What is the best idea you’ve ever had that you haven’t acted on? Why have you not acted on it? How would your life change if you could get it done?
We all have those things that we have always wanted to do, but have never completed. The reason is usually a combination of three things.
- We don’t think we have the time to do it.
- We don’t know how to get started.
- We don’t follow through once we feel like we are not making progress.
There are ways to overcome all of these self-imposed obstacles.
- Make the goal a priority when scheduling our time. A key here is that we often don’t need as much time as we think to make progress. Block out an hour or two some week to work on it and see what happens. Once you see this impact you will figure out how to make the time.
- Understand that to get started on a goal or dream we need a compass, not a map. Meaning, if we know what the end goal is we just need to start by taking the first step, not by having a plan with all the steps mapped out to start. The path to achieving your goal is almost never a direct linear path and it will reveal itself as you take each step.
- Measure progress and it may work best to have someone that will support us and hold us accountable be part of it. If we don’t measure our progress it is really hard to know if we are on the right track and to be grateful of the progress we have made. When we don’t feel like we are making progress it is easy to stop making the effort.
There are a lot of different ways to put this structure in place. When I work with my clients on achieving their goals we use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). We start by talking about the client’s vision and big goals. We then prioritize, decide where to start (only looking 90 days out) and check in on progress regularly. I have found this process to be very helpful when working with clients to achieve their vision.
No matter what structure you put in place, the key as Ayelet Fishbach says in her book Get It Done is to change your circumstances so that you create an environment conducive to achieving your goals. Get It Done is a great book for anyone that is looking for some ways to motivate yourself or others to achieve big goals. The book is broken down into four parts; choosing our goals, measuring progress, juggling multiple goals and social facilitation, which gives a great framework for improving our ability to get things done.
This month’s podcast is a continuation of the book recommendation. If you’re more of a podcast listener than a reader you get the best of both worlds.
One Small Step
Make a change to your environment or circumstances to see how that might help you make progress toward your goal. Go work at a coffee shop for a day. Tell a friend what you are working on so they can hold you accountable. There are a million things you could do. You don’t have to change your entire routine. Just try one small change and see how big an impact that can make.