A friend of mine asked me what my goals were for 2017. My answer was sad: "Honestly, my goals are the exact same as they were this time last year." 🙄
The minute I said it, I felt sick in the pit of my stomach.
I achieved A LOT in 2016, but my highest priorities and most ambitious goals in business - well, I didn't even come close last year. Why? A lot of reasons, but in hindsight... the biggest reason was my lack of strategic planning.
There were lots of things going on in my life too. That's normal, "life happens" (sometimes more than others, lol). But that's no excuse. I've been in business now for almost 20 full years. I know how to navigate the distractions.
What happened then? It just hit me last night. And I'll bet you can relate...
I set BIG ambitious goals last year. The projects as a whole were overwhelming. The pieces (tasks) for each project were easy enough, but there were so many of them. Multiple projects all with a million little micro-tasks. And I did NOT break them down into micro task checklists, which is what I should have done - immediately.
Then there was the fact that the goals and projects were entirely too ambitious, for an already full schedule. I found myself staying busy... with busy work.
That's easy enough to do, whether it's a form of procrastination (often due to pure overwhelm), or whether you really do have too much on your plate and need to start outsourcing (more) - which is yet another overwhelming task in most cases:
What to let go of, who to hire, how to manage or oversee it, should I hire a Project Manager, sifting through quotes, yada yada yada - hell, I could have had it done myself already!
Fact: It's hard to outsource an unorganized set of projects with scattered tasks and undefined goals. So the first order of business: get the tasks & projects organized. *overwhelm* 😛
So what are you going to do? Avoid, procrastinate, stay busy with "busy work", "plan" to get to it, "plan to plan", intend to get organized, etc. Right?
Truth: that never works.
You've probably already figured that out by now. 😉
I know better, yet for the first time in two full decades... I went backwards last year instead of moving forward. I will NOT yet another year go by like that. Period.
Good intentions don't pay the bills.
It's hard to regroup from a point of frustration, but once you get to the point of being overwhelmed and frustrated - well, something HAS to change.
Are Your 2017 Goals Realistic - or Even Achievable?
Given my experience last year, and knowing I did NOT want to repeat that this year, I decided to do the smart thing: get some help from an outside source.
I started by downloading a set of templates, worksheets & checklists so I could map out achievable goals with a strategic plan for achieving those goals.
I opened the "quick start guide" that came with the package, and that alone had lightbulbs going off in my head left and right. Specifically the distinctions between underachievers and overachievers, or "safe goals" vs "pipe dream goals" - and what that means about your mindset, and ultimately: your productivity.
There are lots of things at play when it comes to goal achievement: overwhelm, fear of failure, organization (or lack of), BIG ideas with no actionable plan to carry them out - just to name a few. There are SO many places you can get "stuck" when it comes to your goals.
2017 Income & Goal Setting Templates
The package I downloaded is this Done For You Goal Setting Templates. I liked it so much that I scored us a discount on it.:) Just use coupon code: LYNNSDEAL for 40% off the package. It's already cheap, so that makes it super cheap for you. 😉
It's a very organized fill-in-the-blanks template package to help you set and achieve your business goals this year. It includes:
- Insider's Goal-Setting Strategy Guide
- Goal-Focused To-Do List (don't just stay busy, stay on track)
- Goal Setting Worksheet
- 50 Ideas to Build Your Audience (so you can reach those business & income goals!)
- Audience Tracking Spreadsheet (easily keep track of your progress)
- 50 Income Increasing Ideas
- Bookkeeping Spreadsheet (If you don't know your numbers...you can't reach your goals)
- 50 Product Promotion Ideas (don't just make new products when you want more money...get creative!)
- Product Launch and Promotion Tracking Spreadsheet
- Daily Goal-Focused Planner
- Weekly Goal-Focused Planner
- Monthly Goal-Focused Planner
Use coupon code: LYNNSDEAL for an ADDITIONAL 40% off today
I hope this proves as helpful to you as it is me...
We're already in the second week of 2017. If you didn't kick the new year off as strong as you'd hoped, or you need some help getting out of the thick of overwhelm... grab this package, and join me in creating a strategic plan to carry out your goals!
Tip: Do what I did - stop doing what's NOT working, right now, download the package, open it up, and dig straight in. It's time for change.
Best,
p.s. If you have a service based business and work with clients, or if you teach business growth or goal setting to your market, you can also get private label or reseller rights to this package. The coupon code will work on all the options. 😉
Click here to get your Goal-Setting package
Use coupon code: LYNNSDEAL for an ADDITIONAL 40% off today
About Lynn Terry
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