How do you decide what will get your attention today? This week?
We all have the same 24 hours a day / 7 days a week available to us. How we decide to spend these 168 hours can result in very different outcomes. The choices we make drive these outcomes. The good news is that we can make these decisions and change direction quickly, even mid-day, if needed.
Balancing your priorities is not difficult, but should be intentional. Accounting for the daily unplanned events is also a factor, but can all be accounted for in a plan. There will be times when the plan is not achieved, but you can go back to it again tomorrow.
What if you looked at your goals and plans on a quarterly basis to understand what you would like to accomplish in the next 13 weeks? This includes all areas of your life: business and personal. Be careful not to sign up for too many goals in a quarter. Target 3-4 significant planned accomplishments for this period. Expect that you will not achieve everything, but realistically, hope to accomplish 10-12 major accomplishments over the course of a year.
Have focus items for the quarter. It’s a great start and feeds into a weekly plan. Review your quarterly goals on a weekly basis. What do I need to do this week to move forward on my quarterly goals? Reviewing this weekly helps keep your quarterly goals present in your mind and defines your next action steps. Looking backward on the previous week, you can understand your progress and make adjustments, as needed. What worked last week? What didn’t? What things did you do last week that you should continue doing this week? What should you stop? Is there anything else that you should start doing? This allows you to make adjustments frequently to help you meet your goals and not lose sight of your desired outcomes.
Repeat the weekly process on a daily basis. What do you need to do today to make progress on your weekly goals? Are there any adjustments you need to make to stay on track? Focus on just three items a day. It can make a huge difference in whether you meet your goals. Schedule these big-3 items to ensure you make the time to achieve the desired progress. If you do not schedule or follow through on these items, you may fall prey to your email inbox or the desire of others.
There will always be emergencies to deal with, but start each day with an intentional plan. It significantly increases the likelihood that you will make the right choices to achieve your desired goals and outcomes. Do not get discouraged when you have a day or string of days where you are unable to meet your goals. Record what happened that led to this and keep it in mind during your weekly and quarterly reviews in order to make adjustments and learn from these events.
Record your daily wins and setbacks and review them weekly. Document your weekly wins and setbacks so they are available in your quarterly reviews. Finally, focus on your progress and the gains you make on a daily, weekly and quarterly basis. This motivates you to keep moving forward. Remember your setbacks, but only to the extent they provide you with the necessary adjustments needed to keep moving forward. Too much focus on the negative is never helpful on a long term basis.
So, what are you going to do today? This week? This quarter?