Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.

If you are finding value in our PROJECT OF THE WEEK Newsletter, we would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word. Your friends and family can click HERE to sign-up.

PROJECT OF THE WEEK

Real Results from Consistent Effort Over Time

It's great to have big goals and dreams for the future!

I even keep a Dream Journal where I write down 10 dreams each day that I think would be amazing, but for now, are only dreams.

For me, when I first start thinking about what my next big goal should be, I can start to feel intimidated.

I love the idea of achieving the goal, but almost always feel overwhelmed by the amount of work and uncomfortable moments that will be necessary to make it happen.

What I try to keep in mind is that the road to success is actually lined with small consistent steps forward.

This, Project of The Week Newsletter, is a great example.

Getting Started

When I first imagined creating a weekly newsletter that would add real value to people's lives, it felt both exciting and overwhelming.

Would anyone really want to read it? Would I run out of content? How in the world will I have time to write it and email it out EVERY week?

I knew, if this was something I really wanted to make happen, I needed a plan that incorporated small, consistent actions on a regular basis, and I needed support.

So, I got started. First, I spent a few hours attempting to figure out MailChimp. This was the part that was completely foreign to me, but it was free and I figured it worth investing a little time. (Guess what? We didn’t end up using MailChimp.)

It didn’t take me long to realize it was worth investing in support with designing the Blog & Newsletter.

I reached out to Lindsey Morano, my amazing website designer, to see if she could help. Luckily for me, she could and was excited to do so!

My next big fear was that I was going to run out of content. So I sat down and typed up 52 Blog Ideas. I figured, if I had ideas for the first year, I would be ok.

As you probably know by now, I love all things productivity. This turned out to not only be easy, but super fun! And guess what? I found myself with more than 52 ideas.

I was feeling confident that I could have a beautifully designed blog and that I would not run out of ideas.

Now, I needed to figure out how I was going to consistently make it happen.

I reached out to a friend, the amazing Nicole Morelle, who I knew worked in Marketing, and asked if we could chat.

I shared my idea with Nicole and asked if she wanted to partner with me. Thankfully, she was equally excited and jumped on board.

Now I knew I needed a plan that involved routine actions on a weekly and monthly basis.

My next step was to schedule when I was going to work on the Project of the Week Newsletter.

Setting aside a consistent time to write each blog entry was at the core of making this a success.

This was also the most challenging part. After looking at my schedule, I realized there was no way to make this consistent, without letting something go. The only consistent time that I could make available was Wednesday mornings. This meant resigning from my BNI Chapter, which was a hard decision, but worth it.

As someone who loves to plan ahead, I was worried about how I would FEEL knowing each week, that I had to write a new blog entry or else.

I decided to write for about 12 weeks, before launching the Newsletter. This meant that we had a 12-blog cushion, for all the unexpected life events that inevitably happen.

This was a great decision!

By doing this, Nicole is able to edit and load a month’s worth of blogs at a time.

In addition to writing the Blog, there were other consistent actions that I needed to commit to on a monthly basis, to make this goal happen.

Below are the consistent efforts we make each month:

I write a new blog entry every Wednesday morning.
Around the first of the month, Nicole loads all the next month’s blogs onto the website, under Review.
The second week of the month, I read the following month's blogs and change their status to Scheduled.
Once the blogs are scheduled, Nicole creates and schedules the Newsletters to go out.
Nicole and I have a monthly standing meeting to discuss the Project of the Week Newsletter and how we want it to grow and improve.

Launching and maintaining a Weekly Blog was a big goal that felt impossible at the start.

Today, it is a reality because of the consistent times we set aside to work on it.

Is there a big goal you have been wanting to prioritize?

Can you schedule the same 45-minutes each week to work on it?

You will likely be shocked by the results!

Ready to Get Started?

If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!

get started

A Note from Happy Spaces

The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:

Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.

We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.

Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®

Sincerely,

Sarah Weingarten

Meet Sarah

Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.

Real Results from Consistent Effort Over Time