Today is the last day of August. Although tomorrow is not the official first day of fall, this time of year always gets me thinking about planning, goals, and
achievement.
I guess it's because back-to-school has started (or is soon-to-start for some) and it puts me in the mood to get things done and dream new dreams. Goals, dreams, and successes
are not only there for the kids in school, after all. Opportunities are up-for-grabs for us adults as well.
1) Define your goals on index cards. Do you know what your goals
are? Do a brain dump of everything you would like to do. It doesn't matter how big or how small. If it comes to mind, write it down...one goal per index card. You are basically conducting a personal brainstorming session.
2) Sort your goals. A goal is simply the result or
achievement toward which effort is directed. It is an aim, or an end. Take your index cards and begin to sort them into two piles...one pile for long-term goals and another for short-term goals. Mark each with an A, B or C, according to importance in your life.
3) Choose ONE short-term and one long-term goal to work on. If you put all of your long-term goals on the backburner until you're done with your short-term goals, there's a chance you'll never get to them. Work on both one short-term and one long-term goal in tandem.
4) On each index card, jot down mini-goals with deadlines and start dates. This gets you ready for the starting line. Mini-goals are tiny goals you have to accomplish that lead you to the eventual achievement of your larger goals.
If you are determined to organize your garage this fall, for instance, one mini-goal may be to declutter the gardening section, another may be to take old cans of paint to your town's drop off, and a third may be to go through one of the
unlabeled boxes on the shelf. Assign start and end dates to each.
5) Begin both your short-term and long-term mini goals on your scheduled start date(s). This is the
important part. The second you start to work on your mini-goals is the point when you're on the road to achieving the larger goal.
6) Keep at it. Once you begin,
don't allow too much time to pass without you working on your mini-goals. Try to work on them a little bit each day. Yes, you can take off on Saturdays, for instance, if you'd like. But try to work on them five to six days a week, even if it's only for 10 minutes at a time.
7) Allow for changing circumstances. Sometimes no matter what our plans are, life happens. We need to adjust our plans, change our timetables and so on.
This shouldn't derail our efforts to
complete our goals.
At most, you may need to take a step back and figure out how to rearrange things or reschedule things to continue moving forward towards completion of your
goal.
Changing circumstances shouldn't discourage you from completing a goal. They should encourage creativity in figuring out a way to continue.
