One Minute Success Drill

You wake up and the day is already hitting you with obligations; getting kids ready for school, trying to eat breakfast and get to work at the same time, fighting traffic and on occasion, hiding from your boss. Life has more stress than ever before and sometimes it seems like nothing can cut through the thick knot of stimuli.

But you can organize your life, no matter how stressful or unorganized it may be, in a single minute of your busy time! The trick is a simple procedure often used by "super" organizers and goal setters to reign in their own busy schedules.

• Make a list of goals you'd most like to achieve. Number them 1, 2, 3....

You may want to perform on Broadway or simply plan a cozy anniversary with your spouse. Your goals can be anything in between. They can be success oriented, career priorities, or family and home tasks you'd like to see done before the kids go back to school in the fall, or graduate. Write them down, as few or as many as you find.

• Written goals are tangible. That's why this works.

Seeing your life goals on paper allows you to concentrate on them more effectively than trying to find the goals in your head as they bounce between a thousand other obligations. When you can see your goals, you can begin to decide what other tasks can be discarded as they arise.

Is watching TV after work more important than playing catch with your son? Does your morning coffee get in the way of your morning walk? Refer to your list of goals often to keep yourself on track. Once you've written them down, read them and remember them, then do them.

• Make sure your list comes before all other "daily" obligations.

If your dream is to have good health, or to have a close-knit family, don't allow work, television, or unnecessary time-wasters come between you and your health or family. By putting your list, and your goals/dreams first, you can effectively cancel out many of the odds and ends that most often stress you out. You'll slowly begin to simplify your life, getting done what you wish to do, and stop wasting time on other people's problems.

With your list, you can begin to take care of yourself first, then with any time left over you can see to another's needs. And all of this can be done in a minute of your busy time, and all you need is a piece of paper and a pen and a small bit of your time.

• Tips to getting it right the first time.

Make a list of five to ten goals. Too many and you are right back where you started, trying to do too much and overwhelmed. Too few and you're not giving yourself enough to accomplish, risking boredom.

Put your list somewhere you will see it often. If you forget about your list, it's no good to you. The list works when you use it daily.

Have the rest of your family make their own list. If your goals parallel theirs, you can work together to achieve them.