Did You Do Your Homework?

There is always something popping up. That could be a motto for some of us, an email or phone call that needs to be answered or an issue that needs to be dealt with. On the other side a birthday that calls for celebration or a new show that you've been wanting to check out. So with all these things constantly popping up how do you stick to the goals you’ve set.

 

I’ve always said that I was the kind of student that would only study when I knew there was a test coming or would do my homework only if I knew it would be collected. Now as an adult I have to learn techniques to maintain my productivity without a teacher checking over my shoulder.

 

www.freedigitalphotos.net by renjith krishnan

I have noticed that the best way for me to stay focused is to create that homework system for my goals. I love checking in with people around my goals, especially with someone who is also working on goals of their own. For me it’s like having someone check my homework and it also ignites my competitive nature. If the person I’m checking in with is accomplishing their goals and I’m not, I stop procrastinating and get to work.

Having an accountability partner allows someone else to hold on to your goals with you. For me it lessens the weight, yes I’m the one that has to get things done but now I have another person behind me who believes in me and believes in my goals. The concept of having an accountability partner is not new. Most times that is what having a coach can provide. Someone to make sure that you're sticking to your deadlines and hold your feet to the fire. A successful partnership can be the difference between getting things done now and putting things off till the last minute.

Setting Goals That Work for You

I have been working in the field of Career Development for the past 7 years and the number one question that I find so hard for my clients to answer is “What kind of position are you looking for?” When still working within non-profits and social service agencies I’d often get the answer “I’ll do anything”. Which most times turned out not to be the case. Now that I work at a college I get a more generic answer, "anything within a corporate fashion office" or "marketing", "anything in fashion except retail". It’s very had to create a strategic plan for accomplishing these goals when the goal itself is still fuzzy.

                                      Image:freedigitalphotos.net ("Business Success" by renjith krishnan)

Setting clear goals with dates is one of the keys to being productive. Even before we are clear on what we need to do in order to make our dream a reality we need to define the dream. I think some of the most productive times in my life have been when I had to set clear 3 month goals in every area of my life, including, relationships, career, finance, community and personal development. I know that even if I could consistently set goals in 2 or 3 of those areas I would be on my way to manifesting big dreams within my life.

I personally have overall goals and then I break each of these goals down into mini projects with dates. This too has been exceptionally helpful when I had deadlines to make and events to plan. I think when looking at our own careers and where we want to go it’s important to define our overall career goal and then break it down into the categories we will need to succeed. Making sure the take a look at things like cultivating our network, personal branding, marketing materials, and performing research. All these things can sound like daunting tasks but simply setting a few goals with dates in each area can totally improve your productivity.