Pause • Plan • Do

Think back to those glorious days of childhood when you spent rainy afternoons putting together 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles. Even though the picture on the puzzle box revealed the end game, it was still a joy to snap the pieces into place and see the image take shape.

What if you’re life is a giant jigsaw puzzle — without a box and no predetermined image? And, instead of the pieces being pre-cut, imagine that you are creating the pieces one at a time. In fact, what if each waking hour of your life represented a single new piece of the picture? Instead of 1,000 pieces in our childhood puzzle boxes, the picture of our lives would be comprised of hundreds of thousands of pieces snapped into place, one hour at a time, over the days, weeks, and years of our lives

You’ve been around for a while now. What image is taking shape for you?

The Week Ahead

With that said, it’s time to put together your plan for the week.

You will have about 112 waking hours this week. That’s 100+ new pieces to add to the picture of your life. What new pieces would you like to snap into the puzzle this week?

Do this: Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted for 15 - 20 minutes. Bring along a copy of your calendar (or a device that can access it). Take a moment to quiet your mind and begin to visualize the week in front of you.

1. What are the most critical outcomes you need to achieve this week?
2. Who are the most important people with whom you need to spend time?
3. What new things could you do to take your life in the direction you want it to go?
4. What is your theme for the week?

Managing Expectations

Remember to send your boss a short email on Monday morning outlining what you plan on getting done this week. Let him or her know what you are planning to work on and what you expect to be completed by Friday.

I find the idea of creating a puzzle — one hour at a time — to be quite intriguing. What do you think? Does the puzzle metaphor work for you? How far can you stretch it?

I wish you success.