So have you got a great list of goals for this year? How do make sure that you keep moving towards those goals rather than finding the piece/s of paper where you’ve written them down at the end of the year and thinking “oh well, that would have been nice to have achieved that…”?

I’m a big fan of Dave Navarro and just rediscovered his blog. I signed up to his 30 hours a day course a bit over a month ago and I wholeheartedly recommend it (and you’ll note that’s not an affiliate link - I don’t even know if he does them). It’s a little on the pricey side, but it is a very different experience to reading a book. The course is a set of 10 lessons with mp3 coaching, workbooks, templates and exercises. Unlike reading a book, I actually feel compelled to do the exercises and do them properly. For example, I’ve read countless times that I need to track my time as one of the first steps to properly manage my time but I have never done it because it’s a hassle - but now I do it frequently and I’ve lost much of the stigma I’ve had towards it (he provides a simple template that makes it much easier).  I’m about half way through so I’ll do a full review when I’ve finished it.

I got an email from Dave’s list this week called “How To Guarantee You Keep Moving Forward Each Month” and he has four powerful tips to keep you on track.

Tip #1 - Write out your goals for the year, and look at them EVERY SINGLE DAY.

They have to be specific and measurable so you know if you are achieving them or not (and if you’re not, you need to honestly review them - is it not the right goal for you or is there a smarter way of doing it that you’re not seeing?).

Tip #2 - Define monthly milestones, and look at them EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Dave recommends focussing on what you’ve defined as the first milestone and later, the next monthly milestone. This milestone should be broken down so that it’s “incredibly specific”. You can fill out the details of the other milestones when you get to them (after all, it is often action that helps clarify further action).

Tip #3 - Break out a week-by-week plan for January, and look at it EVERY SINGLE DAY.

If you take out the time to plan your strategy and spell out clear actions (not results - that’s the goal not the action plan) then you can put yourself on autopilot. If you know the next step, it gives you one less excuse for not doing it. And if you set regular review times where you do objectively review your actions, you will be have more confidence in going autopilot.

Tip #4 - Have a business accountability partner who will hold you to your goals.

Co-coaching is one of the best ways to keep accountable and get an extra perspective on your strategy. Make sure that any criticism is constructive and that you take it on board!

Dave recommends 30 minutes of anchor time at the beginning of the day where you look over what you have to do and commit to certain actions during the course of the day. I think this is a great time to look over your goals (and if you have a vision board, that too) plus looking over your priority milestones and actions. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes and when you go to plan your day, you are much more likely to be taking action towards those priorities than if you had left out this step.

Remember when are looking over these lists in the morning, you don’t have to review (and probably shouldn’t be reviewing) them objectively - save that for your weekly review or if you have an evening review (and journal session). The idea is to quickly scan over them so that you can create the right framework for the day and you can focus your subconscious in the right direction.