Does That Match My Goals?
September 12, 2008 by Administrator · Leave a Comment
Everyone knows how much a emphasize the importance of setting goals. You must make them realistic and achievable.
Start with a big goal and break it down into smaller goals by working backwards. I like to use this analogy. Say, my goal is to organize my kitchen. Well, that’s a pretty big goal! I don’t want to hole myself up in the kitchen forever, so how can I accomplish this without spending an entire weekend on it?
First determine what needs to be done to accomplish this goal:
1. Go through all the drawers and remove unused/unwanted items.
2. Go through all the pots and pans and get rid of unused/damaged items.
3. Go through the cabinets and get rid of unused/damaged items.
4. Go through pantry and get rid of unapproved food items, damaged goods, expired goods, etc.
Next, take #1 and break it down even further:
1. Pick one drawer and set a timer for 15 minutes. Go through the drawer until it is done. Pick another drawer tomorrow.
15 minutes is a much more manageable time frame and you know that by the end of the week, you will have tackled 7 drawers. Some days you might do more than one depending on how much clutter is in them.
This is the same approach you need to take with goal setting. Make your big goal and work backward with all the things you need to do to make this goal happen.
Let’s take this kitchen analogy a step further. There are some things that you might do that will impede your progress. Let’s say you are working on drawer number one and you see an item that belongs in the bathroom. You procede to take that item to the bathroom and come back to the kitchen. You see another item that belongs in your office so you trek to the office to put it back. More time wasted!
I’m sure you can see where I am going with this. We allowed ourselves to get sidetracked by these small items and have made the task of getting the drawer organized take a lot longer.
You should stop yourself and ask, “Is this activity I’m doing going to lead me closer to or further away from my goal?”
This applies to activities you are doing, foods you are eating, etc.
Make sure you are reading your goals twice a day: When you wake and when you are going to sleep. Keep them in the fore front of your mind.
Make sure everything you do is in tune with your goals.
