Welcome to stop #2 on the Productivity for Profits Summer Blog Tour and Giveaway!
I am excited to be one of 7 productivity experts taking part in this one-of-a-kind event. This post is about goal setting as it relates to productivity.
Most solopreneurs start their year having set the goals they want to accomplish and get out of the gate with a fast start. But as the year goes on they start to lose momentum. Somewhere after the point of the rubber hitting the road in pursuit of their S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound) goals they realize that they aren’t spending time doing the things that need to be done to accomplish those goals. Most are puzzled and wonder why they just can’t seem to get those things done.
What about you? Have you been there before and you’re wondering why? Well, let me tell you why. The reason that you lose that momentum and come to a point where you aren’t doing anything to move toward your goals is because there is no cohesion between your goals and your daily business activity. You may have created your goals and have a complete plan with priorities and dates, but what you’ve created becomes stagnant pretty quickly unless you take some important additional steps.
Once you have set your goals, look at the “by when” date you’ve set to accomplish each and determine the amount of time it will take to get there so that you know when you have to begin working toward each goal. In addition to assigning that “by when” date, you should have assigned a priority to each goal. If you haven’t done that, take a step back and set the priorities. This step is crucial. If you don’t know your priorities you really don’t have clear direction.
Next you have to determine the smaller steps that will take you from Point A to Point B. Think of each goal as a meal and each of the smaller steps as a bite of that meal. So, let’s say that one of your goals is to revamp your website. That’s the meal on the table before you and the smaller bite size pieces are things like hiring someone to write copy and a graphic designer, approving the copy and the graphics, and passing everything on to your web master. There are other steps that may need to happen to reach that particular goal, but you get the idea, right?
The individual tasks that you create should already have priorities assigned to them because you prioritized your goals when you created them. When you prioritize your goals during the creation process, it allows you to schedule your priorities, not prioritize your schedule. Two very distinct things. The latter can have you going in circles and wasting time during your regular planning.
As you create the smaller bite size pieces, list them on your master task list along with their priority and time frame during which they should be accomplished to keep things flowing and have you reach your goals on time. Once you’ve done this for each of your goals, you have a solid list of tasks that will take you from Point A to Point B.
During your regular planning sessions, these smaller pieces filter down to your daily to-do list or calendar. Where you place them depends upon how long each individual task takes. If the task it will take longer than 15 minutes to complete, it should go on your calendar in a slot with enough time to complete it. This keeps you from over booking your day and gives you enough time to get the important things done.
The date and priority of each goal will determine at which point in time the smaller tasks hit your to-do list or your calendar and you of course, would place the tasks according to the order in which they should take place, since some tasks are dependent upon others. You can use your master list to keep track of the status of each task. Updating it regularly will enable you to quickly see exactly where you are with each of your goals.
This is the easy part, trust me. The challenge is in creating the new habit of incorporating this process into your regular planning. It’s the only thing that will ensure that the tasks directly related to your goals make it to your to-do list or calendar. Making this a habit is what will create cohesiveness between your goals and your daily business activity. This step is the missing piece of the puzzle and is key in having your daily activities include the tasks that have to be completed to accomplish your goals.
The final key to having continuity between your goals and what you do from day-to-day is you. You can follow this process, but nothing will change unless you get into action. Because this is a challenging process, I want to give you something to support you for the first 30 days to help you develop this new habit. As a part of the Productivity for Profits Summer Blog Tour, I’m gifting readers with my Set & Get Your Goals package that you can use to:
- Track your goals
- Create and monitor the individual tasks it will take to reach them
- Get step by step guidance from a series of short audios
You’ll also get a few extra tips. Simply enter your information below now and the templates will come directly to your inbox along with the first audio. You’ll receive the additional audios over three consecutive weeks.
Don’t forget to share this post with the help of the social media buttons at the top of this post and leave a comment below. Continue to enjoy the tour!
The Productivity for Profits Summer Blog Tour is now over. If you’re seeing this post after August 5th, you missed a great blog tour and some great giveaways. The good news is that the tour will happen again next year.
Excellent post Sheila! Most of us tend to skip the part wherein we set the start date of each task on our to-do list. What we focus on is the deadline. A start date and end date it a lot easier to get things done.
Thanks, Karen! I totally agree. I see this a lot. We forget that we have to start somewhere and when we only focus on the deadline it tends to creep up and once it arrives the tasks aren’t done.
Sheila, Love this post! So often I discover with both my business and sport clients that they can set lofty goals but neglect to take the time to break them into those bite-sized pieces. Missing the crucial additional steps you outlined makes it really difficult for them to take action, mostly because they have no point from which to launch. Taking that first step is the hardest, then you begin to pick up momentum and the rest, as they say, is history. Thanks for the wonderful reminder to eat our elephant-sized goals one bite at a time.
Thanks so much, Shannon! Your experience with your clients is yet additional proof that this is the point where people get stuck when it comes to going from elephant-sized to bite-sized. What other things do you find they struggle with when it comes to their goals?
Sheila, I encounter plenty of clients who don’t understand the purpose behind setting goals, so they set none.They might have an idea about where they want to go, but have no idea how they will get there, when or if. That leads to great frustration, staying stuck in the complacency of their comfort zone, and feeds into their fear because they haven’t eliminated the unknowns. So I teach a step-by-step process for setting goals that get them moving forward.
I wondered if maybe you might have had different things occur, but I see that we’ve both had the same
experience–clients in that vicious cycle who stay there because it’s familiar and they’re comfortable.
They really don’t realize how important it is to have goals and that road map.
“When you prioritize your goals during the creation process, it allows you to schedule your priorities, not prioritize your schedule” I really like this sentence because it is about working with what’s priority first, not your schedule. Great post!
That’s exactly it, Araceli! That one distinction makes a big difference and can save so much time during planning and day-to-day. Everything’s done up front so that afterward, all you have to do is get it done.
I love the analogy of the meal and breaking it down into small bites, Sheila. I also love the way you have made clear that prioritization without goal setting is a fruitless endeavor. We’ve got to be able to “connect the dots” from goals all the way to tasks if we want to be truly productive!
Thanks for the comment, Monique. So true, prioritization and goal setting definitely go hand in hand and without pairing them, there’s no way to connect the dots and get results.
Very timely post!!! I am in the process now of breaking down my goals into smaller parts. I am looking forward to reading the free gifts. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Kathy. It’s my pleasure. Glad that this was right on time for you.
Sheila, detailed, meticulous, and clear — this is how I would describe your message and approach to effective goal setting and implementation…in the truest sense. I typically emphasize with the women I serve the importance of being “scheduled” throughout the day. But I never really thought about the distinction between scheduling your priorities vs. prioritizing your schedule, in the way you are presenting it in this post. Excellent! Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us!
Thank you for the compliment, Zenobia. So pleased that the distinction stood out for you. Over the years I have seen that this is what people usually miss because it’s a small thing–although it makes such a big difference.
I like the idea of starting and ending times for tasks. It’s where many of us fall off the time management cliff!
I shared this post!
Thanks for the great info.!
Yes, Pamela assigning those times helps you get real clear and helps get you in motion so you don’t fall off the time management cliff. Do you find it difficult at times to break things down into the smaller, bite-sized pieces?
So glad that you enjoyed the read and thanks for sharing it!
Shelia, I totally agree with some of the other comments about “schedule your priorities not prioritize your schedule.” HUGE take away for me! Thanks for such an informative post!
JoAnn, I’m so pleased that the distinction was such a large take away for you! I trust that it will make a big difference for you. Thanks so much for visiting.
Sheila, I love this post! I’m a little late commenting because I decided to implement a key piece of advice you mentioned first…put it in your calendar. Lists are my addiction so I have bite-sized, actionable tasks scribbled all over the place, but nothing holds me accountable in the same way as an Outlook reminder annoyingly beeping at you throughout the day.
Thanks, Tylesha. Putting things in your calendar is a smart move. We have to incorporate tools like our calendar and those reminders to support us and set ourselves up for success. Without implementing the tools that are a fit for us and the habits, we’re lost.
Things I know I know but so often forget!
Thanx for the reminder.
I have to make myself a daily to do list anyway. Now it will include all of my daily business must dos. Now I just have to remember to make the to do list!
That’s me! Both the lack of a plan and the frustration. And another issue that I forget to plan! Every day
I have to write a to do list to get things around the house done. Did it ever occur to me to put business
priorities on that list?? Now, to put them down and stick to them! I just shared this on FB.