We’re heading into the third week in January, which is often when all those wonderful goals we set out at the start of the year get buried in the day to day, and eventually lost completely. I know that’s starting to happen to me, and I’m not going to give in! It’s time for a revival.

Here’s a simple six-step process to revival:
1. Do a time-out. Schedule (and protect) a two-hour block of time. Even if it’s over the weekend. Go away to your ‘third place’, not your work desk, not your living room at home. Coffee shop? Project room? Library (yes they still exist). Take with you ONLY whatever you use as a planner or tracker. If it’s online, close all other windows and social media on your device.
2. Revisit your ‘why’ on each goal. Oh, and if you didn’t write them out in specifics at the beginning of the month, take the time to do it now. No blame, no shame. Get smart! In fact, get smarter. Michael Hyatt’s SMARTER framework is an excellent approach – you can learn more here: about SMARTER goals
3. Trim back – if you set goals in six areas, take it back to four. Consciously put aside the others for Q2
4. Pivot to the positive. List progress you’ve made – every little step. Reward yourself!
5. Break it down. Focus on the next few steps. What is the next concrete action that will move that goal forward – and then one or two after that. Put those on a calendar – and be realistic about timing and other commitments. Caveat – don’t attempt to lay out a dozen steps over the next month – there will inevitably be changes and tweaks.
6. Adapt focus time to how you work best. Are you better in the morning? Put primary goal activities there. Do you do well with time blocking? If so, use it, blocking time chunks for specific goals. If the idea of time blocking makes you want to scream, look at what does work for you – and build that into your plans.

Okay, so now it’s my turn. I’m taking my own ‘medicine’ above and scheduling a block of time this weekend to go through these steps. And, full disclosure, there are some of my goals that were not fully fleshed out in the ‘smarter’ framework. I’ve made progress in spite of this, but know that I must drill down on these in order to get to the endpoint. Those will be completed!

This week we focused on the individual goals process. Next week we’ll take this to the work team level to reach peak performance. We’ll also look at getting ‘junk’ out of the way to make room for goal achievement. And (accountability) I’ll report back on my own progress in the review and recommit process – warts and all.

Dorothy Erlanger is a meeting facilitator, speaker and trainer who has worked with Fortune 100 companies in over 25 countries across the globe. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. For facilitation of global strategic planning, executive workshops or motivational speaking with lasting impact, contact Dorothy at https://erlanger-inc.com 1-804-749-4100