Your Next Action to Accomplish a Goal

Do you feel like your goals are pipe dreams? Do you wonder where to start? Does accomplishing them seem overwhelming?

I have found the key to keep me moving toward my goals instead of wallowing in the mud. And I would like to share it with you!

What is stopping you from reaching your goals? I recently asked a group this question and they defined two key issues.

No time
They did not know what to do first.

Guess what? We all pretty much have the same problem.

Here is how you can accomplish your goals given your busy life!

1. Make sure you care. After all, we seem to find the time to do what we want. Do we really want to achieve the goal? Years ago, one of my goals was to get promoted to a certain level. After some time of going nowhere, I realized I really did not care about the company, the service they provided, or their structure. No wonder I never found time to work the goal. So make sure your goal is something you really want. You MUST have a big WHY in your goal.

2. Write it down. Writing it down brings clarity. I write my goals in MS WORD. The goal I am working on now is: Impact the lives of 100,000 people via my list and social media by December 31, 2013.

Note the goal is measurable. The measure is the number of people who have signed up to my electronic feeds via email or social media. Also note, it has a deadline. By writing it down, I now have clarity of what I am working toward.

3. Define the steps. Here were my first steps toward my goal.

• Set a time of day to work this plan on my calendar.
• Set a time of day to deal with other distractions so they do not get in the way.
• Define the SPECIFIC keywords I wish to shoot for. Write them down on my list!
• Write an about page that defines my blog to specify: a) what it is about, b) who it is for, c) the identifying messages, and cover it with d) the keywords.

These steps are not magic, and maybe even simplistic. That is the point! The steps are very doable. Breaking a large goal into simple tasks helps you to create MOMENTUM so you can win daily!

Note that the first two steps on my list are about controlling how I use my time! CRITICAL STEPS! While there are many more steps on this plan (I will not bore you with them), I do not know every step. Some things I will learn along the way and adjust. But, I am pretty sure these first steps will get me moving.

4. Schedule it. I scheduled time to work on my goals (see my first step). I tend to shoot for the mornings to work on major items. I also know that two hours is about all I can do. You have to do what works for you.

So for my first task, I opened Outlook and put down a repeating appointment called “KEY ACTION” from 8:30-10:30. Step 1 done!

5. Deal with the next action only. The next action is the promised magic! Really! Focusing on the next action alone can do more to propel you forward than any other thing. Define and do the next action!

I take the next action from my Word doc and put it in my calendar. Right now my Outlook next action says:

NEXT ACTION: Draft Next week’s post.

Drafting next week’s post is what I am doing as I write these words. So when I open my Outlook event, this NEXT ACTION is all I see. This little step alone keeps me from doing other things and getting in the mud. I must FOCUS.

And at 10:30 today when I am done, I will update the Outlook Appointment so that when I open it in the morning, I see my NEXT ACTION.

These five steps have helped control my wandering mind and lack of focus. How about you? Have you found a system that drives you to complete a task or goal?