Level-up in 2021
Welcome to a new year! I wanted to put together a post that helps you set goals, be more productive and thrive in this uncertain world we find ourselves in.
Let's begin.
First - have you set your goals?
It is not too late. Successful people are goal oriented. If you don't set a destination how do you know if you are headed in the right direction? It sounds cliche but it is absolutely true.
I get quite obsessed with it around December each year myself when I finally have some down time, I watch all the latest videos and revisit the tried-and-true methods of legends like Brian Tracy, all with the aim to have a prosperous year, so let me give you the short cuts because I did pick up a few nuggets.
Set Goals
Pick 5 goals. I would say start here. Write a list of everything you want to achieve and narrow it down to 5 goals you truly care about! I say 5 only because I think if you have too many it gets overwhelming and you lose faith.
Try to balance the personal and professional.
Break your goals into milestones.
Clickup is an incredible piece of software and my go to for just about everything at the moment - the good news, it has goals built-in. It will also ensure you format each of your goals correctly and there is a rhythm to them, they must all have dates set to them and metrics to follow so you can measure your progress along the way. Essentially an OKR!:)
Ok goals are done! Read them each morning and schedule milestones into your week to stay on track.
Hack #1: Another great way to stay on track is to join an accountability group.
George Siosi and the team at Honā took it one step further by having all group members throw cash in the middle with his app. If you do not honour your commitments you are out and the money stays in the pot for the remaining members of the accountability group.
Hack #2: Try a goal video!
All the masters of goal setting were from the past. We are no longer stuck to paper and pen or apps which are essentially replicate the same thing. You can create a video! Think -> vision board but with real video clips and motivational text animations announcing your goals. How more appealing this becomes to revisit each day rather than simply re-reading them? You can even add a soundtrack that gets you motivated.
Stay Productive
I found this an incredibly helpful productivity course. It's only 23mins and all gold. This is also why I love Skillshare. I don't think I have ever got through an online course that was more than a few hours long and all of theirs are short and sharp.
Michael Karnjanaprakorn
Here are some of the key takeaways
You need a single source of truth for your productivity.
Get yourself a 'To do' app - they are never perfect, so stop trying new ones, just pick one. If you trial one while you have another active in the background it gets complicated...something that works nicely on mobile and desktop and syncs seamlessly will suffice.
Personally, I am trying to keep everything in Clickup.
His rule of 3
Michael's advice is that as you sit down for the week you pick 3 major things you want to try and accomplish for the week and 3 things you want to get done each day. Once those are done you can do whatever you like, but these must be complete first. Focusing on what is important will help you stay clear of busy work that will not help you move the needle.
Time and Colour Block
Break your week up into blocks and then colour code each block. This way you can plan everything in an incredibly simple way and make it all a habit.
I literally copied 90% of his!
As a meeting comes in, you just add them over the top of the section where they belong. If you use a scheduling tool like Calendly make sure you use 'other calendars' to create the colour blocks. Otherwise it will tell potential clients that you are booked out all the time.
Book the work in the Deep work sections, book meeting in the Available for meetings section, pre-populate your existing recurring meetings and you are off!
Not having to constantly jump from one random thing to another will help you stay focused on the important stuff, build in time for what matters, give you the ability to get into a flow and most importantly keep your sanity.
Keep Learning
Make sure you build in time to keep learning.
"Education isn't something you can finish." -- Isaac Asimov
If you find inspiring people to follow on Twitter please feel free to share who they are in the comments. I am really enjoying Professor Feynman's tweets as they relate to personal growth and learning.
• Read everyday.
— Richard Feynman (@ProfFeynman) January 4, 2021
• Spend time with nature.
• Ask questions.
• Never stop learning.
• Don't pay attention to what others think of you.
• Do what interests you the most.
• Study hard.
• Teach others what you know.
• Make mistakes and learn.
• It's Okay to not know things!
I now make it an effort to take steps towards my goals and ensuring there is time to learn something new by simply blocking out time for them. This flow helps create a routine and the routine will help you develop productive, new habits.
Best of Luck!
