Category Archives: Goal Achievement

Time to Plan: Last Quarter 2018 is Upon Us

Goal Achievement, Planning, Reflection

Reflect and Plan and set Goals

As I write this post the last quarter of 2018 is nearly upon us. Tomorrow, Monday is October 1st and we now have just three months left in 2018.  In the part of the world I live in (Ireland) we have 12 weeks until we break for Christmas and the new year holidays.  In just 3 months we will all be starting a new year, 2019.  This is therefore an opportune time to reflect on how far you and I have come in 2018 and plan for the remainder of the year.

What did you set out to achieve way back in January 2018? What were your goals for the year and what new year resolutions did you make? How have you progressed so far in 2018 and what can you achieve in the last three months of the year? What one thing can you get done in the next three months which might just transform your life for the better? Another question is what can you add to your not to do list for the next three months?  Perhaps not eating junk food or watching mindless TV shows?

Time to plan

The good news is that there is still time to make some big positive changes in your life in 2018 – you can do a lot in three months if you set your mind to it.  My advice is to set one to three goals for the last quarter of the year.  Keep it simple and remember the planning fallacy where we tend to underestimate how long it takes to achieve a goal.  Even better set one key goal for yourself  to have achieved by the end of the year and make sure it gets done.  You will then begin 2019 on a very positive note.

Best wishes,

Tom

PS

Experiments in Personal Change Students

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Process Versus Goals

Failure, Goal Achievement, Habits, Planning

Back in December 2015 my Life Coach recommended that I set goals.  By the way I do recommend life coaching which is essentially having someone to ask you some great questions to make you think and also hold you accountable as you set out to achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Goals versus processI love setting goals and contemplating the future.  My life coach recommended that I set 5 year, 3 year and 1 year goals which I did.  I set goals for each of the categories shown above.  That is a lot of goal setting!  I later updated these goals in April 2017, nearly one and half years ago now.  The problem is that I have not looked at them since!  The reason that I never looked at them I think is because they were too many and too overwhelming.

Looking at these goals now is strange because my life today is so much different.  Only the one year plan has some resemblance to reality!  Perhaps that is because it is so difficult to see far into the future (even 3-5 years is far!).  The future is unknown and life takes unexpected twists and turns.    For example two of my close family members have passed away unexpectedly since I last updated the plan only one and a half years ago.   Career wise I have also taken an unexpected route and have learned new skills in developing and teaching online courses which I really enjoy and which is proving a successful side venture for me.  That was nowhere to be seen in my plans and just goes to show that we need to keep our antennae up at all times for new and unexpected opportunities.

Process

What I do focus on each morning and also review at the end of each week are my quarterly goals.  I have a maximum of three.  These goals are much more immediate and attainable.  Overall however I find that my success in life is related to how closely I keep to my process.  Your process is your daily set of routines and habits that drive progress in your life on a day to day basis.  This is where the rubber meets the road!  For example one thing that I follow religiously is my morning routine.  I find that as the day progresses it is harder to control what happens as there are more interruptions and also tiredness sets in.

Last quarter 2018

We are now in mid-September and 2018 is heading into the final stretch.   NOW is a great time to set yourself three goals maximum for the last quarter of the year  (October, November, December).  There are three months to make this your best year yet.  What three goals do you want to achieve before the end of the year?  Another question to reflect on now is how can you improve your process (daily habits and routines) which will drive progress towards your three end of year goals?

If you want to expand your knowledge and get great ideas on how to improve your process then check out my course “Experiments in Personal Change” which is packed full of ideas on how to improve your process.  The course also goes into more detail on the pros and cons of goal setting.  Please check out the free course preview.

Best wishes,

Tom