Tired of Making New Year’s Resolutions Without Results?

At the beginning of a new year, most people have some intentions of making it a better business year than the previous. They plan to start the New Year doing things differently but soon fall into the same behaviors that produced the results of previous years. Sound familiar? Apply the following five steps and watch your resolutions turn into results!

1. Know your Destination. Visualize your business ten years from now, and take a few minutes to answer these questions. What does your business look like? How will you be spending your time? What clients are you working with? What are you enjoying most about your business? Don’t overthink it – just get something down on paper. You will continue to drive aimlessly if you don’t know your destination.
2. Chunk it Down. Once you write down a ten-year vision of your business, chunk it down by writing a vision of your business in five years. For example, in ten years you may see your clients being served by others who work for you. Instead of spending 100% of your time servicing clients, you may now see yourself spending 50% of your time servicing clients, 30% of your time managing, and 20% of your time consulting or skiing in the mountains. Once you have your long-term vision, start to chunk it down to what you want your business looks like in five years, three years and ultimately, this new year.
3. Get S.M.A.R.T.  Many professionals never write down their business goals. This often stems from not knowing their destination or fear of failure that they will never achieve their goals — or fear that they actually will. Be courageous and write down S.M.A.R.T. goals for your business (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and with a Timeline).
   Ask yourself the following questions:
   • Specifically, how much do I want to grow?
   • How can I measure achievement?
   • Can I take action towards it?
   • Is it a stretch but realistic for me to achieve?
   • What is my timeframe?

   Do this with each of your goals. Next, chuck it down to the top three outcomes for the next 90 days and then get S.M.A.R.T. about them too.

4. Plan with Purpose. Now that you have a clear vision, your top S.M.A.R.T. goals and 90-day outcomes, it’s time to purposefully plan your week. Select a time once a week that you can consistently dedicate to planning.Friday afternoons or Sunday nights work for many people. Spending 30 minutes doing consistent, dedicated planning will not only save you hours during the week, but give you fulfillment when you achieve the outcomes that are most important in keeping you on track with your 90-day outcomes.
   Use the following questions to plan with purpose:
   • Why is achieving this outcome important to me?
   • Why is achieving this outcome important to me?
   • What will it do for me?
   • How will it make me feel?
   • Who else will benefit from me achieving this outcome?
   • What actions do I take to achieve this outcome this week?

   Once you know your actions for the week, it’s time to Prioritize & Calenderize. Pick your top three actions that will have the biggest impact on achieving your outcome. Then schedule the action to the day and time you will allocate to complete it. 20% of our actions give us 80% of our results. The key is to schedule these 20% in your calendar so they are not just on a “to-do” list. Planning with purpose is one of the most important things you can do to turn your resolutions into results.

5. Measure Results. We get results where we focus and measure. At the end of your week look at what you have accomplished and measure the progress towards your 90-day outcomes. Build your momentum by celebrating your successes. What did you do right this week that you can build on next week? Use this momentum to start your planning for next week. Continue the process to plan with purpose, prioritize and calenderize, and measure results until you achieve your 90-day outcomes. If you find yourself not following through, then get a coach or an accountability partner to improve your effectiveness.

Start the New Year by following these five steps to turn your resolutions into results!