The End of A Quarter

We made it through March — can you believe it?

2017 is already flying by, and at this point you’ve got a pretty clear idea (thanks to your fabulous KPI’s) of where you are trending on your 2017 yearly goals.

So, how are you looking?

Does it look like you’re right on track to be where you want to be?

As of today, are you looking like you’re a little ahead of schedule?

Or as you read the sentence above, did you have that sinking feeling in your gut of “Oh goodness — not another reminder that we are already looking like we are behind schedule?”

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into how to make sure you’ve communicated what success (for this year) is to your team, accountability, and on change.

Hang in there — you’ve got this, and so does your team!

Continuing You in 2017

So, do you have your 3 words you want to use to describe yourself this year?

If you’re curious about what we’re talking about, check out last week’s post here.

What we know is that having a goal (these three words) is awesome – and to actually make things happen, we need some actions we can commit to.

Ready to start?

Step 1: Look at your calendar and pick a time each month (for an hour) that you can block to take the time to reflect on YOU

• Strive for consistency, such as the last Friday or the first day of each month
• Send yourself a re-occurring invite for that time each month through December

Step 2: Take each of your three words and ask yourself, what is one thing I can do between now and the next reflection time to start to see progress?

Step 3: WRITE IT DOWN. Put it somewhere you’ll see so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of life!

Need some places to start?

• Maybe you want to hit new goals this year …
  • Define one of those and talk to your Manager about it in your next 1×1
• Or you want to finish a 10k …
  • Decide on the month you want to race and choose which race you want to do (AND maybe even register for it!)
• Or maybe you want to start an herb garden …
  • Take some time to choose a couple of herbs you want to start with

Then, when you have your blocked time next month, ask yourself some questions about these words. For example:

• How am I seeing change in these areas?
• What more can I do?
• Who do I need to talk to in order to make that happen?
• What is the next step or thing I can do before next month?

Excited for YOU in 2017?

Us too!

Be sure to share your words with us. We’d love to know!

Planning for Your Holiday Break

Somehow it is already mid-December — WOW!

These next few weeks are exciting and stressful as they are filled with days off, celebrations, times with family and friends, AND hitting all those year-end deliverables!

This afternoon, let’s plan the rest of the year. Where to start?

Try working through some of the questions below:

• What days are you off of work? Who is covering for you (and did you ask/tell them yet)?
• What are the big projects you need to complete by the end of 2016 (or even early 2017)?
• What progress HAS to be made now to be successful?
• What resources are you planning on leveraging to make this project successful? How much do they know about this project? Engage them now, while they’re still in the office!
• Break your work into small, manageable chunks – give yourself something to celebrate at the end of each day, knowing you’re getting even closer to completion of the goal!

By taking the time to plan out the next two weeks, you may save yourself the stress of wondering how you’ll get everything done!

That way, you may ACTUALLY be able to relax and enjoy your time off.

YOU deserve it!

Eyes on the Prize

 

We recently watched this TED talk by Emily Balcetis on perception and found it FASCINATING.

By focusing their eyes on the prize, “people who had committed to a manageable goal, and believed they were capable of the goal, actually saw [the task at hand] as easier”. Net net? Mind over matter – literally.

So, where you do need a slight mindset shift? Commit to a manageable goal and believe you are capable this week!

Progress!

Can you believe that 2015 is half way over?! This year has been flying by.

Harken back to January when we were diving into creating actionable, thoughtful, and meaningful goals for the year.

How have those been going? Have you been making some fabulous progress? Have your goals been getting lost in the end of quarter goals?

Next week, to celebrate that you’ve made it to July, give yourself a little break to celebrate you!

Take your self out to a nice lunch or an afternoon coffee break. Spend an hour thinking about your goals for the year and what is one action step you can take to keep the momentum going (or jump start your focus again!).

Even when things are busy, you still deserve to spend some time on you.

More Action Planning for Your Goals

How’s your week been? Did you get a chance to try out Wunderlist? What’d you think?

Maybe you wished the app was similar to a weekly planner – if so, we’ve got just what you need!

Let’s check out App #2: Opus Domini Lite

Who tested it?

Spencer Haney

• Project Coordinator for multiple internal, high-visibility projects with dispersed stakeholders
• Fast learner who loves crossing things off a to-do list and staying ahead of colleagues and clients
• Husband, Sport Enthusiast, and avid Board Gamer

Why I like it:

• Works like an easy day- by- day planner, just like your paper one would look!
• The search function pulls up different buckets to narrow down the results
• Easy to track tasks with the selectable status icons
• Syncs with google calendar and you can create new calendar appointments on the app
• Simple goal tracking, with a fun progress bar to show how far you’ve come
• Cool “compass” to help you keep tabs on your physical, mental, social, and physical goals
• Ability to forward tasks to a selected date
• It’s free!

What could be better?

• No alarm feature for tasks
• Not able to share lists or tasks
• Only available for Apple products

Our bottom line:

Opus Domini Lite provides the chance to keep tabs on goals in all different areas of your life. It is a solid one stop shop for calendar and task productivity.

Try it out—let us know what you think!

Moving Forward on Your Goals

 

How have your 2015 goals been going? Making some progress? Hoping to make some headway soon?

Sometimes (we’re not pointing fingers here!) it’s hard to remember the goals or deadlines we’ve created for ourselves. It’s also exponentially harder to get things done if we don’t have some accountability.

Want to create that accountability for yourself? We’ve found some apps for that job!

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll review a productivity/tracking app road-tested by one of our teammembers that will help you focus on (and hold yourself accountable to) the goals you’ve created.

Let’s check out App #1: Wunderlist

Who tested it?

Ashley Clark

• Program Manager for 5, global, complex projects
• Lover of learning and thinking strategically
• Wife, frequent Instagrammer, and Mom of 2 kids (under 2 years)

 

Why I like it?

• Multiple to-do lists for today, this week, this month, this year, etc.
• Sharing capabilities for some (or all) of your lists with your friends
• Simple layout, making it very user friendly
• Easy task management that includes due dates, reminders, stars, and list groups
• It’s free!

What could be better?

• No sub tasks on created tasks
• No option for reoccurring tasks

Ashley’s bottom-line:

This app is very easy to use for both you and sharing your goals with others!  I found it easy to create to-dos and it was helpful in keeping track of all the different things I have going on in a day!

Stay Tuned: More reviews coming your way next week.

Celebrate Your Wins

We’ve got some goals. And, we know what is driving these goals.

How do you feel? Nervous? Excited? Ready to jump in? Anticipating the busyness of life to pick up soon? We feel all those too.

It is exciting to set goals. Sometimes, though, I feel like it takes a lot to reach them.

This week, we have Coach Teresa Wallace back to share another tip about setting goals.

Here is her encouragement:

“Build small wins into your larger goals. 

 

Remember, a journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step. 

 

Celebrate that one step, because now you only have 999 more steps to get to your ultimate goal!  Hey, that’s less than 1000 steps!

 

As you celebrate each small win, your confidence builds, your motivation soars, and you reengage with the larger goal. 

 

A great way to do this is by setting goal levels. 

 

What’s the minimum you can accomplish on the goal and still feel like you’re moving forward? What’s in the middle (a realistic stretch)?  What’s the big goal? 

 

Even if you don’t meet the big goal right away, you’re still taking steps forward!”

 

Take those goals you have written and add in “mini” goals along the way.

And, don’t forget to let us know once you’ve made some of those. We would love to celebrate your wins with you!

Moving Beyond SMART Goals

Last week we took the words we want to use to describe 2015 and turned some of those words into goals, using the SMART filter.

But maybe you’re pretty familiar with the SMART goal guidelines and you are looking for a little more depth… well – you are in luck! This post is for you!

We have the privilege to hear from Coach Jim Kelly this week.  Jim loves to challenge people to discover new solutions to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.

Here are some of Jim’s thoughts:

“Everybody talks about SMART goals, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and with a time specified. That’s a good start for how to set goals.  But for those who have been setting goals for awhile, a more in-depth approach might be useful.

Understand WHY you’re setting a goal. Ask yourself:

 

• Is this something I want and am passionate about (feeling-based and intrinsic rewards)

OR

• Is it something I think I should do/be/have and will need to force myself to work on (thought-based and extrinsic rewards)

We often hear, “do what you love and the money will come” and that works sometimes. But other times, it might be helpful to prioritize extrinsic rewards.

Let’s look again at those goals that we chose for 2015.  Are they goals that push you towards something you are passionate about?  Things that you can’t wait to accomplish?  Or are they “stretch” goals that you will need a little extra push to start and keep working on.

Knowing the “why” behind the goals you’ve chosen can help you know what types of check points and rewards will be helpful to set.

Creating Your Goals

This week we have the chance to move into actually creating some of our goals, so let’s jump in!

Grab that list of words you created on how you want to describe 2015. Last week we made sure these were all things that inspire us and not tasks we feel we have to do.

Ok – now choose one of the words you wrote down. Let’s dig a bit- what are three things you would need to accomplish to make that word a reality?

Now that you have a starting point, lets hear from Coach Tim Kincaid, to craft these into actionable goals. Tim is an executive Coach who specializes in helping leaders become more focused, effective, and successful.

“I like the SMART goal approach, which is a popular model.  Run any goal through the SMART filter.

S = Specific

Vague goals render vague results. Specific means you can articulate the details of the goal:

Ask: What do you want to accomplish?  Why is this important and can you name specific benefits or purposes? Who is involved and who will benefit? Where is the location? Which requirements and constraints are anticipated? 

 

M = Measurable

How you will quantify or measure the outcome.

Ask: When the goal is accomplished, state how you will know – what will be different?

What gets measured gets done!

 

A = Actionable / Attainable

State how the goal will be accomplished and results attained.

Ask: What actions are necessary or possible to accomplish the goal?

 

R = Relevant / Realistic

The goal is directly relevant to desired outcome and is a goal that truly matters. The goal also is realistic. It may cause you to really “stretch” but also has a realistic chance of success.

 

T = Time-bounded

A SMART Goal has specific milestones and deadlines to measure progress.

Ask: By when will specific sub tasks and the final goal be completed?  

T= can also stand for Thrilling – is this goal juicy, scary and exciting? There is lots of momentum to Thrilling goals!

Use the SMART criteria to turn those three ideas into achievable goals.

And, doesn’t the progress feel GREAT?