Jeff Burbrink



When you think about tools, hammers, wrenches or screwdrivers might come to mind. Tools come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and forms. Even a pencil and paper can be thought of as a tool. A simple “to-do” list can help a person stay organized, and help you set priorities for the upcoming year.

To-do lists can take many forms. They can be as simple as a reminder list on what to pick up on your way to town. A more complex form of a to-do list would be your goals for your farm business in 2013.

The beginning of the year is often a good time to review and update your thoughts of where the business is headed. A good goal should be reasonably obtainable, because unobtainable goals are discouraging. It should also be measurable. A goal to simply “increase profitability” is too vague. Perhaps stating it “increasing net income by 10%” is a better way to create a measurable goal.

A good goal should also be personally meaningful to you. It should make you happy to be moving towards achieving a goal. Be sure to share your goals with family and co-workers, so they can know what to expect in upcoming months. Posting your list of goals on a desk or on the refrigerator door is not a bad idea, because it helps to keep those goals in front of you.

Interestingly, those little daily to-do lists should fit right into your list of goals for the year. If you find your daily tasks are not helping you to move towards the year goal, it might be time to reflect on how you are spending your time, or if your goal is reasonable to begin with.

Jeff Burbrink is an Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources. Write to him at 17746 E. C.R. 34, Goshen, IN 46528; call 533-0554; or fax 533-0254.