This Will Accelerate Your Goal Progress, Guaranteed!
You know your goal. You have created a plan to reach that goal. You spend time every evening planning the next day, laying out the next task(s) you need to perform to reach your goal, and you do this activity daily. But what is one thing that could be added to this process that would make it even better?
In fact, what I’m thinking about can make it seem like you’ve put your goal seeking efforts on steroids (if that were legal, which of course it’s not – nyuk!).
The final piece to this process of managing your goal seeking efforts is so simple that it’s easy to overlook, yet so critical that without it your chance of failing increases with the difficulty of the goal. The missing element?
Time for simple, undistracted, clear thinking. Setting aside time each evening, or the next morning, to think “big picture” about your goal, without distraction. Giving yourself time to consider the progress you’re making, recognize any new obstacles that may require a change in your plan, or just getting a new understanding of what’s required that allows you to improve the plan.
Thinking time is the most valuable time you can spend each day, yet “physical” busy frequently wins out over quiet thought.
Taking just 15 minutes each evening, maybe less, to focus in a quiet place, without distraction, on what you are trying to accomplish can be invaluable. It gives us an opportunity to consider new thoughts about how to do it better, faster, cheaper, easier or differently, and can be the best possible use of our time. It’s like your personal “board of directors” meeting, the time when you step back and think about the big picture and assess your progress toward your goal, the steps you are taking, etc.
If you keep a journal, you’re getting your thinking time then. That’s one of the huge benefits of journaling. But if not, you can vastly improve your progress and reach your goal sooner by spending time on a regular basis thinking about what’s working, what’s not, how to deal with problems and ways to overcome hurdles.
Franklin Covey calls it “planning and solitude”. Some call it prayer. Some call it meditation. Some simply call it quiet time.
Whatever you call it, it needs to be done daily. In my humble opinion…. 🙂
