Tips & Insights for Top Performance » Goal Setting

The Squirrel: Make a Decision

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:09:29 +0000

One day I am driving down the road. It is a lightly traveled road, usually 1-2 cars on it when you are. The road is surrounded by trees, so it is a squirrel crossing expressway. This one particular day, a squirrel runs out, he is in the opposite lane, running into mine. I see him and slow down. If he had continued on his course, he would have easily cleared my tire and been safely across the road before I even got to him. Well, unfortunately, he sees me and panics. He thinks, “oh no! Car! What should I do! Go back! No, Go! Wait! Go back! Should I really cross the road? Is this dangerous? Go, I am over 1/2 way, go! No, Go, No, Go!” He paces in front of me, as I get closer to him, not going slow enough to stop. I think, “RUN!!” as I swerve to the left, right, left, right, trying to anticipate what he will do so I don’t hit him! (road kill is in my top 10 of things I strongly dislike). Finally, he COMMITS and makes a choice, he runs in front of me. I whiz by him, squinting my eyes, gripping the wheel, waiting for the bump of my tire crushing his poor little body. I didn’t feel anything; I look in my mirror (expecting to see a 1/2 crushed squirrel, convinced there is no way I could have missed him.) He is not there, lucky for him, he made it in time.

Here is the lesson. If you are going to act, make a decision, look both ways and RUN. Be committed to your decisions and only assess when you are on the other side of the road. Too many people (the majority of the population actually) start to do things and then wonder if that is what they should be doing, so they debate in the middle of the road. I am telling you, you are going to get hit!! Whatever you do, do something. When you get to the other side, reflect and learn and then take the next leap. You are on your way.

Wheel of Life Assessment Tool

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:46:12 +0000

The Wheel of Life Assessment Tool can be used to evaluate your life balance, determine where you are at now, assess where you need to focus in the future or just give you a snapshot of your life to consider what is working and what is not.

How balanced is your life? The eight spokes represent a balanced wheel. The less balanced your wheel is the more wobbly will be your ride through life. The more balanced the wheel is, the smoother it will run.

HOW TO USE: Use this tool as you plan for the future.

Print a copy of the “Wheel of Life”
Consider each area and how fulfilled you feel right now, given this area of your life over the past year.
Rate each area on the spoke just below the area title.
0 is at the center = dissatisfied; 10 is at the outside = very fulfilled.
Put a dot on the line, where your rating of this area falls.
Consider what each area would look like if it were a “10″.
Write a few notes on what would need to happen to make it a “10″.
Pick one area, that if you improved it, all the others would also increase in fulfillment.
Consider this as an area for focus in the future.
Write a goal and set 5-10 objectives to make this area increase in value over the next year.

Use this tool to see the balance in your life and determine where your focus will benefit you most in the upcoming year!

Click here for your own Wheel of Life Assessment Tool!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Strategies for a Productive Summer (part 2)

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:11:30 +0000

Schedule “catch up” time. If you are able, allow a “phase in” plan that provides you with personal time in the office to go through email, mail, and other things that have accumulated while you were gone. Often, people come back to a full schedule with no time to “re-settle” which is why they work on vacation. Resist the urge to work while away. Instead, plan for the inevitable chaos that will be there when you return: block off part of a day when you first return to catch up.
Create a project plan. This season, if you will not be traveling and are left at the office while others are away, you may find yourself in the “summer lulls”. Before this slower season even hits, have a plan for what you want to accomplish during the down time. This is your “off season.” Use this time to do the projects that are important, but not urgent: this is the time for the projects that you just never seem to get to, such as updating your website, reading, taking personal development classes, etc. Know in advance how you will use this time so that you are prepared to dive into these projects once the slower season rolls in.
Take “time off” at home. Take a week off at home. Put aside all of those long term projects, household chores, and yard work. Spend a full week clearing up all of the tolerations that keep you frustrated and discouraged, such as fixing the printer that always prints crookedly, organizing your pots and pans, buying a calendar to organize your family, or moving the chair that you stub your toe on each morning. Plan one week where your focus is on streamlining, simplifying, and organizing your home and personal life so that during the rest of the year, you can charge forward!

Remember to allow yourself a true rest, clear up the clutter before you go and have a plan for how you will handle coming back, productively use the slower season in the office, and tidy up loose ends at home. When you are active and intentional during this slower season, employing the strategies that we’ve discussed here today, you too will have a winning, successful year!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Strategies for a Productive Summer (part 1)

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:13:16 +0000

In our busy and fast-paced world, summer (June – August) is commonly the time when kids are off from school, people travel, weddings and graduations occur, and family reunions take place. It’s a time when the frantic pace of work slows down a bit, simply because the people who are typically driving are taking a break. This puts you in the driver’s seat! This gives you a chance to take advantage of the downtime and better position yourself so that you can play full out when the pace picks back up in the fall.

To assist you, I want to give you strategies on how to maximize this “season” when you or others (clients, co-workers, vendors, etc.) are away, so that you are prepared to charge for the rest of the year!

Rest. The concept of periodicity means that you allow your body a time to rest, re-engage, and recharge (or train) so that you achieve maximum energy and the results that you want during the periods that require you to push harder. If you continue at 150 mph 24 hours per day/7 days per week, you will burn out. More importantly, you will not get the results you want. So, plan time each summer for a period of rest. (For you workaholics out there, rest means no voicemail, no email, no clients, no “work mode”, no initiatives that are not wholly enjoyable. Turn off work 100% while on vacation! If you do, your ability to run full out when you return will be twice as great.)
Clean up. The days before you leave on vacation are a great time to make a game plan for yourself when you return. Your departure date is a deadline that’s not likely to move. Start by challenging yourself to sort the emails, do all of the follow-ups, and close the open loops before you leave. As you do this, make a list for when you return of what you will do next. If you want to be most productive, schedule what you will do when, so you can resume your working habits quickly when you return.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Roadblocks to Goal Success (Part 2)

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:40:18 +0000

“I have goals, but don’t seem to reach them? Why?” Lack of a plan. In the book “Goals” by Brian Tracy, he tells the story about two desserts and how people died crossing to get from one town to another because they lost perspective in the middle of the dessert since they could not see the beginning or the end and died. To resolve the problem the town put mile markers between the cities to give travelers smaller milestones to focus on. Goals are also like this. If you do not break your big goals into smaller milestones, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to accomplish them. The project is always too big to undertake and it simply never gets done. Set your focus goal, measurable goals and milestones to allow a clear plan for goal success. I recommend that you take an annual focus goal and have monthly milestones. Read the goal and the milestones for the month daily. (i.e. if you want to increase your income, add 2 new clients this month and have a plan for attracting them.)

“I have a focus goal, but I am just too busy to do anything about it. How do I get more time?” The power of passion. WHY did you set that goal? Was it a “should”? Often we set goals, like lose 25 lbs, eat better, make more money because we need to or know we SHOULD do this, but are not really motivated to make it happen. What we are passionate about will get our time and attention. Get connected to the WHY of your goal. Ask yourself “WHY does it matter?” ten times to get to the heart of it.

“I have a goal, but it is not happening yet. What needs to happen?”Post it in three spots. Read it daily. Think about the Laws of Attraction (www.thesecret.tv). Write what you have to do each week to make that goal more of a reality. Do not cancel yourself out with negative or self-defeating self talk. Be positive. Look for opportunities. Assess and make sure it is measurable and know what baby steps you can be taking to move closer to it. An elephant is not meant to be eaten in one bite!

In summary:

Have a clear direction and set your goal.
Make sure your goal is specific, inclusive of your life and motivational.
Set milestones to stay on track and have mini successes.
Stay connected to the Big WHY of your goal.
Be positive and whatever you do, DO SOMETHING!

Roadblocks to Goal Success (Part 1)

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:37:12 +0000

I often hear problems from clients about setting and achieving their goals. In this article I will address a few of them.

“I don’t want to set goals, but I like results. What should I do?” Often this is from a fear. Reality is that in order to set a goal; you must decide what you want. Many people prefer to leave all the options open, picking nothing, and defaulting to “life” to pick their destiny for them. Whether you resist goal setting because of a fear of failure, success, pressure, or whatever the reason, the fact remains; you cannot arrive where you have not set out to go. People who set goals have something to attain; and often do. You cannot attain what you have not set. Do yourself a favor, evaluate where you want to end up, determine a viable course to get there, pick a focus and work toward it. You can always adjust or change if after several months doors are closing, but at least then you can disregard this option!

“I have lots of ideas and goals, but I am overwhelmed where to start?” Often, goal setters can set too many goals. Three SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timed) goals are about the max a human brain can really focus on. I prefer to have ONE focus statement that combines several goals.

For example, if your goals are:

Earn 5K a month by being disciplined and focused on money making activities.
Refine skills (education) and processes to hold my clients more accountable to exceed goals.
Grow personally, more study time, expand family, eat better/work out, have an organized home.

Then you focus statement could be:
I am energized to be a focused and disciplined IBO, earning 5K/mo. coaching and training ‘Movers and Shakers’ to exceed their goals, while living in integrity nurturing and advancing my faith, family, health and home.

Increase Your Productivity Through ORGANIZATION!

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:56:49 +0000

When things get hectic from trips, being sick, missed work days, special projects that take excessive work time; one of the first things to go is our routines, habits and the organization of our space and mind. Quickly we become overwhelmed or stuck as we try to make headway, feeling like we cannot move fast enough. At this point it is easy to get into the urgent and reactionary mode. Operating in urgent is usually the less effective way to manage our time and get things done as you are working hard all day, but just seem to answer phone calls, plow through e-mail and respond to things, but the to-do list stays the same or gets longer!

Here are 5 strategies to EMPOWER your productivity through Organization. This is organization of the mind.

1. Brain dump. What is on your mind? What needs to be done and how much time will it take? What can be delegated and what do you have to do?

2. Mind map. Push yourself to think beyond your brain dump, what else is there? You can write several columns with these headings or make circles with these in the middle and then list or make “lines” off your circles with what else might need to be considered: Look at work (marketing, business development, clients, staff, administration, finance, etc.), family, home/car, volunteer activities, meetings/events, friends/fun, money, health, and any others that have significant action items.

3. Park it. Use the concept of a “parking lot” to put things that are concepts or ideas, not urgent or important, and can be done later. Keep this as a post-it, task list or sheet of paper, as new things pop into your mind, you can jot them down to manage later. (These are non-task items)

4. Plan & Schedule. Mark the items that are very important or urgent and then plot out the next day or two of when you will do what and leave the rest of the list. Specify when you will do what so you can work through your list in a disciplined fashion. Plan blocks of time to manage phone calls, interruptions and other things that might get you off your schedule.

5. Book mark. Use a future to do list or a planning tool like Outlook to assign the other tasks that will be handled in a few days, next week, or in the future. This way you can get them out of your brain and know that you will not forget them. Our minds are like computers. The more windows and things open, the slower it runs. Likewise, the more things you try and hold in your mind, the slower you run.

Get everything out. Put it in the proper place (parking lot idea list, on a day schedule or bookmarked in a task list) and get going on the task at hand. Stay focused and do not divert. You will be amazed at how you make progress and how good you feel!

Maximize Your Time: 10 Tips for Extreme Productivity

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:09:36 +0000

1) Know your work style and use the tools that match. If you work well with technology, use your computer and PALM for scheduling and organization. If you are a visual person, consider using a paper calendar and written to-do list. If you are a people person, develop a team around you to compliment your strengths. If you work alone, find time to focus and remain distraction free. If you are a morning person, attack the most important tasks early in the day.

2) Use ONE calendar. Sometimes people will have several calendars. One for family and one for work; one electronic and one paper. Keep ONE calendar for everything. Use different colors or type styles to differentiate categories.

3) Make a to-do list at the end of each day. Your mind naturally begins to work on the list as you sleep. When you awake, you are ready to work, are very productive and organized. Estimate how much time each thing will take you and only put on your next day’s to do list what is reasonable to get done.

4) “Eat That Frog” first. This is a Brian Tracy concept to do the hardest thing you have to do all day, first, before you do anything else. Doing this will provide you with the feeling of success in having a ‘burden’ off your back and give you momentum to accomplish the remaining tasks.

5) Have a clear goal and read it daily. When you have a goal you know what to focus on and work toward. If you do not have this at the front of your mind, it is easy to get caught up with the urgent things of the day or trapped in reacting to e-mail, phone calls, interruptions and other people’s emergencies.

6) Have a “power hour”. Designate one hour each day to close the door, shut down e-mail, turn off the ringer on the phone and guard yourself from interruptions. Have a pre-picked project that you will work on during this time only. Make sure to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and do whatever else you need to in order to ensure you do not leave once this hour starts. Give yourself 30 minutes after this hour to return calls, e-mails and care for people with whom you need to follow-up that you missed during the POWER HOUR.

7) Touch it once. Sort through, e-mail, mail, papers, etc. and make a decision. File it, toss it or put it in a place for action. Sorting bins are helpful for this. Label your bins, folders, e-mails, etc. with things like: read, file, do this week, urgent, bills, etc. Paper, soft copy (computer), and e-mail folders should all have matching labels.

Have daily habits. After you develop a routine of things that are simple but important, your body will naturally do them. This is important because we can get distracted by our regular routines and use them as vices to interrupt, procrastinate and prolong important things that really need to get done. If you start your day right, you will be ready to do those urgent and important tasks, increasing your everyday productivity.

9) Prep. Have you ever been amazed on cooking shows how they make a complicated dish in 10 minutes? OK, part is edited TV time, but they also have everything preped for quick assembly. Why not do the same? Prepare your information packets and new client folders, turn common documents into templates, set up e-mail distribution lists for teams, etc.

10) Maximize car systems. Listen to a book on CD/tape to maximize your windshield time and learn. Have a bin to put important things in rather than having them all over the car. Have a trash bag to catch the liter. Always have a bottle of water in the car with you; dehydration causes fatigue, memory loss and low concentration. Make sure your contacts are portable (palm, planner, business card file book, etc.) so you keep people and numbers at your fingertips (call if running late or caught in traffic, if you remember something while out and a quick call can take care of it). Enjoy relaxing, breathing and taking in the day while driving (rather than cleaning, talking on the phone, etc.)

Be the master of your domain. When you implement a few simple productivity strategies and develop them as time saving habits, you will quickly enjoy the benefit of more time and energy and overall increased productivity.

A Four Step PLAN to Success (part 2)

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:50:14 +0000

A = Adjust

Assess your environment and decide what things you need to change. Your environment around you makes a difference in your ability to work towards and implement your goal. Look at what things in your environment could hold you back from your goals and what things in your environment can help you accomplish them. What do you need to add and what do you need to get rid of? Right now, actively make these changes so that your environment is ready to support you in accomplishing your resolution. (Your environment may include the following: relationships; feelings; thoughts; health; time; energy sources; personal space of home, office, or car; and other things that you surround yourself with.)

N = Network

Ensure that someone or something around you knows your goal and will help you measure your progress. There are many Web sites that help you track and assess your goals, including as http://www.goals.com or http://sparklepeople.com/index.asp. Many other online tools that are topic specific, like http://www.foodfacts.com/public/nm_community.cfm work well. Perhaps you are more comfortable building a support system: either find someone who knows you well and with whom you are comfortable designing how they can support you, or arrange for an accountability buddy with whom you are in “competition” as you both strive to meet your respective goals.

When you use the four P.L.A.N. steps (PREPARE, LIST, ADJUST, and NETWORK) to outline your goals, you are setting yourself up for success. It is challenging to change behavior and that is what New Year’s resolutions usually are about.^¹ But, when you are thorough and diligent about planning on the front end, you can almost guarantee results on the back end. Now, the only thing left to do is implement the PLAN! You can do it. Charge into 2010 and keep working on your PLAN.

1 COMMON RESOLUTIONS: Spend more time with family & friends; exercise more, lose weight or eat better; quit smoking; enjoy life more & have fun; quit drinking; get out of debt, stick to a budget, save or earn more money; learn something new; find a better job; help others; become a better person; be more patient at work and/or with others; get organized.

A Four Step PLAN to Success (part 1)

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:34:28 +0000

New Year’s resolutions, otherwise known as “good intentions,” are those things that are set at the beginning of the year when people feel they can wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start. It is said that 80% of all News Year’s resolutions fail. A survey conducted by Gail Kasper, LLC (www.gailkasper.com) finds that 51% of people don’t have New Year’s resolutions, and of those who do, 79% don’t have a plan to achieve them, leaving a small 9% of Americans serious about achieving their goals from the onset.

The truth is, resolutions can be accomplished. You just have to follow these four P.L.A.N. steps, and you can make your resolutions a success this year!

Simply follow the four-step P.L.A.N.:

P = Prepare

Visualize what you want. Sit down and really think through what it is that you want to accomplish. Plan with the end goal in mind.

Write your resolution/goal in the first person, as if it were already done.
Set a deadline of when you want it accomplished.
Write down the result of your accomplished goal and the reward you will give yourself when you meet it.
Now, walk backwards in your mind and write down at least three measurable mini-milestones. Do this so you can check your progress along the way. Prepare your mind and have a visual aid to keep in front of you so that you will be focused and committed in this next year.

L = List

Be clear about the commitment you are taking on and make some key lists to support your efforts.

What personal behaviors need to change to make this goal a reality?
What steps will you have to take to make it happen?
What are the barriers that might prevent you from accomplishing your goal?
What will you have to stop doing to make your goal a success?
What is in your control and what is out of your control? What can you do about each?
What are the “costs” you will have to pay to accomplish this resolution (e.g., if you are trying to lose weight, forfeiting potato chips)?
What are your strengths and weakness? How can you utilize them or watch out for them?

Review your lists to make sure you are really willing to pay the cost, are committed to changing your behavior, and are ready to do what it will take to follow the plan.