What Will it Take to Reach Your Goals in 2013?
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Today, we are reposting a blog written by our friend Matthew Ferrara. He gives us 13 ways to make 2013 a great year.
What will it take to reach your goals this year? Well, you could wait around for the politicians, economists and technology geeks to dream up with some fancy new program, but really, if that’s your plan, you’d be better off hitting the casino. Don’t worry – we have a better idea – thirteen of them, in fact. Even if you only try half of them, you’ll have a better chance of reaching your dreams than, well, just dreaming. So, let’s get started!
1. Write down four goals. One for each quarter. Be specific. No fuzzy “have more time, make more money” stuff. Identify targeted, measurable goals: A new car, paid off credit cards, fourteen sales, more sleep.
2. Do a time study. Manage your time, not your task list. Study last month and analyze what you did each day: Know where your time goes, exactly, so you can use it, purposefully.
3. Talk to one influencer a day. Pick a past client or a current one, or maybe someone in your industry. Build a “listening period” into your schedule – a few minutes regularly to hear important feedback and see potential growth opportunities.
4. Measure something. Stop just doing things, and start measuring them. How many leads did you generate? From where? Who were they? Why did they contact you? Learn about what’s happening, to discover how to do it more, or better.
5. Try four new things. Like goals, set a quarterly learning objective. Adding four new skills or techniques to your personal or professional abilities is an ambitious plan for any year.
6. Take time off. Humans are not machines. We don’t compute all day, all night. Turn stuff off. Take a break. Make recharging your body and mind as important as any other activity in your growth plan.
7. Be yourself. Whatever job you’re doing, it’s made better because you’re you. You’re not a brand or a logo or a flyer. Incorporate yourself into your job. Lead, manage, sell or service with all of yourself, not just the part that was trained for your job.
8. Systematize. Take time to “un-chaos” any part of your day that have become harder because they’re disorganized. Get control of paperwork, task lists, even co-workers, by establishing a process and sticking to it.
9. Practice focus. Work on one thing at a time. You might be surprised how hard it has become. We’re used to “being distracted” by writing, talking, eating and watching simultaneously. Slow down, my teacher used to say, and you’ll get more done. More important stuff, at least.
10. Mentor someone. An excellent way to improve your own actions is to teach them to someone else. As you explain the “best” approach to them, you often realize ways to spiff up your own performance, too.
11. Team up. Find someone who will has similar growth plans and collaborate. Team up while prospecting, marketing, and learning new technologies. Practice, motivate and support each other as you grow.
12. Plug in. Every day there’s a new and exciting way to leverage technology to work smarter, healthier, more effectively. Or to simply work less. Find one or two and master them next year.
13. Create. Don’t just produce things, like sales, deals, reports and websites. Create something every week. Leverage your non-work passions: Cook, dance, sing, photograph, write, paint. Make something, express something, and you’ll find it easy to create better outcomes at home and work, too.
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