Happy New Year! It has been several months since my last posting. As a new year resolution I have committed to a series of postings for 2010. The series will start with the basics but with it being a new year I thought it would be a great opportunity to discuss laying out a model year and a model week.

I am sure all of us do this to some extent now and with the help of smart phones and connectivity devices it is easier than ever to set up. I remember starting to lay out model weeks in high school over 20 years ago; writing down homework, test dates, papers, etc. I would sit down on a Sunday evening and look at the week ahead. In college it became a bit more involved having to include laundry, dry cleaning, budgets and reminders to call home for more money along with Fraternity's, clubs, group research and study times.

So setting up the model week wasn't a difficult thing when you had due dates, but what happens when you get out of an academic environment and into the real world? Upon graduating from college I took a position as a sales rep. Not only did I not have assignments with actual due dates, I had no real structure. For the first time in my life summer wasn't a long rest and September held no more importance than any other month. I found myself lost with no structure and it was like I was just drifting in the ocean. I could see the beach but no matter how hard I swam I wasn't making any head-way.

I had to essentially hit the reset button and take a larger view of time. I had to look at the year as a whole. Where were the down times? When did I have to work hard? When would I take a break? I evaluated this to suit my target industry which was Academia. So the fall was a hard working time. The spring was a hard working time. The Christmas holiday season was a down time. Summer was somewhere in between hard working and down. However that being said I found out that August was just about dead. So I now had structure. I knew that from after Labor day to just before Thanksgiving was the busiest time in my profession. The springtime was spent ensuring that the work I put in in the fall would be rewarded as well as a time for making new contacts to approach in the upcoming fall. Early summer was spent finalizing the orders and getting paid. Just the nature of my particular industry at the time. Each industry is different and you have to learn what works for you. However setting up some structure will help you focus and keep you on track.

Next is the adult version of the model week. For this I find it best if you start with your family. What do the kids have and when and how do they get there. Family logistics can be very challenging. After that what clubs, associations, or networking in general do you have? Do you have a weekly tee time? How about Rotary or Masons? Do you have any civic responsibilities? What about church related commitments or other charities? Once you lay out these events then you know the time constraints to reach your goals.

It is amazing that once you stop floundering about and set a course, how manageable it all becomes. You may not realize your goals but you are never out of sight of them. Good luck in 2010. Look for more postings to help you become the best in your field this year.