It takes an astonishingly short amount of time to shift our focus towards creating the positive outcomes we would like to see in our lives; yet the impact on us and those around us is immense.
So you have big, beautiful dreams…
Are you guilty of putting off those dreams into the indefinite future? We’ve all been there. We go through the process of setting lofty and important goals. We promise ourselves that we will accomplish them before year-end. At the end of the year, some of those goals are carried over to the following year, or worse, they are abandoned.
I recently read The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Will in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington. The book provides a framework to “close the gap between what you desperately want to accomplish, and what you actually accomplish.”
It offers a simple premise: although largely unintended, individuals use annual goal-setting to postpone execution well into the future, and this leads to lack of achievement. According to the authors, “the farther you plan into the future, the less predictability you have.”
Four Powerful Tips on Execution
Here’s how I implemented the ideas set out in the 12 Week Year in order to accomplish some important goals this past quarter.
1. Collapse your annual goals into 90 day challenges. Identify the various areas where you’d like to make progress, e.g., faith and spirituality, family and relationships, financial, health and fitness, work/career/mission, and contribution/giving back. Be clear on your outcomes in each area. What exactly do you want? What do the ideal outcomes look like?
2. Be clear on why you want to accomplish these goals. What drives you and why exactly do you want those results? Is it for family; to live your potential or a life of impact; serve God; contribute to those around you; or have more joy? Whatever the reasons, identify them and write them down. These are important companions.
3. Set weekly actions. Spend 15 minutes planning for the week ahead. Identify weekly action items in the key areas of life. Schedule them in. On a daily basis, review your progress and reconnect with your whys.
4. Take bold, massive, action. Keep taking action. Change your approach or identify new action items, as needed, but don’t be deterred by obstacles.
It takes an astonishingly short amount of time to shift our focus towards creating the positive outcomes we would like to see in our lives; yet the impact on us and those around us is immense.
Tackle those annual goals in only 12 weeks and watch what happens.
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