Ninety
days is a perfect amount of time to pursue a goal. It is enough time
to really immerse yourself in a lofty pursuit, but not so long that you
lose interest or motivation. Interestingly, 90 days also marks the
seasons, and the four financial quarters of the year.
At the end of each year, I spend time to review the year and decide
what my goals will be for the next year. January marks an exciting
time of renewal, filled with resolutions and new goals. By September,
I’ve usually forgotten many of those resolutions and the lofty goals of
January have been supplanted by smaller, less important and more
immediate goals.
But I’ve decided on a new approach: quarterly renewal. In the same
way that I reviewed my year and made goals for the New Year, I am now
taking on the task quarterly. A quarter is only 90 days; I can stay
motivated for 90 days, and so can you! Make a decision to write down
your goals today and begin work on them October 1. You will have 90
days to complete them before the end of the year.
But where will you ever find the time?
Fifty minutes is all that’s necessary. It is not even a whole hour,
but it is a powerful period of time. Research has shown that 50
minutes is the maximal period of time for concentration. That is why
classes and seminars are based on the 50 minute hour.
Write down your goals and spend 50 minutes a day on them for the
next 90 days. If you have more than one goal, break up your 50 minute
segment into chunks (one for 20 minutes and one for 30 minutes). I’m
doing it now with amazing results!
Think of the possibilities; 90 times 50 equal 4500 minutes, or 75 hours. What could you accomplish in 75 hours?
January 1, 2007 will be an exciting time for me! Not just with the
anticipation of the goals and resolutions that I will plan for next
year, but also for the goals that I will have achieved by then. All it
takes is 50 minutes for 90 days.
Join me in my 50 for 90 campaign. Learn a foreign language, become
certified in your nursing specialty, take a class, get active in a
community group, the possibilities are endless. 50 for 90…think about
it.
Best wishes,
David W. Woodruff, MSN, RN, CNS, CEN
President, Ed4Nurses, Inc.