Taking Action

How do we get clear on what we want to do?

– Do we do what coaches, instructors and parents want us to do?
– Do we go out and do it without any expectations?
– Do we think about the outcome we want and set goals and action steps to move us in that direction?

Is it 1, 2, or 3? #1 isn’t the best option because you are doing what someone else thinks you should do versus what you think you should be doing. That doesn’t mean don’t take others thoughts into consideration but you should be an active participant in the process. You need to be really clear on what the expectations are and agree that they are good ones. #2 isn’t the best option because if you don’t have a sense of where you are going or how to get there, chances are good you won’t. Why is #3 a pretty decent option?

Goals give you direction; guidance. When they are realistic and you meet them, it increases motivation and confidence. Goals help you set expectations and take control of what you want to have happen. Goals also support you staying in the process versus getting stuck in the outcome (usually winning).

Clients set daily, weekly, monthly & yearly goals but there has to be both an outcome goal (what’s the big thing you want) and process goals (the steps to get you there). In order to achieve goals they need to be broken down into bite size, process oriented pieces. You can’t get from A to Z without going through b, c, d, e, etc.

There are many ways set expectations or goals: journal, calendar and tons of apps (7 APPS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS AND BUILD NEW HABITS). An action plan and task list is another way to do this. This action plan template allows you to think about what needs to get done on a micro level, what resources you need and what difficulties/barriers you might face in completing this objective. A task list breaks things down even further from the goal → action plan → task list. The task list might include things like phone calls, scheduling meetings, writing emails, research, etc. Why is all of this important? This is how you reach your goals. I’ve always had goals but never used to break them down into smaller pieces. There are times I would miss a step. Sometimes I would get frustrated because reaching a goal was never as simple as I thought it should be. For example, if my goal is to write an article on goal setting for a magazine, sitting down to write is not the only step I need to do to complete my goal. I need to do research, I may need to interview people, I need to decide what aspects of goal setting I want to discuss, etc. When I started making an action plan and a task list things became much clearer and less frustrating and reaching my goal was a lot easier.

I’ve had many clients who’ve never set expectations for competition except to win. What do you think that does? It doesn’t give them the direction they need to get through the process, they are pulled out of the process always thinking about the outcome, they have no control over the outcome unless they go through the process and if they don’t win they’ve failed. When you set and meet realistic expectations along the way you can actually feel good about your performance even on those rare occasions when you don’t win. 🙂

Develop an action plan for how you will achieve your goals

This can be done by using the action plan template which clearly spells out how you will achieve each short term goal.

From your action plan create a task list

A task list that prioritizes the tasks in your action plan is a tried and tested way of becoming more efficient and getting on top of what you need to do. A prioritized task list helps busy people get things done. It does this by helping you to:

-remember tasks that have to be done
-organize tasks based on their priority
-estimate and allocate time for each task
-work towards your established goals
-think about what might get in the way of you completing you action plan

Goal evaluation – staying focused and on course

Review your goals and the difficulties that you may have in reaching your goals regularly. Your priorities and circumstances may change, and it is important to be able to adjust your goals when things change.

You do not have to go through this process to be an effective goal setter. The most important things to realize are that goals are helpful particularly when set the right way and that breaking them into smaller pieces makes them easier to achieve and will build motivation and confidence to get things done.

Happy start to summer!