How are we all doing? Things have certainly changed in the last few weeks. More people are getting onboard with isolating at home. Businesses and schools are adapting. And most of us are adjusting to our current circumstances. To keep busy here, I’m quilting and creating art.

Daily Tasks

The next step in our journey to reaching our goals is to start writing down the daily tasks we need to complete to move us toward our goals. As my dad would say, “This is where the rubber hits the road.” Start listing the items, large and small, that will take you to your goal. Tasks are the itemized actionable steps you need to complete to reach your goal.

Ask Questions

Begin formulating questions about the short term goals on your list. Your first few tasks are to search out the answers to these early questions. As you ask questions and find answers, new questions will become apparent. Those questions will lead to other answers and so on. This discovery process keeps moving you closer to your dream. So, jot these down.

The Break Down

Once you’ve written down some of your questions and found a few answers, write down any steps that become apparent to you. Break more substantial steps into a series of smaller steps that you can complete over several days or even a few weeks. That’s ok. Daily tasks match up with your short term goals AND, they are actionable. They become the TO DO list to get you there. This list will grow and shrink as you think of new items to add and complete others.

Finally, don’t be afraid to cross off steps that become unnecessary or obsolete as you move toward your goal. Remember your goals and to do list are dynamic and will change as you travel on your journey to your BIG dream. Notice that in my example below some of the goals shifted slightly. I’ve shown those changes in italics.

The “To Do” List

Look at your short-term goals and think about the things you can do over the next few days and weeks to reach those goals. Now create a list of actionable steps. If they must be completed in a certain order, number the steps. If they are time sensitive, add a date to the item.

Now let’s look at the example of my dream to design quilt patterns, four long term goals, four mid-term goals, four short-term goals and some daily tasks:

The Dream

To be a quilt pattern designer with an online shop, wholesale sales, retail quilt shop presence, and maintain a membership site. To write quilt books based on my patterns.

Long Term Goals

Long Term Goals to support and reach the dream (1-2 years out)

• Create a list of pattern wholesalers to meet with at Quilt Market
• Send my pattern catalog to additional wholesalers and retail quilt shops
• Have a booth at Quilt Market
• Create a web shop on my website and market my patterns

Mid-Term Goals

Mid Term Goals to support the Long Term Goals (6-12 months out)

• Research wholesalers in the industry
• Assemble a physical and digital pattern catalog of my offerings
• Create 3 quilt patterns and sample quilts
• Create regular social media and blog posts to engage my community

Short-Term Goals

Short-Term Goals to support the Mid-Term Goals (1-6 months out)

• Study other quilt pattern designers that are currently doing what I want to do
• Create a standard template for my pattern designs maybe using Adobe InDesign
• Learn to take better pictures and edit them in Adobe Photoshop
• Learn how to use social media platforms (like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook) for business and marketing

Daily Tasks

Daily Tasks to support the Short-Term Goals (Now to a few weeks)

• Short term goal 1:
  • Who are some of the quilt pattern designers I like?
  • What do I like about the patterns they write?
  • What would I change about the way they wrote their pattern?
• Short term goal 2:
  • What computer software should I use to create my template?
    • Answer: I currently use Microsoft Word, however I have learned that many quilt pattern designers use Adobe InDesign. While I don’t necessarily have to change, it might be worth learning more about InDesign.
  • How can I learn Adobe InDesign?
    • Answer: Found a few courses on Skillshare and signed-up
    • Daily Task: Watch at least one lesson of Adobe InDesign on Skillshare and practice applying what I learn – this is “on hold” see 3 below
• Short term goal 3:
  • What additional skills do I need to develop?
    • Learn to take better pictures for quilt patterns and social media
    • Answer: Learn to use my digital camera for more than just “point and shoot” pictures.
    • Daily Tasks:
      • Read the MANUAL
      • Take a Photography class on Skillshare (reminder: We’re on COVID-19 “shelter-in-place” orders so online classes are a great option)
      • Start taking pictures – DAILY
      • Learn Adobe Photoshop – Find and sign-up for a Skillshare Adobe Photoshop class – on hold for a few days till I take more pictures
• Short term goal 4:
  • Where can I learn more about using social media for business marketing?
    • Answers:
      • Check out library for books on the topic
      • Search the Internet for available tips and resources
      • Take Skillshare classes on using Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

I will continue to refine this list as I work through my goal. Checking things off, asking new questions, getting more answers, and adjusting the Long, Mid and Short term goals.

One Final Thought

Here’s one final thought on daily tasks – DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY to move your goal forward. Even if you only have a few minutes to complete one short task, make sure you spend time on your goals every single day. The trick is to never miss a day. Some days you spend 5 minutes. Other days you’ll have hours available. Whichever it is, do at least one task on your list to keep moving forward.

I hope this example helps you create a map to your BIG Dream. Next, I’ll share some tips that can help with the daily tasks and keep you on track.

How is your BIG Dream plan coming along? Are your goals starting to take shape? Let me know what you’re working on. I’d love to hear how you are doing!

Until next time,