When you are driving in your car following the directions from your navigation system and make a wrong turn, the system immediately alerts you that you have gone off route. Then the system says it is “recalculating.”

Quickly, you are back on your way headed to your destination.

The other day when I heard my system say this, it struck me that I need to be as flexible in my life. I had lost my rhythm with my blog. I also had missed an accountability meeting. I was frustrated.

Then I decided to recalculate, or, recalibrate. Here’s how I did it:

Reviewed my goals. Whether personal or professional, it’s good to have goals. Mine are written down, and I review them routinely. I spent an hour looking at my goals and determining where I had made progress and where I still needed to make progress.

Developed a timeline. I looked at my goals and recalibrated how I could reach the goals and by when. I readjusted deadlines and also set interim deadlines.

Scheduled time. Now that I have reviewed my goals, I needed to block time to work on them. I scheduled two-hour and four-hour blocks on my calendar and what I am going to accomplish in those blocks. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you know you have a set time period on which to work on your goal.

Celebrated the victories. I met with my accountability partner the other week, and while I was not as far along on my writing as I would have liked, I had made a list of what I had achieved. When I saw the list, I was encouraged that I had made the progress that I had. It was good to see it in writing.

Get an accountability partner. I’ve written about the importance of an accountability partner. Knowing I have an upcoming meeting encourages me to spend the time working toward the goals I said I would. I don’t want to waste her time, and I want to have something to show since the last time we met. My accountability partner helps me to stay focused on the things I have said are important to me.