I’ve tried a number of goal-setting programs and approaches over the years.
Some have been complex and required lots of coordination. Others were overly simplistic or lacked accountability elements that helped me stay on track.
But over the last few months I’ve been experimenting with a homegrown approach that so far has yielded far better results than anything else I’ve tried.
I call it the “Rule of 3” goal-setting program. Here’s how it works…
First, you need to identify the key goal-setting areas of your life. In my case, those areas are, in no particular order:
o Health
o Family
o Business
o Spiritual
o Mind
o Personal
o Fun
From there, you then decide on only ONE goal for this year in each of these areas.
Why just one? While it may feel great to have 4 or 5 goals this year in each category, I’ve found that the more you have, the lower the chance of achieving ANY of them.
In the example above, even if I set only 3 goals in each area, I would end up with 21 goals to work toward this year.
Here’s the problem. Before you know it, life gets in the way. You get busy. The list begins to feel overwhelming. You’re not sure where to start. So you fail to act on any of the goals. Or you put in a half-hearted effort toward a few. It’s happened to me over and over again.
So this year, I’m down to 7 goals only. One for each of these key areas. Fewer goals means more focus. Which means I have a higher chance of accomplishing them all.
The Rule of 3
Next step, go through each goal and identify 3 things you’ll have to do this year to reach it.
Why 3? Because 1 or 2 is not enough. In most cases, it won’t give you the diversity you need (in terms of strategies and activities) to get significant results. And here again, having more than 3 can start becoming overwhelming and difficult to track.
There’s another reason. I’ve found that in life and in business, you can achieve great success by taking massive action on just a handful of activities or strategies. Seldom does real success in any aspect of your life require impeccable performance with more than 3 or 4 strategies.
Force Yourself to Choose
Now, when it comes to narrowing down your options, think long and hard about each one. Don’t guess. Ask yourself: If I could only work on 3 things to accomplish that goal this year, what would they be? Force yourself to choose!
For example, one of my goals this year is to lose 10% of body fat. I’ve struggled with my weight for a few years. And this year, I’m determined to get back on track. So I asked myself: What 3 things do I need to focus on in order to reach that goal?
There are dozens of things I could focus on. But I decided to work on the following:
1) Exercise: Start a smart and highly effective cardio program
2) Weight Training: Start an intensive weight training program
3) Diet: Cut back on refined carbs and eat better-quality lean protein
I won’t get into the details of why I chose each of these. But the point is that forcing myself to narrow down my strategies to only 3 is helping me stay focused. And the improved focus is making it easier to stay disciplined.
Will I do other things? Sure. But I’ve decided that these are the 3 things I’ll concentrate on the most.
If one of your goals is to increase your annual freelance income from $50,000 to $75,000, maybe you decide to narrow your options to:
1) Implement a recurring direct mail strategy
2) Become actively involved in planning committees of 2 local organizations that are rich with potential prospects
3) Implement a steady lead nurturing effort to stay in touch with long-term prospects
Here again, this doesn’t mean you limit your efforts to only these 3 things. It only means that these are the strategies you’ll work on first. They’ll be the things to which you give the most energy.
To ensure you keep these strategies front and center, continually refer back to them often. Use them to create your monthly goals, weekly objectives and daily activities. Use them as your compass when making daily decisions. And if you find that one or more of them are not working as well as you hoped, make adjustments as needed. Or replace them with other strategies.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this approach.
Do you agree that limiting the number of goals and strategies increases your chances of success? Or does this feel to rigid?
Have you tried a similar approach with better success?
————–
Ed Gandia is the co-founder of TheWealthyFreelancer.com and co-creator of The “Launch Email” Technique: The Fastest Way to Attract Good-Paying Clients as a New Freelancer.
photo courtesy: Stewart Dawson on Flickr
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Ed,
Thank you so much for posting this article. I think you give a lot of good and practical advice about freelancing. I agree with you that focusing our time and energy on just a few goals in various areas of life, does increase our chances of success. I think having specific goals that are attainable keeps us motivated and hopeful in achieving them and moving forward.
I’m a freelance musician, a piano accompanist. One of my goals is to update my web site to draw in more clientele. I recently took a telecalss with a marketing coach who has some great ideas in marketing a product or service for web-based businesses. I invite you to take a look at my web site and amke any suggestions if you’d like.
For me, it’s also improtant to maintain a balance of different areas of my life. I get together once a month with a couple of friends for dinner, and we catch up on our lives. I also make an effort to stay in touch with other friends and my family. Some of my other goals are to cultivate a more regular pattern of exercise, adopt another cat, and maintain my spiritual health. Recently, I attended a spirituality retreat at the church I belong to.
Thanks again for your thoughts about setting realistic goals in our lives.
I believe your approach is a good one, and can help keep any of us on track in the present and future. Sincerely, Beth
Hi Ed:
I must agree with Beth. Do I practise any of it?…no not really. Personally, I am just breaking into the freelance writing field and because of that I’d say 90% of any free time I have (which isn’t much with 4 cats and other responsibilities…including my sanity!) is spent trying to learn as much as I can about writing. Eventually, I hope to get to a place where having a more balanced life becomes my reality. Thanks, for the much needed reminder.
Lesley
Hi Beth. Thanks so much for your kind words! Glad to see that you’re taking a more holistic approach to goal-setting. I think that’s key. And it sounds like you have some very specific goals to help promote your solo business. That’s fantastic! So many people don’t know where to start on that path. They get overwhelmed and give up. Nothing happens because they can’t decide what to do.
I’ll take a peek at your site over the next few days and send you some feedback directly. Glad to do that!
Leslie – You bring up a good point. We actually address this very challenge in our book. It’s the issue of what to do when you’re trying to launch a business or take something to the next level. In many cases, such a goal requires somewhat of an “unbalanced” life for a few months or even a year or more. Unlike so many gurus out there, we say that’s OK. Accept that. But then realize that once you reach the goal (or a certain component of that goal) you need to take your foot off the gas for some time. You need to let it rest. Then, after you’ve laid low for a while, you can get back on that racetrack.
Thanks for your comments. I think this topic you brought up is not addressed in an honest fashion out there. It deserves a much more open discussion than it normally gets.
Hi Ed:
Thanks for validating that truth! I certainly do accept it as part of my reality.
Lesley
A great reminder, Ed.
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with a similar idea for my day-to-day goals.
For example, on Monday night I’ll list everything that I want to accomplish on Tuesday. No prioritization, just a simple exercise to prep my mind for the morrow.
Tuesday morning, after breakfast, etc., I go to that list before email, projects or phone calls. I prioritize my ‘to-dos’ for the day. On average, the top five get crossed off. The remaining items migrate to the the next day’s list.
Sometimes, when a cluster of low-priority items has been hanging around too long, I’ll spend the last hour or two of the work day checking them off the list. Five items per day doesn’t sound impressive, but 15 accomplished tasks makes for a satisfactory start to a well-earned weekend.
Thanks for raising this topic.
I always look forward to your thoughts, Ed.
-Mike
Mike – You’re absolutely right. Even if you don’t get ALL of them done, you’ll accomplish more in a week with this method than most people accomplish in a month (or longer!). I like the simplicity and practicality of your system. Thanks for sharing.
BTW, just an update for everyone on my progress toward my health goal above: I just had my body fat measured on Wed after 28 days on this new, focused program. Turns out I’ve lost 3.1% in body fat already. Nearly a third of the way to my 2010 goal. Granted, the first month or two are usually the most dramatic when it comes to this sort of thing. But I have to say… seeing this result motivated the heck out of me! And it further validated my “Rule of 3″ approach.
Sorry, just had to share!
CONGRATULATIONS, ED!
I don’t blame you for sharing. It’s a great feeling to know that progress is being made and it certainly does bring on the motivation even more. Well done!
Lesley
Congratulations Ed! You’re well on your way to accomplishing that particular goal. Question: if you accomplish your goal in one area (such as health) do you make a new goal for that category or just wait until next year?
I’m just starting my commercial writing business, and finished my goal of setting up my website early this year (feedback please anyone?), so that’s done. But now I need to find something to replace that goal. It would seem that keeping a fire underneath you to keep pushing helps you stay focused & motivated, knowing you’ve already accomplished a goal or two.
Keep up the great posts! Best regards, Mike S.
Thanks, Mike!! Great question! I would definitely set a new goal as soon as you’re close to achieving the first. Then, use the excitement from accomplishing the first goal to get going on the second goal. That excitement will provide much of the fuel you’ll need to get through the early stages of the next goal, since those early tasks are often not the most enjoyable.
The other point to consider is that your yearly goals should be fairly lofty. Make these goals that can’t normally be attained in 1 or 2 months. Then, break them down into monthly goals. That way, you can see what it will take to get there, and you’ll have the steps mapped out in a way that keeps you focused every month, week and day.
Congrats to you on achieving that key goal! Make sure to reward yourself accordingly.