Attack Your 2012 Goals

Now is the time of year we begin to think about all those 2011 goals we fell short on. Goals like, “spend more time with family and friends, losing weight, exercising, enjoy life more, quitting smoking, getting out of debt, getting a new job, or mending a broken relationship.”

It’s not that we didn’t try, we just ran out of time, LIFE got in the way? Truth is, where your time goes, there are your true priorities. Time flows toward what people feel is important not what they say is important. It’s an uncomfortable reality to recognize that what we do with our time validates what we want from our time.

When we say something or someone is important, but it isn’t matched with proportional time, the message is clear. When we say something is NOT IMPORTANT, but it’s getting a lot of our time, the message is also clear. We show the world every day what is truly important to us by what activities we choose to do.

We can re-direct the course of our life at any point by re-focusing on our most important life activities based what we value most. When we do this, stress, anxiety and overwhelm will naturally decrease.

As we come to the close of 2011 and embark on the journey of a NEW year, now is the time to begin to plan for 2012. The count down has started. Don’t leave 2012 to chance, I challenge you to plan for your future!

Attack Your Goals at www.attackyourday.com/2012.html

Do you want to avoid time crunches?

We can’t make time speed up and we can’t make time slow down. We can, however, go faster than time. Go faster than time by deciding what events you want to occur on future dates. You can do that by describing them as written objectives—long-range goals. Then, plan/arrange and execute the actions—intermediate goals—that will make your planned future events materialize. In this way you can get out in front of time.

People who are in control of their lives maximize this advantage. People who are out of control don’t. They always find themselves in a time crunch. They let time overtake them by starting the above process too late. It’s called procrastination.

Here is a 7 minute crash course on goal setting: Watch video here >>

This is productivity tip #3 from our book Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You.

Spinning Your Wheels At Work?

The process to use to avoid spinning your wheels is quite simple. First, you need to pre-determine outcomes; next, anticipate the activities required to produce the outcomes. The most important step is to then decide which activities need to be done today and do them.

Humans are wired to follow this exact process. Think about it. Either consciously or sub-consciously, we say to ourselves all day long, “What will I do next?” We then choose a desired outcome followed by the execution of activities that will make it occur. Much has been written about this simple process. It’s called goal setting.

Goal setting actually intimidates some people, but it shouldn’t. We are, by nature, designed to:

• Create a mental picture of what we want.
• Make a plan of the activities required to get those results. (This is what we refer to as building an activity path.)
• Do the activities we’ve planned.

What we are saying is that it is impossible to be a good time managers without first glancing into the future and visualizing the results you want.

Once you put this process in motion, you will not be like people who spin their wheels at work. People who do spin their wheels at work are on the slippery slope of indecisiveness, and indecisiveness is the enemy of getting started. Similar to a car in neutral, one which can’t go anywhere until it’s in gear, indecisiveness puts you in neutral time.

What’s the best way to stop wheel spinning and get in gear? First, take time to create clarity of purpose or a clear understanding of your desired results. Define very specifically the results you want. Clarity is the mother of decisiveness, and is the reason for the activities you choose and execute.

The skill of making effectual choices starts with this process. Here is a simple, real-life example:

The mental picture of the desired result is:

• Playing tennis with my friend Todd at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning at the Fairmont Park Courts.

The activities required to make this happen include:

• Pick up the phone and make the date with Todd.
• Call and reserve court time.
• Buy tennis balls.
• Leave for the courts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Isn’t that easy? You are wired to think and act this way by nature. You couldn’t get anything done without this process. It’s ridiculously easy.

How is your time management vision?

For this test, don’t just cover your left eye or your right eye: close both eyes.  Now, visualize what specific and measurable things you will have accomplished between this moment and six months from now.  Can you see the results you are anticipating clearly?  If so, you have farsighted time management vision.

If you can’t see what you will have accomplished, you are nearsighted. It is likely you are a reactive time manager and are working on the goals of others since you can’t see your own.  Is it time to write a goal-setting prescription to eliminate nearsightedness?  Farsighted time managers actually write the scripts of their own lives.

The Ninety Day Advantage

With new years resolutions on our minds, here is a “goaling” tip that will get results.  Most long-range planning doesn’t work. The farther out we plan, the less likely the event is going to occur.

Try setting goals with ninety-day deadlines.  You’ll find ninety days is far enough out to succeed with many goals, but close enough in to motivate you to get started.

Here are some great quotes about goals.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” – Carnegie

“To become fully alive, a person must have goals, motivation, and a willingness to sometimes do the undesirable.” – Mark Woods

Spontaneous Goals

A spontaneous goal is to execute an unplanned specific task activity on the spur of the moment.  The best time to do this is when our environment presents us with a high-priority unexpected opportunity.

Seize that opportunity and execute a spontaneous goal. Spontaneous goals are not to be confused with being driven off-task by trivial, unexpected opportunities. These goals are actionable activities that positively influence our work or personal life.

Don’t be confused with the word goal. Our definition of a goal is simply an activity that has has value which we execute in the future.

People who practice spontaneous goals effectively often amaze others with how much they accomplish. What’s more important, they often amaze themselves.  Take advantage of the new year, write your 2011 goals.

Take advantage of our goal writing workshop, December 7th, 2010.

90 Day Goals

The farther out we plan, the less likely the event is going to occur so most long range planning doesn’t work. So try setting goals with 90 day deadlines. You will find that 90 days is far enough out there to succeed with many goals, but it’s close enough in to motivate you to get started. Keep goals accessible.

View additional videos from Mark Woods on time management and personal productivity.