Ask yourself, “What are the key things you want to accomplish during the year? “ These could be personal, business-related or both. Put them in writing and assign a target date to complete them. In the fall of each year I decide what my business goals will be for the following year. Basically I ask myself, “If I could do only one thing to further the aims and objectives of this company what would it be?” After considerable self-talk and scribbling, I write down my first goal. It could be to revamp the website, develop a distance education program, write a book, or any number of things. Then I assume I can get two things done, and I select another goal and so on. When I get to five or six goals I stop. If you have too many goals they become like a To Do list. And seldom do To Do lists get completed.
I read a book by Buck Rodgers about 20 years ago. He was the ex-vice president of Marketing for IBM and the book was called The IBM Way. In that book, he said that he and those who worked for him, limited themselves to 5 major objectives or priorities in any one year in order to provide focus.
The trouble with most people is that they lack focus. We can’t do everything. People get upset because they get behind in their homework, housework and office work and they feel pressured and helpless and of course, stressed out and even guilty – because they can’t get everything done. Well I’ve got news for you. You will never get all the things done that you want to get done. The day you die you will have an inbox full of email messages not responded to, voicemail messages unheard, letters unanswered, tasks only half-completed – and you won’t even be on this earth to worry about them.
The secret is to choose the most important things, set deadline dates, schedule time to work on them in your planner and keep those appointments with yourself. Focus on what’s really important in your business and personal life, and add everything else to your To Do list. You know what will happen to most of those items!
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