Preparing for the New Year

(Note: This post was supposed to go out a few weeks ago, but as I mentioned in my New Years Lapse post, things got a little off-track. But, since the ideas don’t apply just to the new year, and since some people may not have done any New Years planning, or perhaps their plans have already gone off track, I am posting this anyway)

This time of year is a motivational speaker’s dream. It’s the time when people look to the next year and start setting goals, dreaming big, and making resolutions, This is the kind of stuff we like to help people with all year round!

I am a big fan of thinking and dreaming big. I wrote this post to help you  prepare for this year in a way that maximizes your chances of making 2011 the best year ever!

What Worked Well For You?

Before you get all excited about what you want to do this year, I would advise you to first look back over last year and take stock of where you are, where you want to go, and what did and did not work for you. By understanding where you are, you will be better prepared to make plans to figure out where to go.

One of the best the things you can do for yourself is to:

1. Figure out what works for you and then…
2. Leverage the hell out of it

I am continuously astounded by how many people (myself included, sadly) fight their own nature and try to conform to the way other people do things.

You read a book (or a blog post, hehehe) by some “guru” and then you go off and try to cram your work style into their method. That can work, if you happen to come across an expert who’s style happens to match your own.  In many cases, however, you just end up making yourself miserable and then feel depressed because you didn’t get the results you thought you would.

Instead, right now, before you start planning out next year, take a look back at what worked well for you this past year. Put another way, when did you work well?

Consider your work style:

1. When are you most productive? Morning, night, lunchtime, etc?
2. Where are you most productive? At home? In the office? At a coffee shop?
3. What conditions do you need in your environment to be productive? Total silence? Music? Madcap activity? Working alone? Working with other people?

Consider the types of projects:

1. What were you excited to work on this past year?
2. What depressed the hell out of you when you had to do it?

What were your highs and lows?

1. Without too much thought, what moments jump out at you as the best from the past year
2. Which moments jump out at you as the worst?

Once you have these lists, start looking for patterns. Look for things you can build off of and repeat to help keep you on track.

When I did this for myself, I realized some very useful things when it came to my work habits. Those insights helped me immensely in making my 2011 plan.

What Needs Improvement?

Don’t beat yourself up over this one, but face it: we all have areas where we could do better. What are the areas in your life where you think, “I need to do better at this?”

Try to come up with a specific, actionable item. For example, rather than, “I need to be more productive,” try, “I need to stop surfing the internet first thing in the morning.” As opposed to “I need to be healthier,” use, “I need to walk 30 minutes a day, five times a week.”

Broad generalities get ignored. It’s much easier to take action and improve when you can break your limitations down to single steps.

Where Are You Now?

You gotta know where you are before you can go anywhere else

For the next few minutes, completely let go of the past and future, and focus entirely on the present moment. You may find it helpful to close your eyes and just take a few deep breaths.

Once you are entirely focused on the here and now, take an honest appraisal of where you are now. Consider many different areas of your life:

• Physical:
• Financial
• Career
• Passion
• Relationships
• Fun
• Etc.

The key here is to keep yourself in control and let emotions go. In some areas, you may get mad at yourself (“I can’t believe I let myself get this out of shape!’), or start lamenting the past (“if only I hadn’t left my job to start this failing business!”). Don’t do that now. When self-judging thoughts come up, let them go and refocus on the present.

What we’re going for here is an objective summary of your current situation. Don’t just focus on the negative either! Be completely honest with the good and bad.

Some people will find this much harder than others. If you do, that’s ok. But stick with it. It’s a lot easier to get to where you want if you know where you are starting from.

Where Do You Want to Go?

Close your eyes and think about where you'd like your life to go

Now that you have taken stock of your current situation, it’s time to decide where you want to go.

It’s hard to get somewhere if you don’t know where you want to go. So let me ask you: what do you want to achieve in 2011?

Type “goal setting” into Google and you get well over three million results, so I am not going to talk too much about it here. I’ll just give a few tips to help you do this:

1. In step 1, go crazy. Brainstorm a list of everything you would like to achieve in 2011. Don’t worry about realism or possibility. Have fun.
2. In step 2, go through your list and pick out those that are truly important to you. Pick the ones that a) you really want and b) would really have a positive impact on your life
3. In step 3, narrow your list down to at most three.
4. In step 4, adjust the size and scope of your goal so the goal is not too big or too small (read my “Goldilocks Test for Effective Goal Setting” post for more info on this)

At this point, you should have a list of at most three goals. (If you want more than three, put them on a separate list and save those to be tackled once you have finished your first three). The goals should be things you truly want that will have a positive impact on your life. And they should be a good size for you to take on without feeling overwhelmed.

Your final step is to create a plan to achieve those goals. Combine the insights you gained about what works for you and what doesn’t, with your three goals and create a plan that leverages your strengths, minimizes your weaknesses, and sets you up to get to where you want with minimal resistance.

How exactly do you go about creating your plan? Rather than going into in depth here, let me refer you to my recent “Resolution #1: No More Resolutions!” post

Create a list of six habits that will allow you to reach your 2011 goals, and then commit to installing those habits, one at a time, for two months each.

If you do this, not only should you achieve your goals, but you will also have developed a series of habits that will serve you and help you be successful long after this year is over. That will make it much easier in twelve months to make 2012 your best year ever!

***
Do you want help making 2011 awesome? Then sign up for some Smart Ass Mentoring now!
 

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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