5 quick tips for mastering your goals in 2018
Getting from here to there in under a year.
When I was a kid, I got into the practice of dreaming big. I mean really big!
I didn’t want to be some common professional who hated their job and drank their sorrows away.
I went through phases where I would dream about…
- Becoming a touring rockstar (2009: Maybe came close and played shows, but no major tours)
- Working as a designer for Nike (2013 : Got hired for the first time on the Nike+ design team. Left and came back to work as a contractor on a different team in 2016)
- Owning my own record label (Didn’t quite achieve this one, but went to school in Hollywood for Audio Engineering and learned the ropes)
- Owning my own design agency (Didn’t achieve this, but have been freelancing since 2010)
- Marrying the most amazing woman on earth (2014 : Honestly not sure how this happened; God is so good)
- Starting a family (2017 : Benjamin Maddox came into our world; best thing to ever happen to me)
As you can see, I didn’t fully achieve everything I ever dreamt about doing, and honestly, looking back, I’m glad I didn’t.
However you want to split it, there are talkers and there are walkers…
It’s a new year (2018), and I know you’re ready to cut the excuses, right? I’m ready to kick it into a new gear this year, and we all surge and dip through the seasons, but there are ways to keep ourselves on track. It takes little work to set up, and a lot of work to follow through, but in the end it’s sooooo worth it.
With that let’s break down a few ways I’ve learned to master achieving your goals (not the only ways, nor have I arrived, just what I know works for me).
It’s going to be great, but you’ve got to step up to the plate and make it happen. Nobody else can do it for you, so no more dragging your feet eh?
01 — Document Large
Everything comes down to laying a roadmap, set against timelines, checkpoints, and larger wins.
- A great way to get started on this is to create a Google sheet / doc, or Trello board gathering all the various types of goals you have that you feel can be completed in a year’s time.
- Gather all types of goals into a few core categories. (This will help break down the “holy crap I have so much I want to accomplish this year but have no idea where to start!!” panic attack).
- Fill in a quick sentence description for each goal.
- Document / brainstorm the various tasks for each goal (your checklist)
02 – Execute Small
After setting up your roadmap it’s time to prioritize and focus.
- Prioritize goals for the year into 1 month blocks.
- Prioritize goals for the month into 1–2 week sprints if you want to get even more granular. I like like the idea of dragging one task in at a time from a larger chunk of time (like a month); totally up to you.
- Create a “Work-In-Progress, or Weekly To-Do” section that allows you to focus on one thing at a time. Download Xccello (formerly Trello) to help manage this process.
- Fill in the current goal you’re focusing on to the “Work-In-Progress” section and only work on 1 goal at a time (unless your blocked by something within the current goal and need time to figure it out).
- Work on only 1–2 tasks within a goal at a time.
- Cross out each task / goal as you complete them. In Trello / Xccello, you can also create a DONE, or COMPLETED swimlane where you can drag your finished goals (sorry, not currently shown in the screenshots).
The idea here is to be able to take a 60,000 ft view from above at your year, and dive in, focusing on 1 goal at a time. This helps you chip away at the larger puzzle. This process is probably going to be a little different for everyone, it’s simply to help people understand how to start big and focus small.
Believe me, working this way feels really good as you get going!
03 — Get Uncomfortable Often
Now that you have your goals documented, don’t get lazy. Go back and edit, revise, and figure out how to push each individual goal to the next level if possible. Don’t get crazy, just figure out how to push for maximum growth within each goal. Push it. Get uncomfortable. Get comfortable getting uncomfortable!
By constantly working to meet the minimum requirements, but then trying to figure out how you could make each goal even stronger will get you into the mindset of giving each one your all.
You don’t want to look back on the year feeling like you “kind of” achieved your goals list. You want to look back and know you squeezed out everything you had to give towards mastering that list.
04 — Leverage Experience
Whether your just starting out on a path for taking your life more seriously, or you’re an experienced professional in some manner, don’t make the mistake of trying to learn every little thing by doing it all yourself. This may sound like the opposite of what you’ve heard before, but you DON’T have to learn everything yourself to complete a goal.
Leverage friends, Twitter contacts, or anyone else who you feel can help you get from point A to point B that much quicker. Leverage experience, as they’ll help you to avoid menial mistakes they learned the hard way themselves.
Frodo didn’t start the long journey alone, he had Gandalf guiding / steering him away from various things that he knew were dangerous for Frodo. Learn and be led from someone who already has Wizard-status.
05 — Be Held Accountable
After documenting all of your goals, tell someone close to you who WILL hold you accountable, checking in with you on a monthly or quarterly basis. This might be the experienced wizard we spoke about in the point above. It may not be. This isn’t a must have, but can help various personalities who have a harder time with procrastination or follow-through. Having someone there to probe you on your goals against timelines you’ve set up can be a great kick in the pants towards ultimate achievement.
On a different note, after moving throughout this experience with someone else who is guiding you, look for how you can help others too. Be a wizard to someone younger…we all need help at times and this method works best as a give/take scenario.
Thanks for reading! Like Free Stuff?
If you liked this article, please share it out with your friends. Also, signup for my email list and receive “Crafting Badass Products That People Simply Love” for FREE.
