My Goal Setting And Productivity Management System

[Dan_Cardone]

Introduction

I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet.

None of the following is my creation. I spent time using a variety of different methods from different people and schools of thought and finally came up with a fusion of techniques and strategies that work exceptionally well for both myself and most of my clients I have taught this system to.

A brief word on goals: I like to make them big. If going after your goals was like running a marathon then I would have to sprint the entire length just to finish on time.

When I was young and my family and I would go to a buffet to eat my mother would always say to me, "Don't fill up your plate to full; it will be hard to carry!" If goals were plates of food, I'd need two plates.

Its my personal belief that goals should be so big and ambitious that a person is challenged to reach them. Its better to reach to far and fall a little short than to fail to live up to your potential by setting weak goals. Enough said about that.

Setting Goals

I set goals three months at a time. Why?

I've seen some studies that say 90 day goal cycles work best for people. I don't know if its true or not but in my experimentation three months seems to always work best for me.

I first like to start with a one year vision. What would I like my company to look like a year from now?

With my one year vision in mind I set a three month goal.

"What are the major things I could accomplish this three month quarter that would put me on track for my one year vision?"

I write it down and run it through the S.M.A.R.T. checklist.

1. Specific?
2. Measurable?
3. Attainable?
4. Relevant to my one year vision?
5. Time-bound?

If it hits all five of those than its a good enough goal.

Next I take my three month goal and break it down into three monthly benchmarks.

What needs to be accomplished by the end of month one to ensure I'm on track to hitting my three month goal? Write it down.

Month two?

Month three?

These benchmarks help keep me accountable and helps to further break it down from Macro to Micro. How do you eat an entire elephant? One small bite at a time.

At the very beginning of each month I then grab a pen and paper and start brainstorming.

"What is every task that I need to do and complete to hit my monthly benchmark?" This is now my task list. Anything else that needs done throughout my work day, even if not directly related to my goal, also goes onto the task list.

Now every night right before bed I take five minutes and go through my task list and calendar. I double check to make sure all appointments and events on my calendar are on the task list.

The first thing I look for is what can be delegated to other people. I circle these task and move them over to my "Daily To-Dos" list with a big D beside them. I can have as many of these on my daily to-do list as I want.

I then go through the rest of the task list and circle the three most important things I can do tomorrow. They go over to my to-do list. This part is very similar to another system thats posted here on the forum by Lighthouse.

The last thing I do is to open my calendar and block off a section of time I'll use to work on the task from my to-do list. This is "deep work" time where I kill all distractions an allow no appointments or meetings to take place.

The next day I wake up, look at my daily to-do list, and know exactly what needs to be done. I assign the task that need to be delegated and then get to work on the hardest task on my list. If/when I finish all three and still have time left I'll go back over to the master task list and select another task to be done. Any task left on my daily to-do list is left on there for tomorrow.

Thats it. Its simple once you give it a try.

Conclusion

One year vision -> Three month goal -> Monthly benchmarks -> Monthly Task -> Daily To-dos -> Success.

 

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[StrikingViper69]

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