Those who have GPS know that when you hear those words, it usually means you did something wrong and the GPS is finding a new way to get you to your destination. That’s what these four months have been all about. Recalculating my route.

If you know me, you know that my life has never been very complicated. I would usually get everything done without much effort. Organizing, planning, studying and making homework was never my style. I didn’t need to do all those things because things would always work out easily. My mum would always tell me to get organized, make plans and work harder or life would get complicated, but I never really believed it. Why would I? My life had never been complicated.

But then the winds change and you enter a new stage. And that new stage makes sure you understand everything your mother said, and boy, how clear everything becomes!

The thing is… you never expect things to turn out like that, so it takes you completely by surprise. And suddenly there you are, freaked out, confused and standing in front of a huge problem, and you have absolutely no idea of how it started. Even worse: you have absolutely no idea how you will solve it.

If you are a reasonable person, you will ask for help. If you’re like me, you will try to solve it on your own and will not say a thing until you explode, because let’s face it, you clearly don’t know how to do it. So, when there’s nothing left to say, you just have one thing to do: you need to recalculate the route.

This kind of problem is inevitable. It is the consequence of what you did – or what you didn’t do. So, the sooner, the better! And guess what? It already happened to me. But don’t worry, I will not bore you with my problems. Instead, I will give you a little guide of how you may start dealing with the situation.

Recalculating Route

This is not the solution to all your problems. This is just a small list of things that worked for me and that may help you organize your ideas before you start again.

1. Identify the problem

I know it’s not that easy, mostly because we don’t like to know what we do wrong. But it is necessary. This is your starting point. Here’s where you evaluate what you need to do. What were you not doing? If you got the chance to do it again, how would you avoid the problem?

2. Get a planner

Sometimes you will look at the problem and think «now what?». Well, now it’s the time to get a planner and organize your days. Write down everything you need to do and then do it. Wake up earlier, sort out your priorities, be productive and do not let laziness get in your way!

3. Set some goals

You can’t recalculate your route if you don’t know where you’re going. You need to sit down, set yourself some goals, WRITE THEM DOWN and move in that direction. Decision-making will be a lot easier if you know what you want.

4. You need to sort out your priorities

Make a list of all the things you need to do, do it from most to less important and follow that order. Do it every day.

5. Avoid anything that distracts you from that list

I’m not saying you should stop going out or watching television, but you need to follow your priority list. When you think about doing something, think first: Does it get in the way of what’s on my list? If the answer is yes, then don’t do it. At least for now.

6. It will be hard, but try to be Okay

The problem is there and you’ve already started to solve it (or you’re thinking about it), so try stop worrying as much about what happened and order your mind to be okay, focus on what you need to do and do it with love.