It is the beginning of a new week, and a new month for this blog and for a few weeks already I have felt I should start sticking to a schedule, in order to get more out of my “working day”.

If you have followed me from the start, you will have gathered by now that I don’t have a steady 9-5 day job, nor am I working for a boss. I have been in this situation for well over a year now and I am just making ends meet, or hardly and only until recently have I become really dedicated to improve my lifestyle, wanting to get more security in my life.

One of the things I really need to change is the way I am spending my time, less fooling around doing zillion things at a time, having my mind shattered around the place and even though it might look to the outsider that I am always “at work”, I am definitely not using the most productive ways in order to get ahead.

I am constantly fighting my “perfectionist” and “impulsive” personality; both traits really are getting in the way of my goals. I always have many ideas for new projects, which I start without really giving them a lot of thought to be honest. Today I actually received a notice that one of my domains was up for renewal and I did not even have the slightest idea how to enter my account, seeing that I had bought the domain in another one of my impulsive moments, and had just left it at that.

The “perfectionist” in me makes me give up on a project maybe too soon, thinking that if I can’t do it a 100% from day one, I better not do it at all.

So, I am trying to fight my own biggest enemies, and for that, I have started this blog as well. Because I really needed to prove to myself that I do have stamina and the willpower to improve over time rather than doing it perfect from day one. Plus, having bought this domain as yet another impulsive act in my life, I really feel I need to stick to it.

The other day I came across several articles that really are inspiring me to get on track. So this week I will be posting a series of articles that gear towards becoming more productive working at home, I for one really need to do so!

The first article I found was on ProBlogger.com and it talks about how to keep momentum going on your blog. Darren Rowse actually got inspired to write the post because of a comment on one of his other posts and it caught his attention, as it holds my attention right now.

In order to keep momentum going, one of his readers designed a point system to make sure he gets the job done on a daily base, rewarding points to all the work he does on his blog.

So last night, before going to bed I sat down with a big piece of paper, trying to make my own system, looking at the things I need to get done on a daily, weekly and monthly base. For the first time in my life I actually am setting up a work schedule, leaving me enough freedom to make my days interesting, yet more productive.

For now, during the first period of creating better habits, I have decided I need to reach at least 55 points daily during this month, while 75 points a day will be the goal for next month.

My list of points at present:
5 points for 1 good blog post
1 point for writing a comment on another blog
2 points for writing a comment on a new blog I find
3 points for dropping 50-100 entrecards
2 points for writing and submitting an article
20 points for redesigning blog/website that I already own
3 points for every 10 directories I submit my sites to
20 points for setting up a new project
8 points per hour of paid work
8 points for doing my administration

Are any of you working with a set schedule to get it all done or do you just go with the flow of the day?

  • Share/Bookmark

Filed under: Commitment • Future Projects • Goals • Personal

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!