{"id":17729,"date":"2017-01-12T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T10:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.next-action.co.uk\/?p=17729"},"modified":"2017-01-19T08:44:22","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T08:44:22","slug":"a-dogs-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.next-action.co.uk\/2017\/01\/12\/a-dogs-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"A dog’s breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cOh Dad! You promised!\u201d, my son shouted through the Travelodge lobby at an hour that will not have gone down well for those with Boxing Day hangovers. He was not happy.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d just discovered that there was no all-you-can-eat full English at the Epsom branch, just a \u2018Breakfast on the Run\u2019 box containing cereals that looked suspiciously like dog biscuits. It was no substitute for a child who knew that just across town his uncles, aunts and cousins were tucking into golden pancakes, crispy hash browns and sizzling bacon at the Premier Inn.<\/p>\n

I realised in November that I\u2019d dropped the ball when I tried to make reservations for our annual family get-together and discovered that the hotel we\u2019d chosen was full. So when my next GTD Weekly Review came round at the start of January, the disappointed and hungry faces of my kids were still visible in my mind\u2019s eye, and I decided not to let it happen again.<\/p>\n

One of the elements we recommend in the weekly review is to look back at your calendar for the last couple of weeks to see whether there are things that need to be carried forward. Some of this might be routine rescheduling of things that simply didn\u2019t happen \u2013 cancelled meetings and so on \u2013 but it\u2019s also an opportunity to reflect on the things that did<\/em> take place and, if they could\u2019ve gone better, make some enhancements to your future plans to make sure that next time they do.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here\u2019s the action I created in my Outlook calendar as I thought back about my recent accommodation fail;<\/p>\n

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The intention is that having this September reminder for my future self means that next year I\u2019ll book in good time. It doesn\u2019t have to happen on this specific day, it\u2019s just designed to be a trigger for timely action which can be re-evaluated when the time comes.<\/p>\n

If everything is set fair for another Christmas gathering down South, it can be booked straight away. Alternatively, if plans need to be checked with others first \u2013 or if I\u2019ve won the lottery and Christmas in Barbados is finally going to get off the \u2018Someday Maybe\u2019 list \u2013 then different actions can be set in motion.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important is that it will have come onto the radar at the right time in nine months\u2019 time with zero further thought or effort.<\/p>\n

Here are some other actions that sprang from the same Christmas trip post-mortem and are now scattered around my calendar next Autumn;<\/p>\n