I was sitting across from my coaching client today for the first time in 2017. She looked happy, relaxed, and centered post-holidays.
She burst into our meeting ready to discuss her New Year’s resolutions. While I was excited to see her and reflect on 2016, I pretty much knew her plan for 2017. You see, we meet weekly and regularly discuss her priorities and areas for focus. Every month, we review the priorities and strategically plan her course of action for each week. We revisit these priorities monthly. So the game plan for 2017 wasn’t full of any huge surprises.
My problem with New Year’s resolutions is that they expect a person to make a dramatic change in their life overnight. There’s usually no course of action or one that’s so difficult to accomplish that people give up by February. There is a tendency to make drastic and big resolutions that are often not realistic, that is why a lot of people fail on their resolutions.
New Year’s resolutions would be easier to accomplish if they were broken down into yearly goals, followed by monthly priorities, and then weekly actions.
So instead of resolutions, I propose that we reflect on the past year. We’ll look at our accomplishments, successes, and wins. We’ll reflect on our failures without beating ourselves up or lamenting our losses. And THEN, we will say,”This year, I will continue working on the things I love with some extra additions.” Small additions or eliminations but not drastic changes. Because it’s way easier to make a change week-by-week instead of doing a huge overhaul every January.
It’s less exciting, but it works. Here’s what I recommend:
Step 1. Know Your Priorities
Step 2. Choose 3 of Them (You’ll need all of your willpower for just these 3)
Step 3. Set goals and Intentions for those 3 Priorities
Read more here for a step-by-step guide on how to do this.
Knowing your priorities on monthly basis is big step. Taking specific and consistent action towards them is hard work. It isn’t sexy or fun. It can be boring and tedious but it’s small, consistent action that leads to change.
From working with my clients, I know it is one of the BEST ways to get things done and reach your goals. If you are ready to be focused and action-oriented in 2017, sign up for 1-on-1 coaching with me or attend my productivity workshops.
