Things have been exceeding busy in my work and life the last several months.
From a personal standpoint, I have helped run three huge fund raisers and I have also been acting as campaign advisor for a friend of mine who is running for a city council position in the municipal election. I also hosted two huge parties at our house – one a family reunion (of sorts) and the other our annual pig roast and bocce tournament (usually with about 70 attendees).
From a business standpoint, I have been uber busy as my clients are all very busy, successful business coaches who are rolling out great new products and programs. And, I rolled out a new session of my own training program.
So there hasn’t been a lot of free time to speak of, and for much of the time I am either squeezing in some planning time, trying to grab some rest, or just running to catch up!
And as unconnected as all of these things seem to be on the surface, it is amazing to me how they have really so much in common.
Think about it – with any product or program launch, there is a strategy and a sequence of things you need to do to make it successful. Same for a fundraiser or an election campaign.
It’s all really just about planning. What is your goal? What are the steps that you need to take to get you there? How are you going to accomplish the steps? Do you need help? Who can help?
Talking through the whole strategy is the thing that will help you get to where you want to go. Talking through it with someone else will help you actually start getting things done.
I do this with my clients as well as with my students (and in my personal life where relevant!) and it really does snip up the whole ‘doing’ part into manageable pieces.
Trying to do everything at once never works, and definitely trying to get anything off the ground without a solid plan will take more of your time and energy than required.
So here’s how it works:
1. Set your goal – big or small, doesn’t really matter. Write it down.
2. Select your deadline – when do you want to get it done? Put a date on the calendar (use a pencil for the moment, but do this now!)
3. Break out the steps you need to take to achieve that goal. Write them down.
4. Look over your list of steps. Are any of them mini-goals that need their own action steps? If so, break those out as well.
5. Now select deadlines for each of the smaller steps/goals.
How does your calendar look? Is there enough time between each item so that you are not overwhelmed, but that you are moving forward every day?
How does your end deadline look? Still okay? Too close? Too far away? Make adjustments as necessary.
Now write it all out (in pen this time!) or set it up in a task management system. I use GQueues and Google Calendar. The key is to hold yourself to it! Or better yet, get an accountability partner to help you stay on track.
Another great tactic to help you stay focused on your action steps is to reward yourself for completing some of them. I find this works really well on the things that I am dreading doing! It can be anything from scheduled down time – lunch out with a friend? – to a small purchase just for you.
Whatever you do to move towards your goals is what will work. Set your tasks, decide your timeline, and then get it done!
And then select a new goal and do it all over again.
Let’s do this together. I’ll hold you accountable – and you can hold me accountable! Do the exercise above with a short term goal (90 days or less). Then go to my Facebook page and put down your goal (one goal at a time!) and your deadline. I’ll do the same. And then let’s help each other get to where we want to go!
