Make 2019 your best year yet!
If you’re anything like the majority of entrepreneurs out there, you will have spent the last few weeks setting goals for the new year and planning out how you’re going to achieve them. Most of us are terrible at achieving annual goals; we tend to wildly over- or under-estimating how much we can get done in the next 365 days.
However, here is a system that really works.
By breaking your year into four 90-day chunks, you are much more likely to hit your targets and achieve those elusive goals.
Why it works
Setting 90 day goals is so effective because the shorter timeframe not only helps to keep you focused, it also helps you to pivot and reassess much more quickly.
90 days, or 3 months, is enough time to get a lot done, but short enough to be able to see the finish line. It keeps your goals both manageable and front of mind, increasing your focus dramatically. It’s easier to estimate how much you can get done in three months, so the goals you set will be much more aligned with your capacity to achieve them, meaning that you’re able to make substantial progress.
How to do it
Time needed: 90 days.
The flexibility of having four goal-setting periods in one year, rather than just one, means that you’re able to see what’s working and what isn’t. There’s much less risk of wasting an entire year on the wrong goal, or pursuing something that isn’t working purely because you’ve invested so much time and energy on it. Whilst it’s useful to have much longer-term goals as well, the 90-day system keeps those goals focused in what’s actually happening for you now, and how you can capitalise on your current situation.
- Choose a goal/milestone
What do you want to focus on for the next quarter? What’s the most immediate ‘win’ you can get for your business? It’s a good idea to analyse your current situation and see if there are any obvious next steps that you can take, and set a goal that aligns with those.
Don’t forget to make it SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them, so make sure you take this important step. I recommend that you rewrite your goals every week to keep them fresh in your mind as you work towards getting them done. - Break it down into manageable tasks
The next step is to break your goal down into actionable steps. What’s the very first thing that needs to be done? It could be something as simple as making a phone call, or sending an email, or perhaps you need to do a bit of research. Whatever your first step is, make sure you schedule it into your calendar to make sure it gets done. Continue like this, adding the steps to your schedule as you go, so you have clear path of tasks planned that lead you all the way to your goal.
If you have many similar tasks that need to be done, for example,
writing out blog posts or sales letters to support a launch, batching them together can expedite the process. Read our article on batching here.
You can then repeat the process if you want to achieve more than one goal in 90 days, although I recommend not setting more than three goals in any 90 day period.
See what you can achieve in 2019
Why not try out this system in your own business and see how much more you can achieve? Make 2019 the best year yet for your business. And if getting your business online is on your goals list for next year, book a call with us today to see how we can help you make that happen.
