A vow for the New Year

The champagne bottle sits empty—time to make those New Year's resolutions. As a PAP (prospective adoptive parent), I'd like to make better use of my time. After all, why shouldn't I enjoy every minute I get with Bob and our new son? Here's a few tips I need to take to heart:

1. Having goals is more important than the content of the goals. It's the question of the big picture vs. the little picture, and we need to be sure to have some big picture ideas about our life or we won't be able to steer it. Obviously this year, it's the adoption along with Bob's goal to reinvent himself by getting his associates degree in Building Inspection Technology.

2. Get information at scheduled times. Because information is unlimited, you have to set your own limits. Schedule precisely when you take in information. This means that it doesn't interrupt you constantly, which really undermines productivity. At work, I vow not to have my i-chat, work email, blog and yahoo account open at the time. That'll prevent me from getting distracted with all that's going on in Kazakhstan. (When I should be thinking about work.) Bottom line? There's nothing I can do about the process, so it's best to stay focused on the task in front of me (which thankfully I do have an influence over). Then during lunch, or in the evening, I can catch up on the adoption stuff for the day.

3. Make your to-do list doable. A lot of us get stuck because everything on our to-do list is daunting. Ideas that have no execution strategy or projects that have 50 (or more) steps will make you go crazy. I've broken up my 5-page, pre-travel list into smaller digestable bites. For example, when I go to Target, I list each item based on it's location in the store, e.g., group all health and beauty items together; same goes for food/snacks, etc. I stop when my cart is full.

4. Do something you're passionate about. When you're enthusiastic about something, you don't mind trying harder and putting more time into it. That's an easy one for me: I'm passionate about becoming a new mom, so I'm putting all my love, time and energy into it.

5. Do important tasks instead of urgent ones. First, ask yourself if it'll matter in 5 years. Taking that class (or adopting a child) passes the test. Not answering someone's email right that minute probably won't matter in a week, let alone in 5 years. You can't be truly productive if you're wearing yourself out by taking care of other people's needs. This one will be especially interesting for me after I've got a little one yanking on my pant leg every 5 minutes.

6. Focus on outcome. Just because you're getting something done doesn't mean it matters. (Ouch.) In the long run, you'll feel better about the time you spend if you're making a difference with the outcome. So try this: take the desired outcome (value) and divide it by the actions (cost) and you'll have the return on your investment (time). For me, the value of becoming a mom is priceless, so I don't even have to do the math on that one.

So, what's your New Year's resolution?