We all know setting goals is the best way to give your life focus and direction. But did you know that by setting goals, it can also help you to get a lot more of your important work done?Having a clear set of goals that are built around your values focuses your mind on what is important. It helps you filter out the unnecessary and gives you an ‘outcome mindset’ rather than a ‘task mindset’.An outcome mindset is one where you are focused on the objective—the outcome— of what you are intending to achieve. A task mindset focuses on the tasks you have to do each day and this leads to completing unnecessary tasks (or spending too much time on the unimportant) and procrastination.To help you with transforming yourself from being focused on the tasks and to be focused on the outcome, here are 17 ways having clear goals will not only increase your productivity but also supercharge your ability to get the important things done:
1. Make it a goal to have no more than 10 tasks on your to-do list each day.
One of the surprising benefits of having a small number of goals for the day is how frequently you find yourself accomplishing more.When you have a random number of tasks to complete each day, the likelihood is you will not get them all done.When you set yourself a small number of tasks to complete—your “must completes” for the day—and you restrict these to a set number, you are much more likely to get them done.
2. Decide what your monthly and weekly goals are.
What do you want to accomplish this month? What do you want to accomplish this week? These questions focus you in on the things that are important to you.Most people are waiting for life to happen to them, after all, it is far easier to react to events around you than to create events around you.When you create the events in your life by having weekly and monthly goals that reflect your objectives for the year, you are going to get far more of your important work done.
3. Having goals allows you to work on what’s important to you and it keeps you focused on your priorities.
Building your daily life around your goals is going to keep you on the path you want to follow.Without any goals directing you towards where you want to go, you will find yourself drifting off your desired path and aimlessly wandering through life wondering how you got to where you are. More often than not where you end up will not be where you want to be.
4. By having a set of goals, you find it much easier to eliminate the unimportant tasks that come up each day.
Every day throws up a lot of unexpected issues. These issues often come from our bosses, clients/customers and friends and family. It does not matter how well planned your day is, these things are going to happen.When you have a set number of goals to achieve each day, these issues will not hijack your day and destroy it. You will find you can handle the unexpected while continuing to get on with your important work for the day.
5. Having goals gives you focus.
When you set goals, it means you have made a decision about what it is you want to achieve and what is important to you. This allows you to become a much more focused person because you are mindful of what you want.Focus, in today’s world, is a skill in short supply and by developing your focus you are going to put yourself way ahead of everyone else.
6. Begin the day with a goal.
One of the best ways to accomplish more of your important tasks each day is to begin the day with a clear goal.It could be to complete a specific project or to simply get outside and walk for thirty minutes in nature.When you start the day with a specific goal to do something, you are much more likely to get it done.
7. Start small.
If you have never had an outcome-orientated mindset, then begin will small steps.A simple goal to have each day, and a very healthy one, is to go for a thirty-minute walk.Another simple goal to set for the day is to choose one piece of work that you will complete that day, then focus all your attention on getting that work completed before you finish for the day.These pieces of completed work add up over time and you find you are getting far more done than you ever did before.
8. Ask yourself: What one thing you could do today that would have the biggest positive impact on your day?
This is a great way to accomplish even the hardest of goals.Asking yourself this question really helps you discover what projects and work are important. This question is not focused on completing the goal. This question is all about making progress on the goal.Once you have completed that task, you will find the next step happens naturally. Before you know it, you have made a huge impact on your goal.
9. Small steps consistently taken leads to great distances being covered.
One of the biggest reasons why most people never achieve their goals is their goals seem impossible because of the time and effort required to achieve them.The best way to make even the most difficult goals achievable is to break them down into small manageable steps. Even the smallest of steps moves you forward towards achieving the goal.Just two or three little steps completed every day will, over time, take you towards where you want to be.Want to write a book? Writing 500 words per day will give you a 60,000-word manuscript in around ten months.
10. Plan what you are going to achieve the day before with the 2+8 Prioritisation system.
This one always works. Before you finish your day’s work, take ten minutes or so and decide what two things you will achieve the next day. This is what I call my “two objectives”.Once you have decided on your objectives, write down eight other tasks you want to complete the next day. These tasks I call my “focus tasks”.You then make sure that whatever gets thrown at you the next day, you will complete these ten tasks.Over a period of one month, you will have achieved around 300 meaningful tasks all related to your goals and important work.((Carl Pullein:
PRODUCTIVITY MASTERY | The 2+8 Prioritisation System))
11. Know what your majors and minors are.
This one is the secret of all highly successful people. They know what work has the most impact on their life and business and what work does not.For example, checking email, while necessary, is not a major task. It does not move you forward in any meaningful way. Talking to your most important customer and reinforcing your strong relationship with them, that’s a major.One of the best examples I’ve heard comes from Brian Tracy. In his example, Brian says a salesperson doing work in the office is doing minor work. A salesperson talking with a customer is doing major work.Focus all your time and energies on your major work and reduce the time you spend on your minor work.
12. Having goals adds positive pressure to get more done.
When you have goals, you feel obligated to do something about them. When you do not have a goal, you are much more likely to procrastinate and spend unproductive time thinking about what to do next.Goals give you clarity, goals give you purpose and when you have both clarity and purpose, you find you no longer procrastinate and you utilise your time much more effectively.
13. Having specific, clear goals incentivises you to move forward.
How you write the action steps related to your goals is important. If you have a goal that says “make an online course,” you will not achieve very much.Writing your action steps out such as “make progress on the online course outline” or “make five slides for online course” is specific and is going to lead to action and achievement.
14. Making progress on your goals leads to more progress.
When you see you are making progress on your goals every day, you will find you begin getting much more done.
Momentum is created once you start and when momentum begins you find positive habits develop. Put momentum and motive together and you have the ingredients for massive progress towards your goals and your work.
15. Goals give you accountability.
Something amazing happens to our brains when we set ourselves goals. Having goals we are very clear about and determined to achieve gives our brains the necessary incentive to focus on getting the goal achieved.We have accountability to ourselves. That accountability gives us all the incentive we need to get the work done every day.
16. Invoke the power of Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s Law states “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.When you have set goals to achieve each day and you begin the day with a review of what you want to get completed, Parkinson’s Law will take over.This means no matter what else gets thrown at you throughout the day, if you have set yourself a time you will finish your work for the day, you will find you will finish what you have planned for the day at that time. This one works brilliantly.
17. You become a highly focused, goal achieving individual.
Having goals you are focused on each day develops a ‘can do’ mindset. When you have a strong ‘can do’ mindset and the discipline to focus on what you want to get accomplished each day, you find work you previously thought would take weeks and months to complete soon start being completed within hours or days.A great mindset and a strong work ethic, coupled with daily goals will make some very positive changes in your life.These 17 tips are just the start. When you begin focusing your daily activities on your goals instead of on your tasks, you will see an incredible transformation take place in your life.Your energy increases, you feel happier more often and you start to feel you are making progress on the things that are important to you which just leads to accomplishing more and more.
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