|
Back in November I decided to hang up my triathlon shoes to focus on building my skills in other areas. I've found that I tend to find enjoyment out of learning and seeing progress. Once that the learning and progress plateaus I don't seem to get as much enjoyment out of that activity anymore. That time has come with triathlon and I have decided that it's time to re-evaluate my goals and try to build some skills in areas that bring me more enjoyment. I've been testing the waters in a bunch of different areas trying to find some activities that really peak my interest. I've also gone back to the drawing board with my goals and in the process have revised my goal setting structure slightly to dig a little deeper. Here's an overview of my new and improved goal setting process:
Overview:
1. Bad Ass To Do List
2. My Values
3. What I Enjoy
4. What I Do Now
5. My Contacts
6. Five Year Goals
7. Where I Am Right Now
8. One Year Goals
9. Where I Am Right Now
10. Brain Storming Questions
11. Weekly Task List
12. Daily Task List
13. Take Action
BAD ASS TO DO LIST:
Think of all of the things you want to see, do, master (learn), etc by the time you are 75 years old. Try to think without barriers such as money, vacation time, children, etc. Think of as many as you can. Then break them up into 5 year segments because there are some things that need to be done before your body gets warn down like "Climb Denali or Sub 9 hr Ironman or Advanced Level Racquetball Player or Ski in Switzerland" and there are other things that you can do at much older ages like "Visit Japan, Octoberfest in Germany, Give a Big Check to Someone in Need, Become a Good Cook, Mentor, Speak Conversational Spanish". Put them in 5 year segments such as 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74. Other people might call this their "bucket list" but that's a little too grim for me.
MY VALUES:
Write down your values. You don't have to keep the list to typical values like honesty, integrity, etc. I add things of value to me as well such as specific people, places, things, and mindset. This list will be the cornerstone for developing your 5 year set of goals because everything should be in line with your values.
WHAT I ENJOY:
Write down the things you enjoy doing most. These could be things that you currently do often...........or maybe you don't do them at all. The key is that you have a great time doing them. Your goals should also be very closely tied to things you actually enjoy doing.
WHAT I DO NOW:
Write down what you actually spend most of your time doing right now. This will help to see what kind of gap there is between what you enjoy doing and what you actually do with your time. Include all aspects of your life. I break things down into 4-5 segments of my life: Relationships, Profession, Health & Fitness, Finances & Real Estate, Self Improvements & Hobbies. This is a list that I thought best breaks down my life into segments and might be slightly different for you so go ahead and change them if you'd like.
MY CONTACTS:
Write down a list of all of the people that you have come into contact with over the years and try to figure out if they are a positve or negative influence in your life. This exercise helps to point you in the direction of spending time with people that give you positive energy, make you smile and laugh, and genuinely appreciate your company.
FIVE YEAR GOALS:
Remove any self limitations and think about what your perfect life would be like five years from now if you had the absolute power to become anything that you wanted to be. To make this thought process easier I typically break this down into five different sections: Relationships, Profession, Health & Fitness, Finances & Real Estate, and Self Improvements & Hobbies. These could obviously be different for you but they are the five main topics in my life at this time. For each of these sections I think about who I’m surrounding myself with, what I’m doing, where I am, what skills I’ll need to get there, and I start writing down 3-5 goals for each section. It's important to think without barriers so you don't limit your thought process. Once you have your ideal life in mind you can then start to think about how to get there.
WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW:
Take a look at each of these goals and figure out where you are right now compared to where you will be when you reach that goal. This gives a good idea of how much work and time will need to be put into each goal. It’s also gets the thought process going on how you can get from where you are now to where you want to be.
ONE YEAR GOALS:
Take a look back at your five year goals and try to set goals that are in line with the five year goals and are specific, achievable, and have target dates set. The one year goals should also be a stepping stone to achieving the five year goals. I’ll also break my one year goals out into the same five categories as the five year goals: Relationships, Profession, Health & Fitness, Finances & Real Estate, and Self Improvements & Hobbies. Try to come up with anywhere from 3-10 goals within each category.
WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW:
Take a look at each of these goals and figure out where you are right now compared to where you will be when you reach that goal. This gives a good idea of how much work and time will need to be put into each goal. It’s also gets the thought process going on how you can get from where you are now to where you want to be.
BRAIN STORMING QUESTIONS:
Turn each goal into a question and come up with as many answers to that question as possible. This brainstorming session helps to think of all of the possible things you can do to achieve that goal. An easy way to turn a goal into a question is to place "How Can I" in front of the goal.
WEEKLY TASK LIST:
At the beginning of each week take out your One Year Goals and Brain Storming Notes and create a task list for each day of the week broken down by day (Mon, Tue, Wed, etc). These tasks are the baby steps necessary for eventually completing your One Year Goals.
DAILY TASK LIST:
At the beginning of each day take a look at your weekly task list and prioritize the list for the current day. Try to knock out the most difficult task first.
TAKE ACTION:
Complete the items on your Daily Task List and scratch them off of the list. Each task that gets scratched off of your list is one step towards reaching your goals.
I try to go through this whole process once a year at a minimum or whenever something completely changes the direction I need to take in life. The weekly task list should be done every week and the daily task list should be done every day. This process has helped me to stay focused on doing the things most important to me and hopefully it will do the same for you.
|