The older I get the shorter my days seem to get. It is 2017, the start of a new year, and a great time to re-energize big plans, goals, and dreams for the future.
The challenge for most of us is keeping our focus on these important goals throughout the year. So many people have already given up by February. I want to review what you can do to help yourself achieve your goals.
Here is a quick glimpse at the process that helps me stay on track. If you want to know more about any of these just let me know.
1) Staying Organized – Maintaining focus requires having information, data, and results available. I mainly rely on David Allen’s Getting Things Done process for organizing my time and information. I highly recommend it. I have used it for over 15 years, and although I have tried many systems, I continue to come back to this system because it works. For me, one of the best features is the tickler file system.
2) Daily Planning – On a daily basis, I try to understand and capture what needs to happen next on my projects. An overall project plan is important, but I try not to get caught up in what needs to be done next month, until I complete what needs to be done today.
3) Daily Progress – On an daily basis, I allow 5 or 10 minutes at the end of my day to capture progress. I make notes about what I achieved, and my effectiveness. When necessary, this review results in a longer reflection session capturing a lesson learned.
4) Weekly Reflection – Most Saturday mornings you will find me reviewing my week, and planning for the next. I update my Getting Things Done system. I make notes about the highlights of my week, interruptions I encountered, and lessons I learned. This is a great time to make small adjustments in my project plans. It also helps me allocate larger time slots in my calendar where I can dedicate myself to project related work.
5) Monthly Review – This is my clarity session. Monthly I spend time to clarify in my mind all my goals and projects. It is where reality meets intention. It is a hard look at what I accomplished versus what I intended to accomplish. After this review I have a much clearer picture of what I need to do to achieve my vision for the next month.
That is my process. It sounds like a lot. I do struggle at times keeping these reviews when other activities and responsibilities get in the way. But I also have learned through experience that bigger goals and projects cannot be achieved consistently without this discipline.
With this process I am prepared for a great 2017. I wish for you the same level of success and joy!