Hey guys!
So, I'm super excited to share with you a "technique" that I've learned recently for cutting down my procrastination. Now, this method isn't new. In fact, it's been around for quite some time, HOWEVER, no one seems to talk about it much anymore. It's not taught to you in school and it's not mentioned in college, unless you luck up and get a professor that thinks you should know it.
I'm using this technique for college and I'm applying it to my Beachbody Coaching business so that I can ensure that I can reach my dreams of opening a medical clinic for eating disorder suffers and being a Top 10 Beachbody Coach! It's going to happen, just you guys wait! I'm so excited!
Well, enough about me! Let's get on to what can HELP YOU! The gist of this technique is narrowing down your focus and turning major goals into smaller, manageable, daily activities to achieve a goal.
Oh! And if you do find this information helpful, please share it with people that you think might get something from it. ^_^
"You're ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key to your success in life and work!" Brian Tracy
The "Technique": Prioritization
- Make a list of key goals, activities, projects, and responsibilities in your life.
- Use Pareto's principle (80% of success comes from 20% of activity) to decide which:
- Goals will give you the maximum amount of fulfillment (emotional, physical, financial, etc).
- Activities/projects will help you the most to achieve those goals
- Responsibilities will help or hinder you towards achieve those goals.
- Dump what you can that isn't going to help you achieve your goals. Make the sacrifice today for the possibilities of tomorrow.
- Analyze the rest and decide which would have the greatest LONG TERM impact towards helping you achieve your goals.
- Top priority needs to be given to what will have the greatest positive impact if it's done and the most negative impact if it's not done! Doing those first will give you the greatest chances of preventing time wasting by working on several smaller, less important tasks.
- Analyze your list of goals again (I know, I know! Just trust me) to find your one TRUE goal.
- Look for any goals that are really stepping stones for another goal on your list. When you find that goal that is achievable by reaching all of those other goals, then you have your TRUE priority! Don't toss out those other goals that don't tie into your big goal! Oh no! You'll need those puppies for when you achieve your big goal. You'll choose one of those to figure out what you're going to focus on next!
- Write out your TRUE goal and under it all the goals that will make that come true and under those, the daily/weekly/monthly Pareto's principle activities that are tied to your true goal.
- Make sure this is written somewhere that you will see it DAILY! You may want to print out multiple copies and just have them around the house, your office, the car, everywhere so that your subconscious mind is forced to think about your goals on a daily basis.
- Do the activities DAILY that'll get you to your true goal(s)! Remember, they're the activities that follow Pareto's Principle!
- Complete your projects based on the Priority Matrix! This will ensure you're doing that projects that HAVE to get done first and not wasting time doing things that aren't due for some time. You use this matrix by asking yourself (1) how important a task/project is and (2) when is it due. If it's very important but not due soon, it goes in do next. If it's low in importance but due soon, it does in the "do later" (which is really "do after next"). If it's not important and not due soon (aka busy work) just don't do it. LOL!
Using me as an example:
List of Goals
- Open a medical clinic for people with eating disorders
- Be financially secure
- Have $100k in savings
- Be a top 10 Beachbody Coach
- Become a registered dietitian/nutritionist (RDN)
- Graduate college
- Own my own house
- Take my mother on a cruise (she's always taken me on them...)
- Help 300 people a year reach their health goals
Analyzing the List
- Opening my medical clinic requires me to be a RDN, which I need to graduate college for.
- Being a Top 10 Beachbody Coach would mean that I'd be: helping people reach their health goals; making six-seven figures a year, so that covers being financially secure; having $100k in savings; owning my own house; and taking my mother on cruises.
Daily Activities
- Study to ensure that I graduate
- Expand my network by 3-5 people DAILY
- Talk about Beachbody and my dreams DAILY
Projects
- Create content of value that will help people
- Blog posts, images, online support/challenge groups, etc
- Assignments and exams
And there you have it! Until I broke this down in this way, I felt like my goals weren't tangible and that the workload would be daunting! When we're not shown concretely the work that needs to be done, the abstract idea of the workload we form in our minds often has 100 times MORE work in it than it needs to! It's not wonder people procrastinate and don't achieve their goals quickly! Well, look at what I need to do daily!
Now, there's other things that I have to do (work, see my boyfriend, be there for friends) but there are sacrifices that I've had to make to ensure I have the time to do the daily activities that I must do in order to successful. You are going to have to make sacrifices as well! That can mean no more TV (or allow yourself only ONE show), no more fast food, no more late nights at the bar.
Using me as an example (again):
I've pretty much given up: gaming (I used to be a Gaming Specialist that supervised the gaming department at Best Buy...it's a big deal for me. >_> ), anime, television (I don't even have cable), YouTube, K. Dramas, reading fiction, drawing, writing fiction and poems, hanging out with friends (it's a once in a while thing now), and many opportunities to get back into tabletop games.
Yes...I'm a nerd. LOL! I gave up almost EVERYTHING that made me a nerd. I'm sacrificing now so that in the future, I can subscribe to Loot Crate and not care. In the future, I can host table top gaming parties at my house in a room dedicated to that purpose.
But, most importantly, in the future, I can wake up and know that I am going to work to fulfill my life's purpose. And that, that right there is worth all of the sacrifice in the world.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you found this to be helpful! I know I'm using it on a regular basis now and it's helped me find clarity again. If you've found this to be helpful, leave a comment! If you have something you'd like to add or share, leave a comment too! ^_^
References:
"Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy
"30 Day Push" by Chalene Johnson
Skillsyouneed.com
