Making a “to do list” or “to-do checklist” will certainly help you focus on the goals or tasks that you want to accomplish. 
After all, those who have no target hit it every time!
Previously, we wrote about goal setting.
To briefly recap the best way to set goals, we recommended using the SMART WAY:
- S Specific
- M Measurable
- A Attainable
- R Relevant
- T Time-bound
- W Write it down as a form of commitment
- A Accountability partner: get one to help you stay focused
- Y Yes-based: state your goal positively.
Goal and To Do Sheets
By providing you with goal and to do list sheets (available through our Free Downloads page), we’re helping you to do the “W” part, so you can write down your goals and how you’ll achieve them.
For example, if your physical/health/wellness goal for the year is to lose 20 pounds, then on a weekly basis, your weekly to do list should include
- food choices and
- an exercise schedule
to let you lose an average of about 0.4 pounds (20 pounds / 52 weeks is about 0.4 pounds per week).
That’s do-able, right?
Side Benefits
Not only that but by eating less food, you spend less on food (save money) and by being in better shape, you help prevent going to the doctor for problems brought on by carrying extra body weight (save money again).
Perhaps you can think of other side benefits of setting up a to do list?
Every Family Member Has His or Her Own To Do List
Incidentally, it’s a good idea for each person in a family to have his or her own to do list.
Furthermore, it’s a great idea for family members to agree together on big things.
Professional truck drivers who are husbands and fathers can help use the checklist to help them stay on-task when it comes to communicating with family members.
Of great importance to some folks may be being remembered on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.
Customized Lists
If you’ve read down this far, please be aware that our goals and to-do checklist include our bias toward our faith.
If this doesn’t work for you, feel free to strike out what you don’t like or make your own sheets.
We have revised and added sheets — available through our Free Downloads page — to help you plan what you want to do:
- Personal Goals for any year, which is an annual overview of what to do in broad categories;
- Trucking Goals for any year, mostly geared for owner-operators;
- To-Do Checklist for Any Year, List Only, a weekly aid to list tasks and goals, help you track to see whether or not what was planned was done; and
- To-Do Checklist for Any Year, with Purchases section, a weekly aid to list tasks and goals, with a section for purchases or expenses (if you need that).
Need a Calendar?
There are numerous options for calendars depending on your needs:
- Look up a calendar: TimeAndDate.com
- Print a calendar: WinCalendar.com
- Use an online calendar:
- Google Calendar (log in using a Gmail account)
- Calendly (meeting or appointment scheduler, one price point is free)
Money saving tip: A wise man once said, “…what king, going to make war against another king, does not first sit down and consult whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”(1)
You may have some goals that seem every bit as daunting as the king consulting about going to make war.
For example, you may want one day to own your own truck — even though it costs tens of thousands of dollars.
How are you going to achieve your big goals unless you break them down into smaller chunks?
To own a truck costing $100,000 in five years, divide out the cost annually and then monthly or even weekly:
- $100,000 / 5 years = $20,000 / year
- $100,000 / 60 months = $1666.67 /month
- $100,000 / 260 weeks = $384.62 / week
Don’t forget to put your money into investments that will not dwindle away over time.
By taking a long range view of things and breaking them down into bite-sized chunks, you can determine whether or not you can do something.
If you can do something to help you save money “just for today,” then chances are good that you can repeat that success over and over again.
We encourage you to print out the goals and to do list sheets and use them to help you in your budgeting and planning.
Return from Your Personalized To Do List to Help You Reach Your Goals to our Budgeting page or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.
Reference 1. Luke 14:31
