7 Steps for Turning Inefficiency into Goal Achievement
I’ve been wanting to write this for a while now because I began taking note of something interesting about myself this summer. It seems that I and many others have a bit of trouble focusing and being productive during the hot summer months or what is known as the summer doldrums. This is not merely a summer phenomenon. Many times during the year I am my own worst enemy when it comes to accomplishing what I’ve set out to do because I get sidetracked easily and I enjoy being engrossed in busy-ness of working in my business that I often forget to work on my business. I am speaking of my particular case and business goals but you can apply this to any goals or aspirations in your life.
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If you are like me, then your life is plagued by periods where you are working, working, working but not very effective. Before you go to bed at night, in your mind you go through what you accomplished in your day and you realize that it hasn’t been that much. And then, accompanied by a slightly ill feeling in your gut, you ask yourself that dreaded question, “what did I do today?” You see, all day you were busy, busy, busy and we may think we’re actually accomplishing something that will move us forward toward our goals but in actuality, we are doing tasks to keep us busy and avoid taking those actions necessary for moving forward and achieving our goals. So, what happened?
You know the answer, of course, is that your day was primarily composed of checking email with this perverse sort of need to know who emailed you and why, checking your Facebook to see posted on your wall, walking through your friends list and looking at your Facebook friend’s pictures. Sure, you took care of some important , but routine tasks such as scheduling a dentist appointment, paying bills, and making a few important phone calls, all of which could have been lumped together and completed in about an hour or less.
The rest of the your day consisted of spinning your wheels with emails, chatting on Facebook with an old friend, telling your Twitter world some crucial piece of information about where you’re going this weekend, and watching a funny video that your best friend sent. If you’re like me, you have some pretty big goals and you probably set out that morning to accomplish tasks that would move you toward those goals.
I have found 7 steps that work marvelously for turning this around completely and getting into massive, goal-achieving action.
1. Stop
The first step is to stop what you’re doing, take a deep breath, go on a walk, go fishing, and clear your head. The important thing to remember is that if you are spinning your wheels in the mud, the first thing you must do to get out is stop spinning. Get out of your office and away from your computer long enough start to see the bigger picture once again. Now that your head is clear and you can see the forest for the trees, you are ready for step 2.
2. Pray
Take a minute and say a prayer. Ask for clarity of mind and help in defining the problem you want to solve (goal you would like to achieve). Ask for the ability to stay focused and execute your plan once you have it.
3. Ask
There are 2 questions to ask in this step: What hurdle am I trying to overcome and who can help me overcome it? Go over in your mind what information you need to start creating and who can help you with ideas and against whom you can run these ideas by to to get feedback. Think of it as a problem that needs to be solved. If you were to present your problem to a business partner, family member, mentor or friend (OK, so I gave away step 3) what background information would they need to clearly understand the problem and help you solve it. Who can you enlist to be on your team to accomplish what you want to accomplish?
4. Enlist
Here’s where you need to use your team. Talk to people that love you and have an interest in seeing you succeed. Present your problem that you clearly defined in step 2. Give them the information they need and only that. Don’t give them extemporaneous detail that will cloud their minds and yours. Bounce ideas off of them and get feedback. Begin to formulate some actions and strategies that can be quickly and easily implemented and tested.
5. Plan
Now, create a plan with action items. Break your goal down into a series of consecutive action items or mini goals. The best way to plan is to back in to what you want to achieve. What I mean here is to start with your end goal in mind and ask yourself, “what had to have happened immediately preceding my goal for me to achieve it?” And then, “what had to have happened immediately preceding that for the last thing to have happened?” Repeat until you get all the way back to where you are today. You should have a list of action items and next to each one is a date that you are committing to complete them.
6. Imagine
Live in your goal. Imagine it is now a reality. What does it feel like now that you’ve completed it. Feel what it feels like. Hear the sounds. Smell the smells. Is this what you really want? Is it aligned with your values? Is it something that you’re committed to. If it doesn’t excite you tremendously or is not aligned with your values, you may want to go back to step 1 and begin again.
7. Act
Take action and stick to your plan. Execute your action items and complete them by the date you set. Don’t worry if you fall behind schedule, you can always change your schedule… just don’t change your goal. Revise your plan every once in awhile.
The most important part of this process is having a goal and sticking with it. I will repeat what I said above, “you can always change the schedule of action items in your plan but your should not change the goal.” Move forward with it even if you meet with opposition from well-meaning friends or family that may tell you why you probably won’t achieve it.
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This is a great post and I love lists of 7. They say that the brain is most capable of remembering seven items in a list. I think that the real strength in your methodology lies in a back and forth between creative reflection and action. So many projects/initiatives are driven forward with a fixation on productivity.
I think that you’re “simmering” steps, “Stop, Pray and Imagine” are vital. I recently read that the brain does most of its working/thinking at rest. That fact relates beautifully to your Goal Achievement formula.
Thanks!
Thanks for your very insightful comments Brian. It’s true about the brain being able to remember lists of 7 items well and there is a historical significance to 7 as well. Hebrews have used 7 to represent covenants and completion for many thousands of years. Yes, it is very important to take action but without stopping and letting our subconscious help us “sort things out”, first, we often wind up in a quandary with conflicting information and ideas. It is very difficult to create fin such a confused state.
It is worthwhile having a good framework from which to work from as well. For example I use the 7life system I developed to help me structure my plans over days, weeks, months and years.
-Jonny
You know Adam, I started doing something recently that has really helped me in this area. Instead of just making “to do” lists, I have started to compose “stop doing” lists.
Doing more is rarely the answer, and this keeps me focused
That’s a really great list to make. I like to take a step back and look critically at where I am spending my time and make 3 lists:
What will I start doing to move me forward?
What will I continue doing that’s working and moving me forward?
What will I stop doing because it’s not aligned with my goals/values
Well said. I find that once I pray about something I can go ahead and put my shoulders to it because I’m confident I’ll go about it in the right way.
Sometimes the time isn’t right for that particular achievement. However, the experience we gain while working at it comes in handy when our life is ready for the challenge.
Really inspiring post.
Thanks Anne. Prayer is a very important and often under-valued part of the goal achievement process. We often think we can and should do it ourselves but we fool ourselves if we think we do anything good without help from above
Hi Adam,
Yes we can all get trapped spinning our wheels from time to time… the illusion of progress can be very sneaky and very damaging to our aspirations. We are living in a physical realm of existence, and there is a reason for that – we are here to experience our superlatively creative ability. How do we do that? By actualizing our abstractions (this is my opinion). If we are not acting on our aims and aspirations then we are forever wishing and hoping.
That’s true and wishing and hoping without creating and acting are the best way to kill one’s spirit.
Adam,
Good insight and advice. Taking a break, reflecting, and not forcing things can seem counter-intuitive to being productive and staying goal oriented. This can be exactly what is needed at times though. If we are overwhelmed and a little scattered it is essential to refocus and really consider what is most important to work toward. This focus and specific understanding will also only help in finding others to be a part of our mission. Thanks!
I find that cleaning off my desk and organizing also helps my brain to stay organized. Taking a walk and letting my mind wander a bit helps me to ‘get clear’ and often the best ideas come during my down-time.
Glad to add to the conversation. Thanks for all you do as well!
Cheers,
Brian
Very nice post Adam. I think asking, praying, imagining, and taking action are what makes us really achieve our goals, of course among other things. Thanks for sharing
You bet Dia. That’s a great way to pull out the salient steps that make up the real power of this method.
Great list, Adam! These are all great things for people to implement to be more efficient. Probably the most important one is the last one; to take action and stick to the plan.
You know, there is another part of the action step and that is to get feedback and improve your plan as you’re executing. That’s not to say, get sidetracked from the goal, but there’s always room for improvement on the journey to your goal.
Great article. It’s nice to have it broken down like that. Something I definitely struggle with is the ‘enlisting’ one. I have the tendency to try and do everything on my own.
Hi Jessi. Yes, most of us have trouble with that one but I find that if I am stuck and need an answer, if I present the challenge to a listening ear, I will often discover the solution to my problem by simply talking it through with someone. It helps to have outside perspectives and ideas to get us out of our tunnel vision.
Action is most important. We learn more from action than we do from preparing our asses off with affirmations and visualizations. Its time to act. The time and now. And just like everyone, I’m ready to make things happen. Scratch that……
…If you didn’t get the ending…i just left to take some action..im so damn excited…=)
Amen to that brother! Ite Missa est!
so right, that’s one useful post:)
Thanks Farouk. The power is in applying it diligently and slowing down and praying so as to do it calmly and confidently.
Hi Adam,
Wow, what a useful post. Working online can be productive and distracting at the same time. It allows us to do so much more than we could have ever achieved in a given day say 20 years ago, but it provides so many temptations to pull us away from the task at hand.
I’m a career and personal coach, and I frequently have to coach myself to stick to the task at hand. I probably ask myself five times a day, “What is the most important thing I have to do RIGHT NOW.” Generally, it’s not look at emails, although I use that as a reward. I can’t look at emails until I finish what I’m working on.
It is thrilling to have so many exciting things to do (I’m the editor of another aggregate blog called TheDailyBrainstorm.com, and it’s so much fun), but I have to let the cream rise to the top and let some less important things fall away.
This sounds silly, but I’ve also found that having a cleaned off desk helps me. With papers and stuff around me, I feel discombobulated and distracted.
One big part of goal achievement that I stress as a coach is accountability. Telling someone, even a friend, that you intend to have something done by a certain day/time, is a huge motivator.
This is a nice list Adam
I think it’s critical to visualise the problem and allow all of the possible solution come to the from of your mind. A good question to also ask yourself is “If I was really productive what would need to be happening?” This allows you to see the result and then work back, giving you a different perspective.