How to finish this year strong?

2009 is approaching. What about my list of goals in 2008? Did I achieve them? Am I satisfied with the results? Will 2009 be different? Should I switch my strategies & tactics?

Those were my personal questions for the past weeks. And they’re good questions to ask. Because there are only 3 months left to say “goodbye 2008”. So, I congratulated myself for my accomplishments in the past months, defined my top 7 goals, and decided to do whatever it takes to achieve them before the end of this year.

Here was my process…

Step #1: list your top 7 goals to achieve in the next 3 months
Step #2: keep them in your sight
Step #3: list up to 30 short action steps for each goal (with deadlines).

Step #4: spread those action steps through out 12 weeks
Step #5: print your weekly calendar
Step #6: take up to 5 serious action steps each day.
Step #7: record your progress in your journal.

And here I’m running to reach the finish line. Everything is ready. All I have to do is to focus all my attention and energy on my targets and keep getting closer every single day.

Am I going to reach those goals? Maybe yes… maybe no. (Of course I will reach them, but I want to foresee obstacles, so I can handle them ).

What can stop me from achieving my top 7 goals?

• Distractions. Sometimes, family, friends and other social responsibilities become the nightmare. My attention should go mainly to my top targets. These distractions can be just mentally, or completely destroys my schedule and take lots of time. Not mentioning that mental distractions kill productivity.

• Overload. Information, work and stress. So, I decided to control this. I have reduced my online activities to a maximum of 4 hours per day. That includes business-related to-do’s such as creating posts to update my blog, find useful resources to pass to my list, writing newsletters, testing/installing ads on the blog, purchase ad listing on other websites, trading links, reply to email and so forth. I take 3 days off per week. Well, not completely off, I do some research & planning on Friday. I have now only few books to read in my agenda. I gave up TV and newspapers long time ago… and will keep on that. Online blogs-forums have nothing to do now on my schedule, I found them time-consumers. I subscribed to a list of about 10 blogs that I scan weekly, nothing more.

• Energy drainers. I’m sensitive guy (I don’t know if that’s good or bad. But think it’s bad… and I have to get rid of it!). In relationships, not everything goes smooth & soft. Sometimes, you have to be tough with specific kind of people and in other type of situations just to get something done or so. When that happens, I become that “tough” guy, but I actually hate it. So, as a result, I feel bad for a few hours, or sometime, a few days. And when I feel bad, my energy goes down, and that’s not good for productivity. Another kind of energy drainers is the physical aspect. Food, sleep, work… etc. In the past I used to be so lazy to follow any health-related program. But now, with all of my to-do’s, and the bad feeling of heavy body, accumulated fatigue and the like, I had to change my mind. I have come to a result that says: balance is essential for successful & happy life. Work doesn’t finish and life must be lived now regardless of where you should be after X years. So, I had to put a 30 minutes fitness program in my schedule, and another 30 minutes for research and developing healthy habits, such as, deep breathing, drinking lots of water, sleeping early, becoming early-raiser, balanced diet program… etc.

Final words,

I’m really excited to finish this year strong. I’m doing really good progress. There are a few “bugs” in my way, very soon I’ll handle them all. Nothing can stop a strong-burning desire. Nothing. I have money challenges, family responsibilities, social responsibilities and plenty of stress. But I’m STRONG. I achieve what I decide to achieve—everytime!

I want to close this with extra tips on step 2, 3 and 6. (I have written them to myself in my journal, and I’m sharing them with you )

• Read them loudly everyday (your goals). Before you sleep, and the first thing in the morning. Can you print them and stick them to the wall? In front of your eyes when you wake up? On the door before you leave? In the mirror when you check your pretty face everyday?

• Use affirmation & visualization. Feel it. I have separated posts to expand on this subject. Read them and try to apply the tips to see results. (See this post too).

Side note: all of those tactics won’t help you if you failed at step #1. Create a list of goals that you DO want to achieve (burning desire).

• Start with the end in mind. Act as if you ALREADY achieved your goals. Ask your self, how would I act if I achieved ………? List all and everything come to your mind. And then, start doing what you can do.

• Practice gratitude. Pray and ask for help. (Regardless of your religion). This one is going to help you very much. Never miss this one. Never let the “logic” prevents you from this. The Mankind has never obtained a perfect-knowledge. And the daily science discoveries prove that. Just do it.

• Live the current moment. Do what you enjoy everyday. Non-stop. If you got bored, develop new list that brings joy to your heart. That can be sports, hanging with your funny friends, with your sweetheart, watching movies, reading magazines, books, riding a bike, doing something stupid I mean whatever. You can be happy now. Don’t fill your mind with problems. Money doesn’t solve everything. Lots of people struggle to build wealth, and then, they feel empty and start to fight depression. Lots of things can be done now. Live now and here.

• When you compile your action steps lists for each goal, be sure that you break each step to its simplest form. Make your list easy-to-do. This will make your progress noticeable, funny, easy, and you will stay motivated.

• Don’t fall under pressure. Try to work for less than 2-5 hours/d if you're self-employed. If you work from 9-5 then, make 5 hours a week or so for personal goals. Believe me; small steps will get you there, not the big one-time actions.

Before you know it you’ll be there. Happy planning, happy success, and happy new year!

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