So over the weekend I had a nice conversation with my sister about life and all the goals that we both hope to accomplish, especially career wise. The longer we spoke, the longer the list grew and the more intimidating those accomplishments became. So today I decided that my blog was going to be about staying proactive in accomplishing goals. I came across a number of articles and blogs that gave steps on what exactly to do in order to stay on track but none of them really inspired me. Then I came across a blog post by Anne Headley where she explains how one of her friends has been searching for a job far too long and she doesn’t really understand why.

She then goes to explain that at the end of the day everyone should have a conversation with themselves and ask, “What did I do today?” She says that if you accomplish at least three activities from the list that she created, (listed below) that you are on the right track to fulfilling your goals. I really liked that she put down easy activities that are incredibly plausible in day to day life. Clearly you do not need to follow the list exactly and your list may vary, like, “I helped the new neighbors carry in boxes, introducing myself as I did so” but something along the lines of networking with a new group of people would suffice as well. Just remember to remain positive and goal oriented. Nothing is going to happen overnight so just know that a lot of small little steps can eventually get you to where you want to be.

Here is Anne Headley’s list from her blog post, “What Did You Do Today?”:

• I wrote a letter to the editor of the paper
• I posted a review of the movie that I watched yesterday
• I helped the new neighbors carry in boxes, introducing myself as I did so
• I checked the online bulletin boards
• I called my friend from a former position and set up a time to meet for coffee
• I walked in the cool morning air (the only time of the day you can do it here in Maryland this week!)
• I prayed/meditated about my situation
• I volunteered at the local (fill in the blank here), offering my best skills, but willing to do anything that’s needed
• I sent a copy of my revised resume to a place I had previously interviewed
• I despaired a bit and hoped more

"Thinking" courtesy ~tibi~ via Flickr Creative Commons

Here at ThinkTalk, we've been talking about graduation quite a bit over the last few weeks. With graduations scattered all across calendars nationwide, it has been difficult to judge how many of you have started exams, completed them or moved on. As of Saturday, it was mid-May 2010, which in my book means it's fair game to start talking in terms of summer.

Some of you will find yourselves working harder and getting up earlier than you ever did during the school year while others have been afforded the luxury of sleeping later and finally being able reach maximum chill out levels. Whichever side of the fence you are on, I would like to remind you of the awesome opportunities that summer affords. Yes, there are the internships and summer courses to work through, but there is also this refreshing energy that comes with summertime. Six to eight weeks where you can spend time focused, not on your overloaded class schedule, but on you, as a person, and your own improvement and happiness. So I ask you this question: what is on your Summer Bucket List?

If you aren't familiar with the concept of a bucket list, the brief definition is "a list of things to do before one dies." Just to clear things up, I'm not blogging about death today, but I am talking about the eventual end of your summer. What things do you hope to do or accomplish by then?

I know from experience that the freedom of summertime can very easily slip through one's fingers. I held a number of summer retail positions during my freshman and sophomore years. A lot of times I didn't have to be at work until 1 or 2 o'clock in the afternoon which means that more often than not, I slept or lounged around my house until 12PM. By the time I got off work at 9 or 10PM and met up with my friends, my entire day had been spent in a non productive minimum wage fashion. By the end of the summer I felt great about having some extra money in my bank account, but always felt like maybe I could have done more to enjoy my summer or prepare for the new school year. There was sightseeing I could have done in my hometown, interesting articles I could have read, news stories I could have followed, interesting people that could have been met, and of course, some career planning I could have done.

I never made a summer bucket list, but I wish I had. It's been said that "youth is wasted on the young" and I certainly don't want you to feel like that come August. So my suggestion is to make a list, say 25-50 things that you hope to accomplish by the end of the summer. They can be really small or really big. I've always wanted to bake my own birthday cake and build a model car on my own; these are things I think are fine to add to the list.

See, it doesn't really matter what you add to the list as much as it matters how accomplishing the list will make you feel. The summer bucket list is a great idea for two reasons that I can readily think of. First, because no matter how small, having a sense of accomplishment boost your confidence. Setting small goals and getting them done can give you the ego and energy boost you need to tackle the larger hurdles in life. Secondly, completing your summer bucket list will ensure that you will at least get SOME things done this summer besides working on your tan and establishing a summer romance. (Not that there is anything wrong with either).

If you plan on adding something creative to your summer bucket list we would love to hear about it. Leave us a comment, and if it's super cool, you might find yourself mentioned in a future blog post. In the meantime, get out there and start living!

"Hammock 1." courtesy Ashley R. Good via Flickr Creative Commons

Guest Blogger Jane Lovas' weekly series called “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Life and Career” runs each Thursday.

Are you aware that one of the simplest things you can do to increase your chances of success are creating your goals, beginning to list the actions you need to take to accomplish them and then reviewing them daily?

If you’re not up to that, even taking the time to create a list of what you’d like to accomplish can be a big help.

One of the reasons setting goals is so powerful is that it makes you think about what you want your life to look like instead of just moving through life with no plan. Making that decision is similar to getting behind the wheel in your car; you are in control, you decide where the car is going.

Here are some simple steps to doing your own goal setting session. (Suggested Supplies: 2 inch square sticky notes, pens (lots of colors), wall space, sticky easel pads, large year at a glance calendar, and notebook)

1. Write down your vision statement. (If you haven’t created a vision statement, begin with the goals you want to accomplish now. You can visit my blog at blog.janelovas.com and read the article about creating a vision statement.)

2. Start listing your goals - you can use the following categories or modify them as you see fit.

Using the sticky notes write down one goal and the category per sticky note along (or use a color for each category), do this quickly, making sure you write each goal as a positive statement in the present or past. Such as: I have a new job making $50,000 per year. Or I can do 100 pushups. Sometimes it helps to just start jotting down the main idea for example in the travel section maybe you jot down the places you want to visit.

1. Business/Career
2. Relationships/Family
3. Education/Community
4. Travel/Recreation
5. Health/Fitness
6. Spiritual

Write down at least 6 goals in each category.

3. Compare the goals to your vision statement - do they support your vision statement? You want to make sure all your goals are in alignment with your vision statement and your other goals. (If you don’t have a vision statement at this time you’ll skip this step.)

4. Determine which goals you want to focus on this year and which ones are 3 and 5 year goals. 
Add by-when dates to your goals (this is the date by which you want your goal accomplished.)

5. Focusing on the goals for this year - create an Imagination Movie, this is a Technicolor movie in your imagination of what your life will look like with these goals accomplished. Use as many of your senses as you can, get it real, making sure you are center stage.

6. Write a Living Vision. This is a write up of what your life will be like when your goals are accomplished. Make sure to write it in the present tense. Write it as if it is already true. Have fun with it, be a descriptive as possible.

7. Write down the action items that you know to do for each goal that you want to accomplish this year.

One way to do this is to transfer each of your sticky note goals to a page in your notebook and then list what you need to do and how long you think it might take you to do it.

For some of the goals you might only know a couple of steps that you need to take, such as talk to someone or find and read a book, that’s ok. Start with what you know and as you make progress the next steps will show up.

8. On the calendar write down when you intend to accomplish your goals. (One of those huge write on calendars is great for this or the fold out year at a glance, or even make one with the easel pads (write 1 – 31 across the top, and Jan – Dec down the side)

As you start laying your goals out on the calendar you might need to begin modifying the dates – you’ll probably want things spread out throughout the year.

9. Next add the action items to your calendar.

10. You're done for now! You now have a calendar with the steps that you need to start taking all laid out.

11. Hang your calendar where you can see it on a daily basis.

12. Every day read your Living Vision and re-play your Imagination Movie.

13. At least twice a month review your goals and calendar and make any updates. Some things might be moving faster and others slower adjust the dates and keep moving forward.

14. Celebrate as you reach each goal.

I know I said this was simple and this looks like it could be a lot of work. I can assure you the work really is in deciding what you want your life to look like. Have some fun with it call a couple of friends and work on your goals at the same time. Then watch what happens this year!

Feel free to email me with any questions, or even better let me know how much progress you’ve made.

Have a great week.

Jane Lovas is a career specialist who is the creator of the life changing 12 week tele-seminar “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. She is also our guest blogger, whose column will run every Thursday. If you would like to contact Jane, you can reach her here, here or here

"Self portrait: Goal!" courtesy pigsontheinguk via Flickr Creative Commons

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.