My first coach used to state in no uncertain terms that if you wait until January to plan for the coming year, than you will not get started until April. My question this week is has this happened to you. If you haven’t noticed the first Quarter of 2017 is come to an end and April is here. How’s that for April Fools!
It almost seems beyond comprehension that we have completed one-fourth of this year, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Three months down, nine more to go.
This is a good time to pull out your business plans and revisit the personal and professional goals you have set for yourself for the year. The purpose of doing this is not beat yourself up over things you haven’t done or haven’t started yet, but rather to revise, reset, and make course adjustments or Quarter Turns to get yourself back on track.
The good news is you can get a lot done in just nine months and here’s how. Take these 5 tips to jump start 2017 and get yourself back on track. If you are already on track then use this day to celebrate your success, and take these same 5 tips as an opportunity to assess where you are, make course corrections and put the pedal to the metal!
Here goes.
- Unplug from the Matrix for a few hours and find a quite place with no distractions to clearly write out you plan over the next three months. Any goals, objectives, projects to start, or loose ends to tie up, make sure you include them. Are you taking some time off? Put it in the schedule, if you leave it to chance it probably will not happen. This may sound counter-intuitive for you, but you may actually need to step off the treadmill for a while so you can reset yourself and step back on with clear intention and purpose.
- Start working off a daily, weekly and monthly task list. Our brains like clearly defined goals and objectives and in the absence of them will simply invent busy work to clog up your days. Utilize your newly created plan as a starting point. Be diligent about creating your own tasks first before opening you email in-box and focusing on everyone else’s problems and agendas. Start by creating your own agenda first, you’ll be amazed at how much more productive you can be.
- Stop beating yourself up over what you haven’t accomplished this last quarter and get to work on the next quarter. What’s done is done, leave it in the past unless you plan to re-live this unproductive feeling in the future. Learning to control your “internal ass-kicking mechanism” will go a long way toward you accomplishing your goals this year, and feel really great about it in the process.
- Avoid the Noise and negative people. Look, if you are already behind the eight-ball negativity will not propel you in the right direction. Look for positive people and positive energy to help you jump-start your year. Start by focusing on what you actually can control in your business and in your life. Things like the -Stock Market, Politics, Interest Rates, & Kanye West’s latest tweet- are all simply noise and distractions keeping your from achieving your greatness this year. Put on your ear-muffs and get back to the business of your own business.
- Take time to actually celebrate the big wins and little victories you’ve accomplished so far this year. If you are struggling to think of any, take a minute to write down everything that’s gone right so far this year. It’s easy to focus on what hasn’t happened or what you haven’t accomplished, but if you take a few minutes to reflect on the last 3 months you may be surprised at what has actually happened so far, which by the way will help put you in the right frame of mind to seize the day and kick off the second Quarter the way you want to.
Please comment or post your best success strategies to get yourself back on track and build the momentum you need to accomplish your goals.
Thoughts for the week:
There are no secrets to success. It’s the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. –Colin Powell
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. –Winston Churchill
I never dreamed about success, I worked for it. –Estee Lauder
If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to help them build theirs. – Drirubhai Ambani
If you really want to do something you’ll find a way, if you don’t, you’ll find and excuse. –Jim Rohn
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. –Eleanor Roosevelt
If you want to go big, stop thinking small. -Unknown
Looking forward to our next conversation.
Recent Comments