Over the course of my life I’ve found that the best way to reach your goals is simply to keep them top-of-mind and actually remember that you’re moving toward them. Have you ever had a moment where you suddenly realize that you’ve completely forgotten about a goal you were determined to meet, weeks going by before you finally remembered? Story of my life.
So I’ve been writing down or reviewing my goals every day, so I don’t forget. I set goals for the week and reference a sheet of paper that outlines these goals for the week. I got the idea from Penelope Trunk, who says that she writes down her goals every morning and references this post as the reason for doing so.
I find that it helps immensely. Even if I don’t meet the goal I set, I always make far more progress on the goals I’ve written down and consistently referenced. I like to think that part of the reason for this is that your mind has a hard time helping you stay on track when a plethora of other ideas, thoughts and immediate action items are clogging your mental arteries. I’ve been using this planning sheet from searching4arcadia, which is a mixture of principles taken from Getting Things Done, The Now Habit and 7 Habits, blended together using the structure of the Printable CEO format. It’s been a great all-in-one sheet for referencing goals and my commitments for the week.
Here's the page in action, with my veritable accomplice the Sharpie pen.
a11en
April 7, 2010 at 11:34 pm (15 years ago)Awesome!!! So so glad it's working for you! 🙂 I need to work up a sheet for this coming week and the rest of this week also. When I use the sheet, I always am more productive… it's so easy to back-slide, however! So, I need to get back on my horse! Thanks a ton for the link! So glad it's working for ya! 🙂 [It's such a pain to find a method that works, so to see any success is just wonderful!]
Sent a quick tweet to ya. Then I realized I can log in with my wordpress account and add a comment. Please do let me know if you have any questions, but I think if it's working for you, there need be no worries about questions or altering anything! [I can change things on the form for you if you like, and the pdf should be editable in adobe illustrator I believe.]
Big cheers!
-Allen
Marie
April 7, 2010 at 4:53 pm (15 years ago)Thanks, Allen! My favorite part about the system is filling in the little circles when I’ve completed a 15-minute block of time. I feel so accomplished and proud whenever I fill one in! It’s silly but it really works as a motivator. 😉
suki
April 8, 2010 at 7:36 pm (15 years ago)Definitely using this sheet! 🙂 Great find. I bought a planner a while back and never ended up using it. The sheets are easier to carry around and work with!
Marie
April 8, 2010 at 12:49 pm (15 years ago)Awesome, you’ll have to let me know how you like using it! I’ve almost been using it for a week and it’s been a great tool. Eventually I want to get a Levenger notebook to put that and other papers in so I’m not carrying a single sheet of paper around in my bag (gets crumpled and worn pretty quick).