3 Tips to Achieve your Goals

I have fully enjoyed my summer so far, because it has been fun and productive. I began the summer by reflecting upon things I really enjoyed in prior years, and then set out to create this summer. Click here to read a prior blog on that topic. I believe I achieved my desired result of having a fun and productive summer this year, because I focused on these three things:

1. Intentions
2. Boundaries
3. Space

In all three steps, action is involved in order to bring about the desired result.

Set an Intention

This summer I was determined to work hard during the week and fully enjoy myself on the weekends, without the usual work I normally did on weekends on marketing or follow up activities. This allowed me to feel refreshed and energized during the following work week and actually enjoy summer, rather than watching it go by. Having great weather helped too, as I enjoyed weekends with friends by the pool, at the hydroplane races and a couple Tiger Games in Detroit, going for walks, playing tennis outdoors, enjoying a weekend in Traverse City, etc.

I also set a health and fitness goal and an income goal, and am happy to see myself achieving those goals along with my fun and productivity goals.

Define/redefine boundaries

When we set a new goal, we obviously have to act differently or we’ll get the same result we’ve always gotten. They define the act of doing the same thing but expecting different results as “insanity”.

Therefore I had to learn to say no to some things that didn’t support my health and fitness goals and income goals, while saying yes to other things that did support them. No one wants to feel deprived, and when we stop doing something we used to enjoy, it’s easy to backslide unless you replace it with something new you can enjoy that does support your goal.

Create space

Eliminate things that do not add value to your life. This can include saying no to invitations that simply fill your time, but don’t inspire you. In the book Anything You Want, Derek Sivers encourages us to say “No” to anything that doesn’t stir up the excited response of “Hell Yeah!”

Creating space can also mean discarding things we no longer use. I actually threw away a shirt from 1991 last month. Why I kept it that long, I’ll never know. I put it on one morning, actually thinking I would wear it that day, when reality struck.  The only thing this shirt had going for it was that it was soft. Old things repeatedly washed can get that way. It was a faded white shirt with wide blue stripes, and it just made me look fat and like I was wearing a prison uniform (back in the day  when prisoners wore stripes). I also threw out completed “to-do” lists, and post it notes containing reminders which were no longer needed. Clutter can really distract us and zap our productivity and energy.

Allowing “margin” in your life is another way to create space. Allow some time between meetings to think, and process what you just discussed, and/or to prepare for the next meeting. Block out time weekly to spend an afternoon or morning just thinking and reflecting. When I do this, I often get inspired to write my blog. It works much better when I allow time for creativity to flow naturally, rather than having a deadline to write a blog.  No one wants to read something I wrote, just because I had to.  Not even me!

I hope you are also having an awesome summer and taking time to have fun, while also being productive. Tell me what’s working for you, or what challenges you are facing this summer. I look forward to hearing about your goals and your journey in achieving them.