Plenty of blog posts give you advice about meeting new goals, and they often make taking on new challenges sound like a nice, breezy walk on the shore. However, adding even more tasks to our already-busy daily routines can quickly become exhausting. Resorting to old habits can be quite tempting.
Stay Focused
Don’t give up! Here’s some advice about how to stay focused on your goals when they don’t feel like a cake walk anymore.
1-Learn to Love the Process
When it comes to meeting your goals, it’s not always about the end result. Most of the personal growth happens during the process, anyway. The next time you’re feeling defeated about not achieving a goal in a timely manner, remind yourself that the process is more important than the result.
2-Put Your Goals on Display
One way to ensure that you stay focused on your goals is to create a “goal board.” If you’re more creative, you might want to make a detailed bulletin board. This can simply be a piece of paper, though. The point is to hang it somewhere that you spend a fair amount of time, like your office. Make it your own – maybe you want to make a list of action steps and cross off each one you complete, or maybe you’re someone who is motivated by inspirational quotes. Either way, shifting your focus from your mind to a tangible display is a great way to hold yourself accountable for meeting your goals.
3-Complete Action Steps Early in the Day
In general, with all of the things that we have going on, motivation has a tendency to fade throughout the day. To ensure that you’re meeting your action steps, the best thing you can do is get them out of the way. If you feel like taking a nap after work, force yourself to get at least a short run in before you crash. This way, you can spend your evenings relaxing and preparing for the next day.
4-Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
Multi-tasking may seem like a marketable talent, but the truth is, when you multi-task, you get more quantity and less quality. You also have a higher chance of overwhelming yourself when your mind is telling you, ” You have to do this before you do that, but while you’re waiting for this you can start working on the other thing.” Stop worrying about this, that, and the other thing and focus on just one of them.
5-Have Someone Hold You Accountable
The best way to stay focused on your goals is to recruit a buddy or two. When others get excited about the process, chances are you will too. When others are working with you towards the same goals, you’re able to share and celebrate successes, vent about woes, and most importantly, keep each other accountable and focused.
6-Remind Yourself Why You Want It
When you’re starting to get discouraged or overwhelmed, remind yourself why you took on this goal in the first place. Imagine your life after you meet the goal. What were you lacking before you started the process? If you feel like you’re working towards nothing, consider taking on a new goal that means more to you. Sometimes thinking is just as important, if not more important than doing.
7-Don’t Lose Sleep Over It
I mean this both literally and figuratively. First, your sleep is absolutely crucial. A lack of sleep leads to tons of unwanted consequences, so if you find yourself working into the early hours of the morning, consider getting some sleep and picking back up the following day. The quality of your work will improve with more sleep.
Next, if working towards your goals is stressing you out to the point that you’re losing sleep, perhaps they aren’t the most desirable goals after all. Take a step back and think about what you’re even working toward and determine whether or not the stress is worth it. If you need to take a break, do so. You’ll come back to it refreshed, rejuvenated, and refocused.
No matter what your goals may be – shedding pounds, saving money, growing your business, eliminating bad habits, etc. – it’s easy to lose focus and resort to old routines. Before you decide to give up, try one or all of these seven tips!
Postponed
The Accountability Squad is moving! Well, actually Debbie is moving from Orlando, FL to Myrtle Beach, SC. The move is happening over the next few weeks so we need to postpone the Get It Done Day until after Debbie is settled into her new home. We’ll let you know when the new date is scheduled, so keep an eye out here.
An Invitation
Join me, Debbie O’Grady, for a complimentary Get on Track Conversation. We will talk about your Dreams and Goals and in just 30 short minutes, I will help you get on track towards accomplishing the most important one you have. Schedule your call here.
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