Here’s a client conversation I had.
Me: Ok, so you asked me to be blunt. Here it goes…You wrote down your goals early in the year around January. We just started coaching in September. It looks like you wrote them down and didn’t do anything else.
Them: Yes, that’s what happened.
Me: Great, let’s see what we can accomplish before the year ends. Let’s get into high gear.
At the beginning of the year people abandon their goals. Not because they weren’t important. Because often they didn’t know what to do after they write them down. Those goals they created are daunting, so they sit there collecting dust meanwhile the whole year slips by. Here are three techniques to take a goal from paper and into action.
Track them-In an earlier blog, I wrote three ways to track goals. A client of mine pulls out their goals monthly in what they call a strategic planning session. They do a consistent review of them. If need ed thy make changes and keep moving forward on the goals. They worked hard to create those goals at the beginning of the year. They aren’t going to abandon them part way through the year. Their goal setting and tracking has become their way of assessing where they’ve been, where they are going and where they want to be.
Calendar them-Write down specific miles stones that you need to reach each month or each quarter. Write down the specific actions you need to take to get there. It seems so easy but it’s not. As you plot things out, there will be actions you move on and tasks you abandon. It’s all ok, as long as your moving forward.
Connect-Talk to people about what you are doing and what you want to achieve. Have them check back on you about it. Be held accountable for the important things you want to have happen in your life. Then, when you meet up with them, you can say you reached your goal. Because the alternative of that sucks, which is that you didn’t do anything.
Learn-So you didn’t do anything about your goal. Don’t leave it at that. Figure out what got in the way. If it was something miraculous like the birth of your third child and being a parent aligns fully with your values then kudos to you. If you ended up playing video games and binge watching Netflix maybe there is something to look at there.
Creating milestones, tracking goals, connecting and learning are all great things. Let the path of Goal Setting lead you in the direction of getting more done, attaining more and learning more. As the first quarter comes to a close, use these techniques to drive you to reach new heights.
Don’t have goals for 2019? Have goals but they are gathering dust? Join me for an interactive live 4 week webinar starting on March 22. Learn traditional techniques and out of the box thinking for your goal setting. Email me at [email protected]
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer with Wave Productivity. She works with CPA’s, serial entrepreneurs, small business owners and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized and productive in their workplace. She coaches by phone nationally and in person in Phoenix, Providence and Boston. If you want to get more organized in your office call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected].