Have you ever taken a road trip without a map? Maybe you want to take your wife to that fancy 5 Star Restaurant but failed to set the reservations using your smart app. This is what happens in our life if we desire something but never set a written goal with specific action steps that get us to victory!
I desired to write a book that the dream felt so realistic I could taste it. The problem, I didn’t put together any action steps to make my dream into reality. Foundering for months and years on an idea, I never wrote down that first word. But, with all things, the book finally was finished and I desired to write more. The problem, it took another 5 years before that book was published.
Why? Because I never set an action-oriented goal.
I recently read Michael Hyatt’s new book, Your Best Year Ever. This book is designed to help you create a five-step plan for achieving your most important goals. Seth Godin said about the book; “Generous goals work if you write them down, and powerful books work if you read them. Michael Hyatt has created a fun, fast way to find your dreams and then turn them into reality.”
Everybody has dreams but very few people put actions to those plans, and even fewer see the victory on the other side. When I made my action plan to write my newest book, I did it. Why? Because I held myself accountable.
When you put a plan in place, you will never fail!
I want to give you seven steps for creating an action plan this year to help you write more effectively and get the things done you want to see accomplished in 2018.
These seven steps come from Michael’s book and spell out the word SMARTER.
SPECIFIC
Goals need to be identified, and if we can put a face those goals they can be visualized. The purpose of smarter goals is to make sure that we create specific goals. If we’re not specific, and we don’t take the time to figure out how to be specific, we will fail at every turn.
In 2017 I set the goal finish writing Purgatory Creek. I wanted to make sure the goal was specific. That is a very specific goal. I didn’t say I hoped it would be a good idea, I said I will finish the rough draft of the book. And that’s what I did.
Michael Hyatt gives an example in his book; “If I was to say learn photography. Is that specific? No. In other words, what aspect of Photography do you want to learn? A better go would be, complete Lynda.com photography 101 courses. That’s specific.”
MEASURABLE
It’s one thing to have a goal now, the question is this, is it measurable? In other words, how do I know when I have accomplished my goal?
Take making money, for example, you want to make more money in 2018. But the question is, how much more money? If you’re not specific with your goal setting, you won’t know when you’ve accomplished that goal. Maybe, your goal is, I want to make 20,000 more dollars this year. That is a realistic and very measurable goal.
This is why it’s so important to write down each goal. Make sure you are objective so that you can measure yourself against that goal. Set an objective TARGET so you know when you reach those mile markers.
ACTIONABLE
Is easy with goal-setting to become passive. When we write our goals we tend to say something like, I want to be a better writer in 2019. That particular goal is not very actionable. You can’t measure it and you can’t put action to it.
But if you say I want to write 12 short stories, and an outline of my first book, that is very specific and very actionable. Why? Because writing 12 stories and an outline for your book will make you a better writer.
Michael Hyatt encourages the use of strong verbs when writing your goals. He says “be clear and directive about the action.” He also says this, “goals are fundamentally about what we’re going to do”, as a result, is essential to get “clear on the primary action when formulating your goals.”
RISKY
Our fourth step of smarter goals is that they need to be a little bit risky. Most people think setting a goal should be realistic, and I agree, however setting a goal that’s a little bit out of our reach, stretches us and will produce a better goal.
We need skin in the game. If we set the bar low we’re not dreaming big enough. Dreams made with risky action will drive the results that you want in life. Edwin Locke says this, there is a linear relationship between the degree of gold difficulty and performance. He concluded, the performance of participants with the highest goals was over 250% higher than those with the easiest.
With a risky goal, you rise to the challenge but if we place a goal that’s too easy we lay back and we won’t finish the goals we’ve set for our life. Why, because they’re safe.
TIME KEYED
One of the biggest frustrations people have in setting New Year’s resolutions, they don’t set a specific time when they desire to see their resolution complete. This is why people give up their New Year’s resolutions just two weeks into the new year. They don’t plan ahead. And those plans fail them.
This year, I went back to a paper calendar and day planner. I can’t tell you how much more effective I have been since the New Year began. I’ve accomplished more, I’ve set goals for the future, and I can the tribute a specific day and time I want to see these goals accomplished.
The planner I use is called, #ThisIsMyEra! It’s a 90-day goal setting planner that walks you through creating a habit of daily affirmation, thankfulness, weekly and daily planning with a focus on what you’ve accomplished and what you need to follow up on.
When you set a time specific goal, you’re setting the bar to meet that challenge and rise to the expectation that you set for yourself. If you don’t set a time specific goal 2019, the year will come and go and you’ll set a new resolution because you feel like you failed the previous year.
And the cycle continues without any change or momentum in your life.
I recommend setting no fewer than 5 but no more than 10 major goals you want to accomplish this year. But, set only two to three major deadlines to have each quarter. This way, you’re not trying to jam every single goal into the month of December. You can spread out your focus and be more effective.
EXCITING
Face it, if you’re not excited about your goals, you’ll become bored and give up before you begin. Set an exciting goal. If the goal is not exciting, set an exciting reward. Do something to motivate your results and take you from someone who doesn’t accomplish anything to wowing yourself
Alice Walton reported in the Chicago Booth review, “this is not how most people typically choose their goals they choose ones that they feel are important. Don’t use a New Year’s resolution you don’t enjoy doing you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. Tap into your intrinsic motivation.”
If you don’t find your goals exciting or motivating you’re not going to have the motivation to accomplish them when life gets busy and difficult. Ask yourself this question am I inspired and do I feel engaged with my goals? Are you willing to make it happen and are you willing to have fun along the way?
Michael Hyatt says “remember, we’re setting risky goals.” You’re going to feel tempted to quit at some point. Only an exciting goal can access the internal motivation you need to stay the course and achieve your goal.
RELEVANT
This last point I believe is the most important. You want to choose goals that are going to be relevant to your life. Don’t choose a goal for the sake of choosing something to add to your To-Do list. Choose a goal that is going to help you feel fulfilled and accomplished when the New Year rings in.
You’re going have all kinds of pressure outside of your control that will push you to work against your goals. But remember a relevant and written goal has a higher rate of success than one that has no relevance. Remember why you set that goal in the first place. Align your goals and set a to-do list.
I know, if you follow the action plan here, you’re going to have goals that you can feel proud of, excited about, and ready to tackle to take yourself to the next level.
If you really want to take your goal setting to the next level as a writer, use a written system for maximizing your success. Purchase the #ThisIsMyEra Planner and read Michael Hyatt’s bookYour Best Year Ever.
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