Thanksgiving was nothing short of wonderful – 3 full days of doing not much more than eating and being a sightseer in our own town of Nashville . . . and NOTHING that resembled work.
Today (day 4), the brain began sliding into gear with thoughts of what the next few weeks will look like before year end.
What can I accomplish before January 1?
What have I started in 2010 that I would like to FINISH in 2010?
What can I do NOW to create momentum to carry me into 2011?
What are my goals for my business and personal lives in 2011?
Who are the right people with whom I must align?
Do I have a clear vision of my PURPOSE this year as it relates to my life Purpose?
What goals must I set this year so as to increase my odds of reaching my 5 year and 10 year goals?
What mechanisms do I have in place to “manage myself” such that I continue on a steady course towards the accomplishment of these goals?
Where’s my accountability?
WHY am I doing all of this?
You’d think that with all of that going on in my head, I might just implode.
My response to these thoughts begins with an evaluation of my “Life Rhythm” . . .
I evaluate my current rituals considering what specific things I do daily, weekly, monthly, and annually to keep myself and my business moving FORWARD through my goals.
Every year that I have done this exercise (which is EVERY year), I tweak my “way” albeit slightly to make it more aerodynamic and smooth . . . with less impact . . . such that I can DO more and plan LESS.
I now have it boiled down to 4 tools, all of which fit nicely in the leather day-timer bought 15 years ago.
1. Annual Roles and Goals Worksheet – A very simple “rolling 12 month” tool that Clearly displays up to 7 Life roles (Sales, Business Development, Financial, Personal, Community, etc) and goals associated with each role. This tool is the platform for prioritizing projects and performance waypoints each month.
2. Annual Calendar – For mapping out PERSONAL vacations and events for the year FIRST – Then holidays – Then Business . . . Becomes the basis of the schedule template
3. Weekly Worksheet – a simple tool that I create at the beginning of each week includes Roles and Weekly goals . . . People . . . and tasks . . . and a 7 day time-table to map out the week.
4. Daily activity – The simplest of tools . . . a log of calls and daily todos beginning each day with a blank sheet of paper.
The only other thing in that day-timer is the most critical component of my business . . . a printed copy of my database.
This system is LOW tech . . . ANYONE can use it effectively without the need for computers – although the lead generation strategies I use are very technologically leveraged.
Each year, I offer a 3 hour session and invite anyone who would like to come to learn how I use these tools . . . and provide copies of the tools.
Friday December 3rd @ 9:00 is the day . . . Mark it on your calendar and contact me IMMEDIATELY if you would like to attend – Space is limited.
My goals this year are higher than any prior year, and my confidence is stronger than ever.
Contact me if you are interested.
I’m just sayin’
ONWARD!
Best,
b