Have you had a lot of unexpected time at home lately? Like many, we’ve been staying home and social distancing from others the last few months. After the initial adjustment phase, where I realized just how much extra time I now had (more than I thought), I started thinking about what I would do with that time.

The first realization I had was that I had much longer chunks of time to spend working on projects now that I wasn’t driving the kiddos to lessons and activities. The second realization was that if I worked smart, I could finally grow my leather work business over the coming months.

After considering how best to accomplish this, I focused first on this site. I already had a number of posts in various stages of completion. I counted them up and realized that if I finished them all, I’d have about two months to focus just on my leather work. I’d been letting my Etsy shop sit on the back burner for far too long, and it was not growing like I wanted because of that neglect.

So I finished and scheduled my posts and doubled down on my leather work. I ordered waxed canvas and more leather to supplement what I already had. I purchased fasteners and more tools. And I finally bought an industrial sewing machine. I worked on patterns and prototypes of items I would add to my shop. Then I updated my branding and my site, which had also been neglected.

Now I’m at the point where I need to sit down and write more posts for this site so I can focus another stretch of time on fully stocking my shop. After that, I will be able to balance my time more evenly between my two businesses.

Did I get everything done that I’d hoped to in the last couple months?

Nope.

The chronic illness I’ve been dealing with the last couple years likes to keep me on my toes and I never know if it’ll be a good day or a bad day. Despite that, I accomplished so much more than if I’d spent my days aimlessly scrolling through Facebook or if I’d been less intentional with my time. And honestly, staying productively busy makes it easier to not dwell on all the craziness of the world right now.

While I’ve written these tips because they helped me move my business forward, they can also be used for other projects or goals that you want to accomplish.

Did you miss the sourdough train earlier and want to learn now? Do you want to learn a new hobby like knitting, woodworking, or cross stitch? Maybe you want to renovate your house so you can sell it and finally hit the road. Maybe it’s an RV or trailer reno so you can finally stop looking at those depressing brown walls when you’re on a road trip. Or perhaps now is the time for you to start that business you’ve always wanted to, but never had time for. (If you want to start a side hustle, but need some help figuring out what to do, sign up for our free Side Hustle Challenge series!)

6 Tips To Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2020

Commit to not waste time

This is a challenge. It’s so easy to lose time while mindlessly scrolling on social media or staring at Netflix. I understand. I’ve done it myself more times than I’d like to admit. But I consciously limit my time in an effort to stay focused and on track.

There are days when my chronic illness flares up and it is a real struggle to get out of bed, let alone be focused and productive. But I’ve found that the day feels less like a waste if I stay away from social media even on the days I don’t feel good.

Grant yourself grace

If your plans for the day get de-railed, let them. Now, it could be a problem if it starts happening too frequently (you might want to figure out why that’s happening), but every once in awhile isn’t a bad thing. Especially with all the unusual stresses we’re experiencing. Sometimes you just need a mental health day.

There are still days I don’t actually get anything business-related done. And that’s ok. Whether it’s because of health issues or there were just too many tasks around the house that needed to be taken care of, sometimes that’s just what happens.

Decide on your schedule

How many days a week will you work on this project or goal? Will you have set hours, or will you go with the flow?

Some people set daily “office” hours, but I can’t work a set schedule of 9-5, and I don’t try to. I work a little here, a little there, a longer stretch after lunch, and so on. While I wish I could have a set schedule and be more productive, real life is happening all around me. I homeschool our kiddos (this is our tenth year!) and they’re home all day. There are always interruptions, which decreases my productivity.

To compensate for those interruptions, I do work a little bit most Saturdays. I always take Sundays off, and I’ll take a Saturday off if we have something planned. But Jeremy’s been working 7 days a week for his job (finally down to 5 days now!), so we haven’t had a lot of spare time for other activities. And it’s not like there’s a lot of places we want to be visiting right now…

Define what productive means for you

This is different for everyone, and can vary from day to day. It will also depend on what you are trying to achieve. Is it a short term goal, or a longer term goal that will be accomplished as a result of small daily efforts?

For me, if it’s a bad day, being productive could mean just writing a rough draft on a post, just cutting out the leather for a bag (but not sewing it), or just cleaning up my workspace. If I’m having a good day, I expect a lot more of myself and I stay focused and actually finish projects.

Set a timeline

Decide when you want to finish your goal. This could be a one-time end date, or you could set a series of deadlines to accomplish different parts of your goals. Whichever works best for you and what you want to accomplish with your time.

I had a deadline two months out from when I started to get my shop in better shape. I didn’t get quite as much done as I’d hoped, but I was close. And I was more conscientious about what I worked on each day because I knew that deadline was approaching.

As I mentioned, I’m setting myself up for another round of focusing on getting my shop ready. I don’t have the timeline pinned down yet, but I’m confident that by the time I do hit the deadline I set, that I will have fully accomplished this goal.

There’s nothing wrong with changing your timeline, your deadline, or even your goals. Be flexible and focus on achieving those things that will help you accomplish your goals.

Make time for exercise

Along with good sleep habits, exercise will go a long way towards helping you be in a good place mentally so you can focus on your goals. If you don’t already, find some exercise you enjoy and try to do at least twenty minutes a day. Get the blood flowing, get some vitamin D if you’re able to exercise outside, clear your head, and reduce your stress levels.

I haven’t been as diligent about this as I’d like, but I do feel better when I make the effort to get moderate exercise on a regular basis. For me, feeling better = more work done.

We have seen so much devastation to the economy and life as we know it as a result of the shutdowns. But many of us also have the unexpected opportunity to slow down and spend time with our families and be more intentional with our time. Hold onto this gift of time and don’t let it go to waste.

Have you accomplished your goals or finished a project recently? What helped you stay focused?