Accomplish Goals By Having Them
by: Dave Ozment
As we embark upon the year’s final month, it is time to lay the groundwork for 2010 while also continuing to press through to a strong finish to 2009.
In equal parts I aspire and execute to this objective by outlining my goals for the next year while the current year is still in play. This approach forces a focused attention on a strong finish now and affords a running start tomorrow.
Previously we’ve spent time with my approach to goal setting. I outline goals along 8 unique fronts which together help me – as I accomplish my targets – remain rounded and balanced.
My eight fields of focus include Spiritual, Financial, Career, Personal Development, Physical, Family, Social, and Household.
I also layer time horizons across each category to ensure I am able execute in the moment while maintaining an alertness in the end game.
For the upcoming year, I plan to incorporate a new facet to my experiment in self improvement – Public Accountability.
We all claim, and to varying degrees possess, an accountability to self. If you’re reading here it is likely that yours is fairly refined. (That’s much more a function of personal finance not being a lure for slackers than anything I’ve actually managed to accomplish in this space.) But we can all use a motivation greater than ourselves to move us along, and a fear of public failure is often just the kick in the pants we need.
Following my 4th Quarter post back in October, a friend jokingly volunteered to help me keep my progress on pace. If I’d share my goals, he offered to let me know when I was slipping behind. Accountability is the characteristic he was offering and now he, and the rest of you, will have the chance to help keep me in check.
… oh my, what am I doing?!?
Here are the ground rules and game plans. In the first article of each month I’ll outline 5 objectives for the month with each representing a unique area of focus. Throughout the year, I’ll plan to touch upon each area at least 3-4 times.
Additionally, in each monthly goal post (except January), I’ll score the previous month’s effort and provide an updated running total on my completion percentage.
Now, I’m not going to be overly legalistic on the scoring. If I have a March goal that isn’t accomplished until June, I’ll still update the running total even though I would have originally reported the shortfall.
Of course I will not be sharing each and every development objective I have for the year and I’m likely to sprinkle in a mix of hard and easy targets, however, during the year I’ll share and track against 60 (5/month) unique and varied deliverables and welcome your commentary, support, and prodding along the way.
…and feel free to use the comment fields to play along!
Let the games begin!
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I have many goals, but few are being written down or reviewed often. I am attempting to make progress with this by hand-writing a journal. How are you keeping up the plan when you get discouraged?
That’s a great question J… and not always an easy one to answer. I am not always successful in achieving my goals and when this happens I try to understand why I failed. Perhaps a more important opportunity presented itself or perhaps I didn’t really want to achieve the goal… perhaps I was not willing to make the necessary sacrifices or I had not established a routine that empowered my success. Those are the types of thoughts I process.
When I sit down to craft my goals for 2010 I’ll think through these types of ideas. I’ll try to understand my priorities and establish paths to my eventual success. For example, if I want to read 1 new book per month then I need to design my day to include time to sit and read otherwise the activity will never find a home and then never take place. That’s a simple example but it illustrates the point.
Once I’ve settled on my goals and plans I need to revist them often to stoke the motivation and passion that originally inspired the pursuit. Again, simple and repetitive steps will win the day.
Thanks for the great question and I hope you’ll track and motivate my progress and even more I hope you’ll share your goals and progress in the comment fields. We can help hold one another accountable!
Good luck J.
Dave