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EXCELLENCE IS RESULT OF HARD WORK
by Steven Ervin, Salado I.S.D. Superintendent
Success does not simply
happen. Excellence, whether perfected in professional or
personal achievement, is the result of hard work,
planning and preparation. People who succeed have
learned to apply themselves, their time, talent and
resources to achieve goals.
The time to begin applying
yourself and efficiently and effectively focusing your
efforts is today. Like the longest journey, the path
towards any established goal begins with a single step.
The process for efficient application of one's effort is
simple; beginning is the most difficult task of all.
1. Define your goal in
writing. Putting your goal on paper reflect a bit of
formality, a "contract" you are establishing with
yourself. Include in the definition of the goal what you
hope to gain by accomplishing this goal.
2. Set a realistic date for
accomplishing the goal.
3. What tasks will you need
to accomplish in order to meet the goal?
4. Prioritize the tasks you
will need to accomplish to achieve the goals. Make a
list of tasks beginning the list with those that need to
be accomplished first and continuing the list in
sequential order.
5. Large tasks should be
broken down into achievable smaller steps.
6. Assign monthly, weekly
and daily deadlines to each of the sub-tasks that will
lead to the accomplishment of the goal.
7. Record your progress in
the attainment of subgoals.
8. Reward yourself for the
attainment of goals. Balance hard work with activities
meant solely for your pleasure.
In pursuit of your goals,
don't underestimate the value of most important things
in life: your family, friends and associates. Try to
become more aware of how you utilize your time. While
charting a week of your daily time utilization may be
cumbersome, through such methods you may find it
possible to reduce time used inefficiently or on
activities you do not value and increase the time used
constructively towards achievement of goals which
reflect your values.
Make a list each evening of
things you want to accomplish the next day. Cross off
tasks as they are completed. If there are tasks
remaining at the end of the day, place them at the top
of the list for the next day.
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