How To be Damned Serious About Your New Year’s Goals
You’ll undoubtedly read far too many blog posts telling you how to set goals for the new year. I will not try to repeat anything that is covered there.
I am simply typing this (in between New Years’ Eve beers) to remind you of the two critical things that need to be present for you to reach your 2009 goals. You can set goals any damned way you want, but you need to, need to, need to do these two things if you want to make serious headway, unlike all those other years where you go “Oh crap, I didn’t get it done. Again.” (self, I’m talking to you about goals 1 through 3).
Those two things? Simple.
- Write your goals down in detail (that means monthly or quarterly milestones) and look at them every single day.
- Take 10 minutes each day and journal your progress on those goals. Every day.
Now, you won’t work on every goal every day. But by checking in every single freakin’ day, you will remind yourself of what’s important to you and fire off those “get to it” alarms if you haven’t taken action for a few days.
Daily Check In = Staying Accountable
The reason you didn’t hit some of your goals this year is - more than likely - because you didn’t check in daily. Think back on the year and ask yourself how things would have been different if you did the two things I mentioned.
You know they would be different. I know they would be different. I flubbed the tracking part for my business goals until after the mid-year mark, and my business made 70% of it’s money in the last 3 months of the year. No coincidence.
Stupid mistake for this year - one I won’t repeat this coming year.
Daily Check In = Satisfying Sense of Balance
Checking in daily keeps you focused on maintaining a balance of action across all your goals. This means you’ll be less stressed as you feel you’re not too “goal-heavy” in any one direction.
That’s all the advice I have for you on this December 31st.
Daily check-in. Secret to success.
The end.
Happy new year.
This is a great process, very smart.
One advantage it has, I think, is that you’ll discover quite quickly if you’re not working on the right goal, or if you’ve got an unmanageable shotgun blast of goals that lacks focus.
I’m going to give it a shot!
Sonia Simone’s last blog post..Dumb Things Small Businesses Do #7: Following the Herd
Great advice. The funny thing I just started something very simple but very similar to what you said.
I ‘m actually writing a list of 6 goals every day in the morning to help me to stay clear and focused on my intentions and in the evening I write down 6 action steps to help we obtain my goal. It’s a great way to stay focused and in action.
I love the way you put it because sometime we’re just too serious and too complicated.
I notice it said ‘beers’ instead of ‘beer.’ Glad you took my advice on the Canadian VS. USA beer thing. I’ll consume a few extras just to make sure we’re all good haha.
I actually started keeping track of my goals in a very similar way to what you described above. I actually incorporated it into your ‘30 Hours A Day’ program. It works wonderfully. I may not get everything done exactly when I’d like to, but I am fitting a lot more into my day, and getting done what I’d like to complete. Some things take a little longer, but that’s ok.
It gets done, and that is the entire point. Great information! As Linda says above, it’s being too serious, and too complicated that gets us.
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[…] I’m doing Dave Navarro’s Damn Serious New Year’s process for some goals. Every day I journal a page (or two, if I feel like it) on progress and […]
Dave, stumbled on your site thanks to Sonia Simone at Remarkable Communication, and I’m glad I did.
I love it when goals are set down simply, without fuss, subcategories, or a ton of pomp and circumstance. Most blogs I’ve seen regarding New Year goals read like a course in rocket science. Yours is simple, to the point, and from my experience in the past, all one would ever need. Kudos.
Thanks for the reminder! I’ve done this previously (a couple of years ago), and somehow got off track and dropped it. It’s definately time to pick up this habit again and get moving!
Love your work Dave!
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I would love to find someone I could report to daily on what progress I’ve made on my goals, for at least a few months.
My friends and others around me don’t set goals or make plans. I start off strong, but peter out way too easily because it seems like no one else really cares. I’m very good at making excuses and letting them run my life as well, double-triple whammy.
It is 10:15 AM and I am ashamed at what little I have accomplished today.
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