I am obsessed with making 2019 the BEST YEAR EVER!
Who’s with me?
Last blog, we discussed making your goals SMARTER. This is certainly a great place to start – a goal that has all these attributes will allow you to go to the next level – planning for achievement! If you haven’t read Make ‘em SMARTER, and downloaded the complimentary SMARTER GOALS WORKSEET, do that before moving forward.
Now that you have your SMARTER goals ready – we can get started on the strategy and tactics you will need to make these goals your new reality. This is where most people stop. So just by reading this post, you are already ahead of many of your peers!
What might stop you?
This question ….
Some people may say it is setting yourself up for excuses. I say, it is being even smarter! By taking a few minutes to consider two or three things that might keep you from hitting your goal – both internally and externally. Internal factors might include things like distractions, fears or lack of knowledge. External factors may include vacation scheduled, competing priorities at office, staffing. By considering these now you can actually increase your odds by addressing these factors in your plan.
Tactics
If you are familiar with brainstorming or mind-mapping, you know it has the power to generate great ideas. It takes you out of linear thinking and allows for creative, breakthrough thinking. If you are not familiar, do some quick internet searches and you will quickly get the gist. I love to use mind-mapping to generate general ideas and ways I can get to my goal, creating lots of ways to get to the end desire.
Now that you have brainstormed actions for each of your goals, it is time to pick the ideas you think will be most impactful. You most likely won’t need all the ideas, so select the ones that will have the larges impact on hitting your goal. Remember – less is more. You want just enough of the right tactics to hit your goal.
Rewriting your tactics so they are helpful to you is a step not to be overlooked. Your tactics include the following conditions:
Are they SMARTER
Start with action verb and complete sentences
Can be executed as written, when due, without prework – if not, there is a step that comes before – that is your first tactic
Specific frequency and due dates
You are off to a great start!
Next week we will talk about how to get it all done!
Final Thoughts
I just want to leave you with some things to keep in mind as you work through this process, because your success depends on it!
Make sure your goals align with your long-term vision – your 5-3 year plan. Do these goals get you closer to where you want to be?
Staying focused on too many goals will leave you feeling too overwhelmed to be successful.
Remember to focus on no more than three areas with passion and focus.
You will have to make tough choices in identifying the tactics you want to employ. Too many tactics can spread you too thin and leave you feeling overwhelmed.
The task of planning can become very complex. If you feel like it is getting too complicated, it probably is. Focus on a few key areas and the actions you can take to hit your goals.
Too often, people plan around the goals that someone else thinks are important. If your plan is not meaningful to you, then you will struggle to execute it.
Most of all, enjoy this process – you are planning to be the best you! If you feel like you would like some guidance around this process, HGCD will be hosting a series of workshops around the state in January to facilitate this process. If you would like one to be held near you – email us at
kate@highgroundcoachinganddevelopment.com and we can discuss dates/times.
Merry Christmas!