January is a time for new starts in the new year – or at least for revisiting and revising what you want to accomplish during the coming year. Without goals, you may just drift through another year. The problem with setting New Year’s ‘resolutions’ is that those intentions often become distant memories before January has ended.
I have been studying productivity for the past three years with Michael Hyatt, Eben Pagan, and Crystal Payne. Having clearly written goals is the start of being productive. I am happy to share the procedures that I use to re-set and accomplish my goals each year,
- Review the past year
– What did you accomplish?
- How far did you get on your goals?
- What is still left to do?
- Brainstorm what you want to accomplish in the coming year
– Consider all areas of your life:
professional, personal relationships, home, travel/vacations, health, finances, etc.
- Stretch yourself
- Write down 5 – 7 goals for the coming year
– What? Describe how you will know you are done. Be specific.
– By when? Date you want to be done
– Why? Your motivation for this goal
– Next steps? The actions you will take to accomplish the goal
– Reward? How you will celebrate when you accomplish your goal - Target which goals to accomplish in each quarter of the year
– Select no more than 3 at a time on which to focus
– Keep your written goals where you can refer to them often - Schedule time in your calendar every week to do something to move your goals forward
– What gets scheduled gets done!
– Select 3 actions to focus on each week
No matter the season of your life, setting goals makes life more meaningful and worthwhile.
Linda Lindquist is the only Certified Malware Removal Specialist in Southwest Florida. Her company, Computer and Internet Help, offers affordable, mobile, on-site services for residents and small businesses in Lee County.
By Linda Lindquist, Certified Malware Removal Specialist, Computer and Internet Help