​ Hi Reader, ​

I can't be the only one this happens to - when life gets busy (usually with client work), everything that's not on my calendar falls of my radar.

• My blog? "I'm sure I've got enough scheduled in advance still". Which is usually the case for a couple of weeks... until it's not.
• Social media? "Not essential". And before I know it, I haven't kept up-to-date with what others were up to for months. Which means I've missed out on big life events no one thought to tell me about because it was on Facebook, so everybody knew, right?
• Email my list? It's not like I have something new and shocking to share. This can wait.
• Friends and family? "I'll catch up over the weekend". Which is also when I catch up with tidying and cleaning, farm chores, groceries, home maintenance, decluttering, shopping, sleep, admin, and... ah well, I'll catch up next weekend then.
• Coffee with my business bestie? Maybe when the kids aren't sick, we're not travelling, neither of us is swamped with client work or has guests staying with them, and we happen to have a meeting-free morning. So... maybe in September?

Or in short... it's so easy to postpone things when they don't seem like a priority at that time. And before you know it, time has passed.

My way to stay (more or less) on top of it? Checking in with myself one a month. Here's how I do it:

1. I review the areas of my life & business that need attention. If not sure where to start, the wheel of life can help.
2. For each selected area, I write down what my intentions are for the upcoming month - being careful not to overestimate the amount of things I can do in a month.
3. I then turn each intention into an action item: maybe I'll block some time in my calendar for it, or it's something to add to my habit tracker, or to my project management tool...

Once it's planned, it's in the calendar, or part of my daily checklist, it takes a conscious effort on my part to not do it.
As long as it's NOT part of the plan, it takes a conscious effort (and often some spur-of-the-moment inspiration) to start.

The little caveat? I tend to not do this monthly check-in when no one else is watching. Time for my monthly planning? Oh wait, let me quickly finish this web page or check my mail first. And after all, it's been a long day, so might as well do it tomorrow.

If you're like me, and you do your best work with some gentle nudging from your peers... come and join us on July 1st. Together, we identify priorities, set intentions, and turn them into something that's easy to take action on.

It's the one hour in the month you might not feel like setting aside for yourself... but you'll be happy you did.

-- Sandrine Online business strategist and certified Storybrand guide at SmartAlpaca Marketing​ Also blogging (on and off) at sunnysimpleliving.com and smartalpaca.org​

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P.S. Interested in more? I also host a "virtual coworking power hour" twice a week. Check the calendar here and join us for the most productive 50 minutes of your week!