Having Time on Your Side

Clarity brings accomplishment

One of the most important things you can do to effectively manage your day, week, month or year is to get clear on what it is you want to achieve. When you lose track of your goals or fail to plan appropriately, you end up spinning in circles and nothing gets accomplished. The clearer you are on your goals, the better results you will get. Make sure your goals are personal to you and not part of someone else's expectations. You will be far more motivated to achieve success when you are working towards something that really matters to you.

Goal setting leads to success

Goals are best visualized, worked on, and completed when articulated with the written word. As a motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar says, "Written goals transform you from a wandering generality into a meaningful specific." By writing your goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks, and constantly keeping focused on the bigger picture, you'll gain clarity and insight that will help you move forward on your action plan. Once you try this, you will be amazed at the results. It really does work--as long as you do the legwork and keep the momentum going!

Goal setting principles
Be creative when writing your goals and have fun with the process.

1. Imagine that you have no limitations on what you can do, have or be. As Brian Tracy says, "Only big dreams can keep you excited and working enthusiastically every day towards their accomplishment."
   
2. Do not allow yourself to think of the reasons why you cannot accomplish something.
   
3. Keep your focus on why you can do it.
   
4. Keep the mental roadblocks out of the way then leave room for your goals to start developing.
   
5. As long as you are perfectly clear on your goals, it will be easier to achieve them.
   
6. Write your goals in the present tense.
   
7. Each of your goals will begin with the word 'I'. An example might be; "I create more profit in my business by writing my goals daily". Begin with 'I' then use an action verb.
   Prioritize your daily goals
   

Prioritizing your daily goals is one of the most important things that need to happen so you can accomplish more in less time. This single action step has saved individuals and large companies thousands of dollars and made them more efficient in many ways.

One example of this is a client I've worked with who started out just seeing all their goals listed on a schedule each day. The complaint was, "I have too many things to do each day and not enough time to get it all done." We started analyzing why this was happening. Then I put a process in place so my client would plan and prioritize each day. The results were astounding. This person was not only able to get more done but this also allowed him more time with his family every day.

Action steps for prioritizing

1. Write down your goals for the day. After you have them listed, then start organizing in priority order. An 'A' is a goal that is extremely important to you. A 'B' is something you'd like to get done but it's not as urgent as the 'A'. The 'C' goals are something that would be nice to get done but not as important as 'A' or 'B'.

2. After you have separated all your goals, look at the 'A's and start numbering them in priority order. All of the 'A-1s' are your first action items to do that day. These are the urgent, important tasks that need done. The 'A'-2s' are important but less important than the A1s, and so on with the 'B' and 'C' goals.

3. If you have trouble prioritizing, ask your self the question "If I could only accomplish one more goal on this list, which one goal would that be?" This will help you decide the urgent from the important so you can prioritize every goal in descending order according to importance.
   Take responsibility for the results

4. Accept 100 percent responsibility for getting the results necessary to achieve your goal. If you decide to take a half-day off, don't beat yourself up. Know that you are living in the choice to do that. So accept that responsibility. I'm sure there will still be a lot you accomplished that day.

Seeing daily results

Do something everyday that moves you towards your desired goals.

There's an old saying of 'by the yard, it's hard, but inch by inch, anything's a cinch'. It's the tasks within the project are what gets the job done. When you review your goals, projects and tasks, and put them in priority order, you will be clear and focused on the tasks at hand while strategically moving towards your ideal results.

At the end of the day, review your list and monitor how you did. You'll see how much more you'll achieve by developing these simple, daily habits.

Self-Management

Setting your goals INCREASES:

• Effectiveness
  
• Motivation
  
• Direction
  
• Accountability
  
• Desirable results
  
• Personal satisfaction
  

Lack of goal setting DECREASES:

• Urgency
  
• Ability to priority
  
• Measurable results
  
• Productivity
  
• Efficiency
  
• Organize to get maximum results
  

1. Get better results than ever before
   
2. Discover a sense of pace and direction
   
3. Achieve results in priority order
   
4. Create the accountability you need to get more done
   
5. Have more time for family and friends
   
6. Do more of what you enjoy doing
   
7. Expand your sense of control
   
8. Feel more satisfied with your daily results

Start the process now! Good luck with getting more done in less time.

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Cheryl Vallejos

Prime Leaders Community

www.PrimeLeaders.com

Helping good managers become great leaders!

President and CEO of Endorse Success, LLC and Prime Leaders Community, Cheryl Vallejos has more than 22 years of experience in organizational business management. Her passion is helping small businesses create big profits. Cheryl's business and personal clients include those wanting career advancement, people starting or expanding their businesses, and those needing guidance and support in setting, meeting, and exceeding their business and personal goals.

A dynamic and impressive leading-edge coach and consultant, Cheryl has combined extensive business management experience with her highly regarded talent as a certified coach to helping entrepreneurs and businesses improve productivity, cut costs by over 25% and find that elusive extra time in the day for family and friends.

Cheryl recently launched Prime Leaders Community, an excellent business resource that provides networking, leadership coaching and training, tele-seminars and much more. She has successfully started, owned and operated 3 businesses, and is the author of four books: Injecting The Juice Into Leadership.

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