All of us struggle with reaching our goals and getting the results we want.
I have struggled with these issues at different times. Just when I think I have them licked, something comes along and trips me up.
There are three core issues I see that slow many of my clients and associates and me down. Any one or combination of these can cause us to lose momentum.
First, we may not be clear on what we’re really trying to achieve.
Clarity equals power!
This happens with new business owners and with experienced owners when they lose focus on what they really want.
We get distracted by other people’s successes and what they’re doing.
We see associates or competitors achieving results better than ours and feel that if we change what we’re doing, we could achieve these results too.
Many times, others’ results come from years of practice and the behind-the-scenes work they’ve done that we know little or nothing about.
However, our perception of their results causes us to lose focus on what we are working to achieve. This slows us down.
The second issue that I see many times involves having too many goals.
Many of us have a goal or list of goals, and to be truthful, most of us are more likely to have a long list of goals that we’re working on.
Having a list and not prioritizing what we want to accomplish first causes us to lose momentum.
As we work on one goal for a bit and then switch to another and yet another, we never see results from any of them, and so we get frustrated.
Success begets more success, and when we only do a little toward reaching a goal and then switch to another goal, we don’t see success or progress. We become frustrated and stop.
If we stay focused like a laser on one goal, we see movement and success and stay motivated to complete it.
Once we’re done with the first goal or objective, we can then move on to the next goal on our list and focus on it and complete it—and when that one’s done, move to the next.
Moving forward one goal at a time may seem like the slower way to reach our overall objective, but in fact, we move much faster. If we take at least some action every day, it’s amazing how much gets done in a week, let alone during a month or a quarter.
As we accomplish each goal, we build momentum and see results from completing the goals. This success builds our speed.
Seeing progress builds our confidence, and, planned properly, our checkbook balances, and we have more resources to use to reach our next goals.
The third item that causes us to lose momentum and slows us down is distraction.
Even when we have a plan for how we think we can accomplish our goal, we may start looking for other alternatives that will enhance our project.
We aren’t looking to be distracted, but it happens.
For myself, the biggest distractions related to what else I can do come from e-mail, books, blog articles, and my Facebook page.
For example, I get an e-mail from someone I’ve studied with about what I’m working on, and there is a great idea that will get me even better results.
I stop and read about it, and there goes time—and then I have to expand my goal, and this leads me down the path of distraction.
Or I’m searching for something on the Internet, and up comes a blog article that has great information and ideas I want to add to my project.
Even old-fashioned books may lead me astray. I read every day for an allotted time, and this may bring up more ideas. That’s fine as long as I keep on schedule.
Because I work on Facebook, I do end up there daily, and I see an ad or post on my Facebook feed from someone, and that leads to an article that may be helpful—and down the rabbit hole I go.
If I’ve been really clear about what I’m working on and what I’m striving to achieve, these aren’t as much of a distraction, but if I didn’t get clear when I started, these can be major distractions.
When I’m not sure that what I’ve planned is going to work, I start shopping and searching for help, and that uses up my time.
All of these can be overcome by careful planning.
Limiting the amount of time that I read e-mail, search the Internet, or check Facebook is a great start.
I also find that setting a timer and staying focused on one task for that entire time helps me accomplish more by preventing me from getting distracted.
When working to get results faster, try different strategies until one works.
I’ll lay out here what I’ve found works best for me.
First, I’m clear on what I’m attempting to do. After I’ve defined what I’m doing, I write it down and post it in a spot I can see it frequently. This keeps it at the top of my mind. If possible, I also use pictures that represent my goal.
Then I lay out all the tasks that I know need to be done. Often when working on a new project, things that I don’t expect come up, and I deal with them as they arise.
I list all of these on a spreadsheet. I confess that I’m a spreadsheet kind of person.
Then I look at who’s going to do what. Am I going to take an action or is one of my staff or an outside contractor going to do it? I assign each task to the person who will do it, along with a date by which the task needs to be done.
Each day I make sure that something happens to move me toward the completion of each scheduled task, and sooner than I realize, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.
Make up your mind that you’re going to get results faster and put a strategy in place to make that happen. Move forward each day, and soon your results will surprise even you.
Have a great day!