- Imagine having achieved your goal. Use your senses to experience your goal and ask yourself: “What do I see happening? “What do I hear people saying about my achievement?” “How do I feel?”
- Capture your answers by writing or drawing them. You could create a virtual vision board using Pinterest, so you can put it on your phone and will be a constant reminder of what you really want. Put your goal into the present tense e.g. I am and practice saying it out loud.
- Identify when you want to achieve your goal and be realistic e.g. if your current progress is about 4 out of 10 it's unlikely that you're going to achieve 10 out of 10 in a few weeks.
- Work back from the date and create milestones at regular intervals to indicate what you need to do and when. Every goal must have a date.
- Create an action plan and put it somewhere prominent where you can view and update it regularly.
- Look at your diary for the next 1-3 months and block out regular commitments, special occasions and periods of rest and leisure. Allocate time each day for working towards your goal; little and often is much more effective.
- Build in some fun by having a variety of goals.
- Treat your time as a precious commodity and where possible group tasks together so you start working smarter. Start saying 'no' if it gives you more time, and deal with interruptions assertively e.g. stand up to emphasise urgency and let people know that now is not a good time for you to deal with this.
- Identify the time of day which is best for you to think clearly and decisively, and prioritise this time for working on your goals.
- Keep a record of how you spend your time each hour of every day for the next week and identify what distracts you and what you could do to minimise disruptions.
- Notice when you’re putting something off and ask yourself why. You need to feel passionate about your goal, and if you don't change it now. Having an emotional connection is essential for feeling motivated.
- Stay in control of deadlines by getting organised e.g. know where you can easily find things and use systems to help you.
- Celebrate your successes however small because these will propel you and keep you motivated.
- Please share this article and get in touch any questions.
Debra Oakaby
Coach Me Smart
