Setting effective goals can significantly improve your productivity and help you achieve more. Here are some tips to help you set goals that motivate action and enhance your productivity:

Be Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve. Specific goals provide a clear direction and make it easier to measure progress.

Make Them Measurable: Set measurable criteria to track your progress. Measurable goals help you stay focused and motivated as you see yourself getting closer to the target.

Why Don’t More People Set Goals?

In my previous post, I shared some surprising statistics about goal setting.

Or, should I say non-goal setting?

As in only 3% of the population setting goals and only about 1% of people writing them down.

The question is, why this so?

According to Brian Tracy, the 5 main reasons are:

They are not serious enough about being successful - “I know I should, but…”
They fail to understand the importance of goals - “Do they REALLY make a difference? I’ve tried them before and it didn’t work.”
They just don’t know how to do it - “I would if I knew how.”
They fear being rejected by others - “If I set goals, they’ll tell me that I’ll fail.”
They fear the failure of not meeting their goals - “Can I really do it this time?”

At different times in my career, I would have admitted to at least some, if not all of these.

This Goal-setting Statistic May Blow Your Mind

Did you know that only 3% of the population set goals and only about 1% of people write them down?

Yet, success expert Brian Tracy writes that, “the ability to set goals and make plans for their accomplishment is the ‘master skill’ of success. It is the single most important skill that you can learn and perfect. Goal setting will do more to help you achieve the things you want in life than will anything else you’ve been exposed to.

The Difference Between Productivity and Busyness

Productivity is about achieving meaningful results and making the most of your time, while busyness is simply being occupied with activities, whether they are important or not. The key to personal and professional success is to prioritize productivity over busyness, focusing on tasks and activities that truly contribute to your goals and using your time efficiently and effectively.

How to Make You New Year's Resolutions Stick This Time

It’s that time of year again.

When we look at ourselves in the mirror and start berating ourselves.

“Why can’t you ever keep a resolution even for a single week?”

If you’re one of those, the good news - if you can call it that - is that you’re not alone.

How long do most people’s New Year's resolutions last?

Your behavior won't change until the way you see yourself does

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear explains why habits are so difficult to break.

It's because we tend to focus on surface-level actions.

Most people start by focusing on outcome-based goals like...

“I want to lose 20 pounds.”
“I want to write a best-selling book.”

But these are surface level changes.

To Get More Done, Plan the Night Before

From the moment we wake up each day, we’re faced with a continuous flow of choices. Many are minor and some are major. Even things that don’t seem so important, like what to take along for lunch or which task to complete first, can become bigger deals when we start to consider how aligned they are (or aren’t) with our goals and strategic priorities.

When we’re confronted with too many options, we tend to feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed or otherwise out of sorts. This is known as decision fatigue, a state of mental overload that can impede our ability to make additional decisions. When our minds are fatigued, we tend to make worse decisions and exercise less self-control.

Give, and you shall receive!

“More than the calf wants to suckle, the cow wants to nurse.” Talmud (Pesachim 112a)

Parents are natural givers.

They want to give even more than their kids want to take.

Which is why it’s so gratifying to be able to spend quality time with our kids and contribute to their happiness.

So, as much as my son was excited for me to join him at a camp water park a couple of weeks ago, I was happier to be able to bring him joy with my presence and participation.

This Talmudic principal, in my view, applies to teachers and coaches as well.

How big should your goals be?

Now that we have determined which tasks we need to be doing, the next step is to set clear, actionable goals that will help us get our tasks done. Goal setting is a critical component of any growth process, personal or professional.

There are many benefits of setting goals, including:

Clarity and focus: Goals motivate us to cut through the weeds and get focused on what’s really important
Planning: Goals help us map out the necessary steps to achieve our desired result
Accountability: Goals force us to set and meet deadlines and be accountable to others
Transparency: When shared, goals help others understand what we’re focused on
Self-esteem: Goals raise our self-confidence as we see ourselves grow and progress

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