Before you can set a goal you must have a plan to be productive in order to ensure the success of accomplishing your goal. And your plan must include doing a mental detox.
“Journaling allows you to dialogue with parts of your psyche that are frozen in time. It allows you to tap into deeper reserves of creativity and problem-solving. By keeping a journal, you can get a flash of knowing and awareness that you haven’t seen before.” – Dr. Laurie Nadel, PhD
Journaling may be a hot trend right now but it definitely is an investment in your business success.
You’re probably wondering how journaling relates to setting a goal. Why does journaling even matter? Well, journaling is one part of accomplishing a goal. I’m going to share a simple goal setting plan that anyone can use. That is, if you’re motivated to do the work.
First, do you know how to set a goal?
Most people struggle finding one goal. So let’s stop getting frustrated. What is one goal that you know you can accomplish but it will take a while to do? That’s what you start with. Once you accomplish it, you will gain confidence and momentum that will carry you through future situations.
In one of my group programs I ran, I had a participant never choose a goal the entire 90 days. She was so indecisive. That indecisiveness lead to her accomplishing nada. Nothing. Therefore, while the rest of the ladies in the program finished projects, completed goals, she was busy. And that busyness just left her even more frustrated with herself.
Don’t be that person.
Well you can’t grow your business, make money or stay in business if you’re not productive. This is different from being busy. One you make a decision then follow through. The other you never settle on going in one direction to see what happens.
Being productive means you are taking steps that move you forward in the right direction that helps bring your business vision to life. Productive is choosing what should be done and doing it. Being busy means you do stuff all day but it was all for nothing. You gain nothing from it. Busy is doing a lot of stuff but getting nothing done.
Now how can you be productive instead of busy?
- The first thing you should do is journal 3-4 times a week. This allows you to declutter your mind so you are sharp and focus on doing everything necessary to accomplish your goal. No random idea taking you off course.
- Stop writing to-do lists. You know your to-do list has a to-do list. People spend 20 minutes creating a to-do list and 2 years to finish it. That’s busy work. Think about those classes in high school where you would get worksheets. Did they help you learn anything? Absolutely not. There were given to you to keep you busy and quiet so the teacher could do what the teacher needed to do. A to-do list is similar. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t give you a direction to accomplish anything.
- Every week you should have 1-3 implementation intentions to complete. With each implementation intention comes several steps and tasks. Remember some implementation intentions will take more than a week to complete. So don’t add new ones until you finish one.
What is an implementation intention?
These are the main tasks to help you complete the focus for your goal.
A focus is a big project associated with helping you achieve your goal. And you should only have 1-3 focusses per goal.
The reason you should have only 1-3 implementation intentions per week is to make sure you actually get something done.
Your productivity comes from what you do i.e. your implementation intentions and how well you execute them. That’s why it’s important not to have too much to do at one time.
For someone like me, I have no problem tackling a big project. I have always been able to figure out how to get things done. But for most people, a big project or goal is overwhelming. That’s why I created The Truth Confidant™ Journal to help those who struggle in this area.
Here’s what I want to leave you with when it comes to setting a goal. The first step is to make a decision. Once that decision is made. Then you work the steps until that goal is accomplished. Can goals change? Sure. But most don’t unless you never wanted it in the first place.
Go after you goal with focus, concentration and efficiency so you don’t have a 20-year time frame to say you did something you always wanted to do.
Set your goal with a deadline. Decide what implementation intentions should be done. Then do them.
Vernetta R. Freeney is The Truth Confidant™ and the Organizer of the Houston African American Bloggers Association. She teaches entrepreneurs to use simple productivity tips, mentally detox while sharing business truths. Learn more about her at vernettarfreeney.com.
