan to help me be efficient and less overwhelmed and stressed in the long run! A good quote to illustrate my point is this: “Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”  -Steve Maraboli