What an amazing adventure the 31 Goals in 31 Days Challenge has been! I have been able to accomplish many things, and while some others are still “works in progress”, overall it was a great experience both personally and in my businesses.
I thought I would recap each of the 31 days so this will be a bit of a long post, and I’ll also let you know how I’m doing now toward these goals and what the outcome was. So, here we go…
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 1 – The Master To Do List
Since writing the first Master To Do List on day 1, I have rewritten it two more times, since so many of the items have been accomplished. The sheer amount of things done off this list in the past 31 days astounds me!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 2 – The Prospect List
My prospect list is well over 100 people and I continue to add to it all the time. I have made many phone calls since day 2 off this list, and am continuing to work through the list regularly. My home show schedule is booked solid for the next 2 months, and I have had several new people join my team as a result of these calls.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 3 – Finish A Book
I finished all four books that were on this initial list, and now have four more “in process” books – two I started after finishing the other four – one is paper, and I read it at night before bed, and one is on my Kindle, which I read on the go. Two more books were found in some of my cleaning that I had started, so those must be finished as well. I’m continuing to read nearly every evening.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 4 – A Gentle and Quiet Spirit
Using a soft voice has been quite a lesson, and one I still haven’t mastered. Although, for the past few days I have lost my voice, so it’s forced me to be close to whomever I am trying to talk to, which has helped remind me to use a quiet voice and go to where the person is that I would like to talk to.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 5 – Family Meal Time
We are working on this one still, and have a family meal time about 3 nights a week. I do better if it’s planned out what will be for dinner and then started in the late afternoon. This means things are not rushed, and we have a better chance of having a sit down dinner instead of something in front of the TV. The other thing that helps is eliminating TV in the afternoon, which forces us to sit down at the table!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 6 – Declutter
I did finish the decluttering of the basement, and a few other smaller areas. Still working on area by area, and having later separated out the decluttering type tasks from my Master To Do List, I find it’s easier to pair this with the weekend project, so that I am working on an area to declutter as part of my weekend.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 7 – File Papers
I was able to file all of the papers I needed to for my business, and I usually file my papers on every payday after bills are paid. This makes it routine for me.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 8 – Weekend Projects
I finished the basement ceiling, and 95% of the sliding door repainting project. I got a little sidetracked from finishing the sliding door because we had some gorgeous weather, so I opted to start power washing the deck instead of finishing. It’s gotten a bit colder now, so I’m waiting for this weekend (which is supposed to be warm again) to finish up the power washing. In the meantime, since I’m really close to finishing the sliding door, I’m trying to knock that out before the weekend. Since all of my weekend projects are now pulled out of my Master To Do List as well, I can see what I can do next based on weather, etc.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 9 – Ongoing Learning
I’ve finished listening to a tape set, which I highly recommend, called How to Raise Happy, Healthy, Self-Confident Children, and have continued to listen to conference calls, and watch training videos nearly every day. I still have a bunch to go though! Always learning…
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 10 – Quiet Time
This has been a struggle for me to get back into this routine of having a quiet time, partly because I’ve not done so well on the night time getting to bed on time, so this makes getting up early very hard. Mainly this is due to a big project I’ve been finishing for OrganizeNOW, so once this is over in the next week or so, I am looking forward to getting back on track.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 11 – Farewell Taco Bell
I confess I have had McDonalds once or twice since day 11 (so, the past 20 days), but I am making a valiant effort not to, or to significantly reduce it. Food, Inc. (the movie) still has me thinking about this every time I cave in and get a burger.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 12 – The Dream Board
I finished my new dream board (sent myself some cards with pictures of my goals), and have recently thought of a few more things to add, so will be sending myself those cards soon. They are posted up in my office where I can see them every day.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 13 – Night Night
As I mentioned above, I’ve not been so good here, since I’ve been finishing up a project for OrganizeNOW and burning the midnight oil! But, it’s almost done and I’m looking forward to getting back on track.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 14 – Modular Day
I’ve found the Modular Day concept very helpful, and just the concept of grouping things together into logical groups is helpful in streamlining. So, in the mornings, I have a morning computer related routine, and in the afternoons have a series of things that I do with my family nearly every day. By grouping items together, it’s easy to get them all done in series.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 15 – A Card A Day
I’m still sending an average of a card a day (it’s also part of my morning computer routine), and love reaching out and blessing others by appreciating them through sending cards. It’s one of the highlights for me and always puts me in a good mood!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 16 – A Homemade Christmas
We’ve been working on gifts for the family still, and although none of mine are done, some items my children have made are completed, and I continue to work on my bigger projects nearly every day. I usually couple this with listening to a conference call or webinar.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 17 – The Power of Positive Thinking
I rewrote my positive affirmation “I am” statements and sent myself two cards – one for my office and one for my nightstand – with the affirmations written out on them. As part of my morning and evening routines, I read these out loud to myself, and since this activity is another that leaves you feeling great afterward, I try to remember to do this one as much as possible!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 18 – Exercise
I’ll be honest, I’ve totally bombed on this one. Blame it on an unusually busy schedule, but I’ve exercised less than 1 time a week 
I do need to do better, and I figure I just need to link this to another activity to be more apt to exercise consistently. Still trying here…
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 19 – Water, Tea, and Soda…Oh My!
I’ve done fairly well in this goal, and have not purchased a case of soda since. Instead of drinking 2 glasses of water to every 1 glass of tea, I find I’m at about a 1:1 ratio. Still, better than before, so I’m happy with the progress here.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 20 – Organize
I finished cleaning the kitchen junk area and the windowsill, as well as the basement (which was a large project), and I’m continuing to work through this list as part of my weekend routine.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 21 – Relax and Recharge
In the relaxing and recharging category, I have been able to take a few naps in the past 10 days, which have been nice, and it’s allowed me to catch up on much needed sleep lost to my OrganizeNOW project. My massage is coming up probably this weekend after finishing the power washing!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 22 – Consistency
I’m a consistent person by nature, so consistency continues to be a part of both my network marketing business and my direct sales business.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 23 – Apology Needed
The person I was going to apologize to was in the middle of something when I called, and then heading out of the country for vacation, so I’ve postponed this and will call when they return.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 24 – Be Optimistic!
I’m happy to say I’m happy! By focusing on the positive, I have continued to improve and gain a more optimistic outlook, and as I mentioned in the post, several of the items I have in my list support building an optimistic attitude.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 25 – Stop Working!
I’ve definitely improved in the area of stopping working at 2 pm, but there are still a few things to clean out of my schedule in the afternoons so that I am really “shut down” from 2-7 pm and fully focused on my family. Part of this is again temporary because of a shift in my schedule to finish my project.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 26 – The Legacy Drawer
I’m compiling the things I need for my Legacy Drawer will the intention of having this done by the end of April.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 27 – Streamline and Simplify
I received my first issue of What’s Working Now from Mike Dillard and looking forward to digging in to the contents as part of my ongoing learning. And, I continue to look for ways to simplify and streamline all aspects of my businesses.
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 28 – Write an Article
I finished this article, and it will be featured on Networking Times soon. Remember you can register for the free webinar on May 5!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 29 – Love and Forgiveness
This goal requires daily re-commitment until it becomes a habit and therefore second nature, so I am continuing to keep the concept of loving unconditionally without expecting anything in return in the forefront of my mind every day! The book How to Resolve the 7 Deadly Stresses is on the way too, so I’m trying to finish up some of my other “in process” books so I can dig in as soon as this one arrives!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 30 – Onward and Upward
Still persevering and pressing onward and upward!
31 Goals in 31 Days – Day 31 – Come Home
As I mention in this post, one of the things that impacted me most from this challenge was the reinforcement that my highest calling and true priority (in the physical realm) is being a wife and mother. So, I am so blessed that I can structure my day and work my business around my family, rather than having to fit my family in around my work. My driving force is to be able to leave a legacy for my children and future generations. I want to leave a spiritual legacy, that they may know God as I do. I want to leave a financial legacy, so they will not have to live paycheck to paycheck. I want to leave an emotional legacy, so that they know they can do anything they set their minds to. I want to leave a good work ethic legacy, as they watch my success in business, they learn that they too can succeed. I want to leave a character legacy, so that they possess character qualities that will last for their entire lives. Things like honesty, integrity, diligence, obedience, and many others. And the best way to do this? Embrace my highest calling as their mother (while not forgetting an equally high calling of a helpmeet to my husband as his wife), instilling values, morals and principals in them day after day, hour after hour. And, you know what? It’s worth every minute.
To your success,
Dr. Laura
