Achieving Personal Goals

Clarity

The clearer we are about the goals and objectives we set for ourselves in life, the more efficient, and effective, we will be in achieving them. Clarity has as much or more to do with success and happiness as hard work, because once we’re clear about exactly what needs to be done, we produce far less wasted effort and motion. Having clear, written goals allows us to accomplish far more in a shorter period of time we would otherwise ever imagine.

Setting Priorities

Our ability to set priorities on our time (and again, they should be clear and specific) greatly impacts the entire quality of our life. To achieve great things, we have to concentrate on the small number of activities that contribute the greatest value to our life and work, and pursue them one at a time. See my recent post on the myth of multi-tasking for more along these lines.

Making Choices

Here’s another truth I believe: Before we start something new,we need to discontinue something old. Our ability to get control of our life occurs only to the degree to which we stop doing things that are no longer as valuable or as important to you as other thing you could be doing. There simply are only so many hours in the day, and as we learn to replace less important activities with more important ones, we move closer to the outcomes we desire. This leads to a sort of continual improvement of the investment of our time, replacing less beneficial activities with more beneficial ones.

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I bought a new audiobook this week that I’ve really been enjoying, “The 4 Laws of Financial Prosperity” by Blaine Harris, that’s been a great reminder of the importance of proper financial management in our lives. More importantly though, it’s also motivated me to start tracking my time on a daily basis for a few weeks. This is going to be an interesting experiment.

The messages in the book (so far, only about 1 1/2 hrs into it) aren’t really anything I haven’t known, read before and in fact written about here. For example:

1. You have to measure something for it to improve (put another way, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”)
2. Goals are absolutely essential to provide direction and feedback necessary to make progress

But the narrative around tracking and measuring, specifically tracking your spending, are (a) great reminders of how important it is to follow this proven principle of financial discipline, and (b) it started me thinking about tracking my time for a few weeks to get a better picture of how productive I really am.

Ironically, I was looking at David Seah’s forms yesterday and thinking about how I would like to customize one of them to track my time each day. So I’m thinking forms, I’m thinking time management, I’m thinking measure your progress: It’s like something is trying to persuade me to do this. Well, allrighty then!

I’m only about 1 1/2 hours into the audiobook, but it’s making great traditional facts about achieving financial prosperity in a new way, as well as pointing out some new things I hadn’t considered. More importantly though, the recipe and processes described in the The 4 Laws of Financial Prosperity are similar to alot of the ideas you’ll read here.

I could stop listening to the audiobook now and I it would be worth the price, because it’s reminded me in new ways about the importance of tracking and measuring, and how many things this applies to:

• Weight loss
• Saving for retirement
• Getting out of debt
• Building new career skills
• Developing a hobby skill

Anything that’s important to the quality and opportunities in life fits this model.

In my defense, I generally do a good job of time management and staying productive. I plan most days the night before, in writing. I know the important things I need to get accomplished, and I try to stay aware of staying in the Important and Not Urgent quadrant Steven Covey tells us about.

But the truth is, many times when I look back on the day I realize I spent alot of time on activities I didn’t plan on, and I missed some of the important stuff that really needed to be done to accomplish my bigger goals (writing my daily blog post, researching a new article idea, doing some important research for the website, etc).

So I’m making a commitment (in writing), to start tracking my time every day for the next 3 weeks. Each evening I’ll plan out what I think needs to get done, then I will track on paper how I spent my time.

I know, I know. You wouldn’t want to do this every day of your life. But occasionally this is a great way to get an accurate picture of where the time is really getting spent, and I’m really looking forward to doing it. This will (a) strengthen my self-discipline muscles, (b) make me more aware of how I’m spending my time, and (c) when I’m done, I’m going to summarize all the results and I bet I get an interesting perspective on how I might do better. Feedback leads to positive adjustments, and “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”.

Here’s an example of the form I drew up this morning for my 3 week self-imposed challenge. I know the picture sucks, I’ll try to retake it later with a better camera. The point is I’ve got a form to use to track the time dail.

The idea to use radio buttons to track 15 minute intervals comes from the forms David Seah produces, and I’ve just “tweaked” it for my own preferences. This is obviously just a rough handwritten version, if I use it a couple of days and decide I like it I’ll attempt to make it look a little better (that should be easy!).

Anyway, that’s the deal. I promise to report an honest summary of how it went in a few weeks, starting today (noon – 1pm was to write this blog post. See, it’s working!).

In the meantime, if getting your financial affairs in order is on your mind, or if you know someone who could benefit from guidance in that area, I cannot recommend The 4 Laws of Financial Prosperity highly enough. As with most wisdom, it’s clear and simply reiterates many of the principles we already know (which tells me that the information is correct), but it does it in a compelling, persuasive way that just about everyone I know needs to hear. Especially younger people, who have the most to gain and can be saved from making the biggest mistakes early in their life. Send it to a teenager or new professional you know – I guarantee it will influence their decisions if they read or listen to it.

Check back in 3 weeks for the results. I will.

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We know that a critical part of achieving a goal is to take regular action each and every day to move closer to it. Making time for those activities generally requires that we make some sacrifices.

The following is my list of the top 5 sacrifices that, if you identify them as potential time wasters up front, should make your daily planning easier and greatly improve your progress toward your goal.

Turn off the TV

The statistics on how much time we spend, or rather waste, watching TV are astounding. The TV is a fine creation and a nice way to unwind and relax, but we all know that 15 minutes of TV can turn into 2 hours before you know it. There are plenty of ways to relax and unwind, and leaving the TV turned off will put more time back into your week for goal related activities that can change your life.

Beware of the internet

There, I said it. Advice to turn away from the internet, delivered on the internet (kind of ironic, ain’t it?). I’ll admit that surfing my favorite web sites and drifting off to research some less than critical idea on the web are two of my greatest time wasters, so much so that I just have to consciously make myself close the browser window.

Of course, this advice includes Google searches, surfing, FACEBOOK(!), YouTube, blogs and all the rest. We’ve got important work to do, things that can change our lives and the lives of others. Accomplishing those things generally doesn’t involve surfing the internet.

I appreciate how hard it is to manage this, and that’s exactly why it’s #2 on the list. It helps me to remember that we’re looking for progress, not perfection. Less surfing, more goal activity.

Poorly Planned Day (no list, objectives)

Not having a to do list, agenda or set of objectives for the day is just another opportunity to end up chasing unimportant or unnecessary tasks, instead of those that will move your life and outcomes in the right direction. Having a list of key things you want to get done each day, and working on those tasks first until finished, dramatically improves personal productivity.

Saying “Yes”

Someone is standing in front of you, it’s not a big request, should only take 30 minutes, and you don’t want to say “no”. It happens to all of us, sometimes many times a day. If we say “yes”, we stop doing what we need to be doing, venture of in a different direction, and when we come back it takes 10 minutes just to get back into what we were doing.

The only useful antidote for this time waster is awareness. Staying aware of the list you created in time #3 (above), knowing the important things you need to accomplish today, are essential to making the right decision when someone is trying to divert your attention.

Telephone

Stephen Covey describes the 4 quadrants of activities are those that are:

• Urgent
• Not Urgent
• Important
• Not Important

Most of the time, the telephone is classified as a Not Urgent, and frequently Not Important. I know that sales people and other professions are required to spend time on the phone with clients. Time spent talking to real clients about real problems is not what we’re talking about. This time waste involves time on the phone with friends, family, co-workers, you name it – just chatting or killing time. I’m not advocating seclusion, just throwing up red flags for those things can can silently derail your progress and ultimate success.

Summary
I know that we each need time to relax, and that’s a critical part of a well balanced day. But web surfing, chatting on the phone, taking interruptions or zoned out on TV can be time wasters whose use result in diminishing who and what you can become. No one’s advocating that they be eliminated, but they are “high risk” zones and should be approached with extreme caution!

You have three great resources: Your time, your money and your energy. Use them all wisely.

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What’s the point of goal setting? We know we want some outcome, some change in the results in an area of our lives. For example we may want to look better, be more successful, be financially secure, free of debt, etc.

But how exactly do goals play a useful role in achieving that desired outcome?

The answer may seem obvious, but maybe not. Many of us set goals instinctively, without necessarily being clear why. Knowing why, though, can help us realize the greatest possible benefit from the use of a goal.

Knowing how goals help us reach our objective can enable us to make the best use of them. So here it is:

Goals provide focus.

Goals help us put on the blinders, eliminate the “clutter” we have to deal with day in and day out, so that we can control the outcomes in our life. Setting a goal is a way of telling ourselves “I’m going to give this task a certain amount of my time and energy today, over and above the other demands for my time and attention”.

Most of us have countless demands on our time and attention, particularly if you are ambitious or are inclined to always be seeking improvement. It is only by setting a goal that we are likely to eliminate the non-essentials sufficiently to bring our attention and energy to a single point. That is, to focus.

• Success demands singleness of purpose. – Vince Lombardi
• We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

There are plenty of other leaders who have shared the same belief, but I suspect you don’t need to be convinced. In the same way a golfer targets a green, or a batter never takes his eye off the ball, focus provides the concentration and intensity necessary to produce the desired results.

Achievements in any area of human endeavor generally require 2 things from us:

1. Focus
2. Action

I’ve talked at length about the importance of taking action in producing desired outcomes in our life. But if you’ve ever seen the person who was extremely busy, but didn’t have all that much to show for their efforts at the end of the day, you have an example of the benefits of focus. Focus is that magical ingredient that ensures that an objective receives sufficient action until the finish line is reached.

By deciding where to direct our attention and energy (Focus), we can begin to direct the outcomes in our lives. Setting a goal is the process that makes that happen.

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I ran across an interesting idea recently about something called Parkinson’s Law that I have long suspected was true (and I bet you did too), I just hadn’t heard anyone articulate it as a “law”.

Parkinson’s Law goes something like this:

Whatever project you’re working on or whatever goal you’re looking to achieve, it will end up taking all the time you allow it to… “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

This concept was explained in great detail in a book published in 1957 called, “Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress.”

Like a lot of profound ideas, it’s not hard to understand or believe. The first example that comes to mind for me is the last day before you go on vacation. Whatever is on our plate at work that HAS to get done, gets done. Same for pre-trip preparations, we become achievement machines when necessary to make sure the bags are packed and we’re walking out the door at the appointed time.

This is a great example behind the principle of setting the tasks in your Action Plan to due dates or deadlines. Whether it’s a career goal, a weight loss goal or a financial goal, without a due date Parkinson’s Law will rule and it will take you twice as long to achieve. And that’s the point, for you will be able to enjoy the benefits you originally sought sooner. So I encourage you to Draw the Bullseye, Create a Plan and set those tasks to deadlines. I say you deserve it!

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I started off the day last Wednesday with a clear plan. I’d done my daily agenda and knew what I needed to get done. Then it happened – real world “stuff” started to pop up.

The phone rang, someone walked up, an urgent email from a business user….. Before I knew it, I was off plan and had allowed myself to get pulled into several seemingly simple, quick tasks that took longer than expected (imagine that?) and before I knew it I was into the afternoon.

Which left me thinking “uh, where am I working now?”, meaning which quadrant of Stephen Covey’s 4 quadrant time management model had I stumbled into, and how quickly could I get myself back out!

If you’re not familiar with The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, one of the key time management strategies it offers is this “4 Quadrant Model”. This model tells us that the events of the day generally tend to fall into one of these 4 areas:

The objective, you see, is to deal with those issues that arise in the realm of Important and Urgent, but to move as quickly as possible to Important and Not Urgent, because that is where the true progress is made.

I know this, I believe it, and yet nearly every day I find myself drifting into Urgent but Not Important (faux-crisis), and having to pull myself back to the Important side. The point is this: It’s a never ending struggle, worse some days than others, but we have to realize that the gravity of life will pull us into unimportant things all the time that sound urgent, but really aren’t. It’s our job to keep our awareness on high alert, so we can stay on the Important side of the grid. That’s where we get the meaningful things done, the things that ultimately make our lives better.

You probably already know most of this, but it’s such a good topic and since it seems I have to relearn it about once a month, that I thought I’d post about it anyway. Sometimes the “Unimportant” is the easiest stuff to do, and the Urgent always demands our attention like a nagging (kid/husband/wife/??) and that’s why we drift toward it. Many times these tasks are quick, rewarding and always around. But we need to stay vigilant – progress comes when we decide what’s Important and where we should be spending our time – not someone else.

Now if I can just get this disgusting file folder organized, I’ll finally be able to get back to finishing that plan for world peace.

Next post: “That’s Crazy Talk!”

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Everybody’s in such a rush these days, no time to stop and smell the roses. Life just moves too fast. Do you agree with this?
 
Me too, but I think there should be a follow-on comment … there’s a time and a place for everything.   No question we should take time each week to relax, decompress and enjoy all the simple pleasures life has to offer.
 
But …. at least for me, there is also satisfaction from “climbing the hill”. Doesn’t really matter which hill, it’s just that having a sense of purpose, a meaningful reason to get going each day that adds a measure of satisfaction to life. Retirement – no thanks. But I do want to spend my time doing the things that are important to me.
 
So from here, the next step is to acknowledge that the more action we take, the more we get done.
 
So if I really want to be as productive with my time as possible, I need to be a good steward of that time, i.e. use it wisely, not waste it, and realize it’s my most scarce resource.
 
Still with me? OK, but careful because the water starts to get deeper now.
 
If I really want to maximize my time, it’s helpful to live my day with a sense of urgency. Not urgency as in panic, but urgency in the sense that I’m moving briskly from task to task, and working with concentration and focus at all times.
 
As an example, the day before going on vacation we’re generally very focused because we have a list of things that we know we need to get done. That’s working with a sense of urgency. Notice I didn’t say “sense of panic” – don’t want that. But what if we worked with that kind of focus and urgency, during our working hours, every day?
 
That’s why deadlines are necessary, and encouraged here when you build your goal Action Plan.
 
I can hear some people thinking “geez, that sounds hard, stressful”, but I don’t agree. A sense of urgency is nothing more than a sense of focused purpose, which precludes spending time doing on the trivial when I can be doing the important. It’s not about panic, it’s about having purpose, eliminating distractions and staying focused. Keeping the main thing the main thing.
 
In fact, I could build an argument that living our life with a controlled sense of urgency is ultimately less stressful than screwing off too much, getting behind, and dealing with the stress of missed deadlines, broken agreements and disappointing results.
 
As you can tell, this post is really more about being a good steward of time. Time IS our most precious asset. Using it wisely, with a sensible sense of urgency that understands that each moment counts, is what works best for me at least. How about you?

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