Build Your New Year’s Visions, with a KISS (Keep It Simple)

Is the complexity of your New Year’s Goals getting you down?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the complexity of business gets me down to where I feel paralyzed and don’t know what to do next.

Paralysis comes in many forms and is due to many things, but here are the basic reasons we’ve been able to gleam from the years of running business:

• Too many goals (I have so many things to do, argh!)
• Not enough structure (this goal fits inside that goal)
• Poor planning (I have no idea what I’m doing next week!)
• No priority (which one should I start first?)

The result: complexity > confusion > paralysis. So, what to do?

Simplify your yearly goals: make only 7 (or less!).

Make (at maximum) 7 goals. That’s right. If you keep the overall – emphasis on overall – goals of 2010 to 7 things, then it’s far simpler to plan the year, even on a daily basis.

In fact, it’s almost easier to plan the year, because by definition, the year is a nebulous thing – you have far less knowledge about what’s going to happen this year than next Friday. You can think simply, elegantly, instead of getting bogged down in details. And if you plan the year correctly, that will trickle down into strategies and tactics and the ‘line items’ of life.

So let’s get started!

How to do it.

Keep it simple – KISS. Don’t worry about the details right now. ONLY focus on big goals. As Yoda would say, “Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’”. Use this Jedi-mind trick for easy goal processing:

No matter how big it is it’s simple, easy, and absolutely doable.

The mind is a powerful thing. Don’t get tricked into believing that your goals are hard. Goals are not hard. Doing goals in one day is hard. Accomplishing 7 goals over the next year is not hard at all.

Can you feel the relief spreading through your mind and body already? Great! Now…

Keep it ‘Dreamy’ – no boring goals.

You heard me; dream a little. Make it sound romantic, heroic, fun, and worthwhile. Instead of saying, “Ballroom Dancing: 7 major styles” say, “Dance your Ass off”. Instead of saying, “Get an Employee” say, “I need a worker Elf to Help Me with Biz”.

I guess you don’t have to do it, but why not have fun while envisioning your future? What are you on this planet to do, anyways, be boring?

Keep it Big – avoid the details.

Goals, not tasks. When planning life day-to-day, you’re moving around line items (get milk from store, go to doctor, dinner party, pay bills). Week to week you might be working on tactics (Revamp CSS on blog, Contact primary potential clients, finish 3 articles).

When planning on the month or annual level, you’re getting into – how shall we say it – the ‘dreams’ of life. And the further you extend your vision into the future, the more you approach the overall goals of life, like ‘be happy’ or ‘educate children’ or ‘run a successful business’.

So, work on the vision level, not the strategic level. Don’t get bogged down on boring monthlies (get website finished), talk in terms of things you would really be proud of if you accomplished them this year.

Here’s our 7 Goals for 2010.

• Get in shape, Dammit
• Dance your Ass off
• Gregory Geeks Out
• I need a worker Elf to Help Me with Biz
• Become a Leader
• I need Enlightened Peers
• I need 12 Huge Clients

Now, why don’t you do some? We’ll wait….

Finished? OK! Let’s move onto evaluation!

How to evaluate your goals.

Now, step back and observe your creation. So, what did you do? You created a ‘big picture’ view of your year. Yes, you did!

• Did you make if fun?
• Did you keep it simple?
• Are the goals attainable?

Wait a second, you say! I just said, ‘reach for the stars’ and now I’m telling you to make them attainable? But think about it for a second, isn’t it better to shoot high then ultimately aim low? At least you got a rush of excitement thinking about the great things that you can do for 2010! That will help you think clearly.

Use the S.M.A.R.T. system of evaluation.

SMART is something my girlie told me about. I have heard of it in many iterations, but I like this one the most:

S = Simple. Some people say specific, but I like simple, since I am by nature complex. Can anyone say, ADD?
But specific is a good point, here. Perhaps a better word is discrete. Make the goal a bit concrete, as in ‘everyone would agree that this is a goal’. If you ask another person about the goal, and they say, “That’s a goal? Oh,” then it’s not a goal.

M = Measurable. You must be able to measure the goal; if you can’t measure it, you don’t know when your done. And what good is that? This is, in my opinion where most people lose their minds.

A = Attainable. It must be attainable. If you can’t become an astronaut, then don’t make it a goal.

R = Relevant. Is it relevant to your overall life’s dreams? Do this: Can you say, without a doubt, whether this goal will better your life? YOUR life, not necessarily others? Good!

T = Timed. Set a time limit. Seriously, this is where most people fall down on the job. If you don’t set time limits, you can’t structure the process that goal. If you can’t structure the process, you’re never going to reach your goal.

Then expand your goals into strategies and tactics.

Take a single goal, and expand it into 7 things, again. The idea here is to expand until you have a clear idea of what to do next, at the most tactically microscopic level (‘next, put your shoes on, then walk out the door.)

Strategies. Goals (on the vision level) are made up of 7 (or less) strategies. Again, at this level, KISS it, make it simple, keep it fun, be SMART and not too much detail.

Obviously, you have to go into more detail than in your Goal level, but only enough to feel like you have a good outline to proceed. Make the strategies attainable!

Tactics. Then and only then can you flesh out the tactics of the week and month. If you don’t know how to proceed, start asking experts in your circle of friends. Don’t just jump into research.

People are much easier and faster to ask since they have already gone through the evaluation process. What you’re trying to do here is leverage the resources around you, and trade a little time of your own expertise to get their attention. Remember, it’s the tactics level that most people (including myself) get bogged down in. Sometimes one well-placed 15 minute phone call can mean dozens of hours of work saved.

A mind-mapping tool is great for goal setting.

MindManager by Mindjet.

A great tool, talked about in my last article, Top 9 Personal “Biz Apps” of 2009, explains a variety of tools, but one of great importance is MindManager. MindManager allows you to make brainstorming charts like the ones above. It’s very useful in that it allows you to…

• Get everything out in front of you,
• Assemble the pieces into hierarchies,
• Visually.

Another program is MindMeister, and it’s FREE. It’s a bit clunky, but good.

Keeping on track with your 7 goals.

Make a big wall mind-map. Once you have you goals established, time to visualize! So get a big piece of paper (like 24×36), write your goals down like a mind-map, and branch out from the middle! In the middle is the phrase, ‘My 7 Goals of 2010′ or something like that.

Inside/Outside. Now, every day you will be confronted with confounders of the goals. These are the things that get in your way, and they’re often fun, interesting, even important things that you discover along the way. Sometimes they’re associated with your 7 goals, sometimes not.

• If they’re inside of your 7 goals… Then incorporate them at the appropriate level on your wall map and work it like a job.
• If they’re outside your 7 goals… Store them whichever way you like (we use Basecamp) but get them out of your way. You might even just discard them, if you don’t feel that you’ll forget them.

Place it in view. If you have your goals laid out before you, it’s empowering, and easier to reach your goals.

So put it in a highly-visible place. My suggestion is put it in a room where you cannot view when working, but you can view it if you take a break. Also put it in a place where it doesn’t bother the rest of your family. They’re your goals, after all.

Which brings up a really good point: If you’re planning some of your goals with others (like a spouse) it’s probably better that you both have separate goal sheets. If you have a combined goal, write the goal on both sheets. That way, when you review your goals, you only view yours. Remember: specific, discrete goals are key. If your eyes start drifting towards another’s sheet, then put the goal sheets on opposite walls of the same room.

Review it every day. If you have your goals visible, you can review them daily. This is primarily for showing you where you’re wasting time. Don’t ask me how it works, it just does. But it works like a charm.

Break it up – make milestones. Be sure to include on your goals sheet milestones. These are drop dead dates of completion. Try to break up each milestone into bite- size segments (strategies or tactics) with their own drop dead dates.

OK, you’ve set your goals with timelines, so, as Vasquez would say,

“Let’s rock!”

(…with the sounds of guns firing.) Wouldn’t it be great if your actions were like big machine guns and your goals were aliens? Then you could blast them to bits and feel a sense of accomplishment. But you can still feel great without the heavy guns…

• Feel the power you have generated in planning!
• Believe that you can accomplish your goals, willingly and with greatness!
• Bend the world to your purpose and feel yourself ride the tide!
• No fear!
• And.. most importantly…

For Pete’s sake, reward yourself.

By all means, reward yourself. In fact, enter your rewards onto your big sheet. Why not? Here are some of mine:

• Take trip with Lisa for three days on motorcycle. Perhaps even ‘camp out’ if weather permits.
• Gaming vacation with the boys.
• An incredible restaurant in NYC, followed by techno or Salsa dancing.
• Have a Mardi-Gras party. No beads.

In the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, one of the most important things that emotionally intelligent people do is reward themselves. It’s not really smarts that allows you to accomplish the things you want to do, it’s the power to know that it’s achievable, and there is a gift at the end, waiting for you.

Strange, isn’t it? It’s so simple to goal-reward-goal-reward and almost no one does it. But it’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Be good to yourself and reward often.

It might just be a cupcake (for a daily task), a nice dinner out (for a weekly task), a movie-marathon on a cold or rainy Saturday (for a monthly task). The rewards I have planned for myself above are for accomplishments at the goal level.

And don’t get discouraged!

Remember, your goals will most likely change in little ways. Your strategies might change. Certainly your tactics will change. And your line items?  Well, that’s just life rearing it’s ugly head and messing with your goals. Hey, that’s life – but don’t  get discouraged at any costs.

By planning your goals for the year, however, chances are you won’t get discouraged, because you can see the progress happen. So take heart!

Can my goals change?

Well, yes. Of course they can change. That’s part of navigating a modern world. But most of the time the goals change ever-so-slightly, not to interrupt the overall goal.

However, if you feel a particular goal is unattainable, then discard it and create another goal. It’s OK, just make sure you really think about it before you do so. But ask yourself why you picked the goal in the first place, won’t you? Was it just a pipe-dream or something, like sailing around the world? Would it have taken too much time?

But, really, no. But really, you should set goals, then accomplish them. There must have been some reason you picked that particular goal in the first place, so don’t short-change yourself with feelings of despair, fear, or any other type of pain, for that matter. Don’t say, “I can’t do that’. Remember Yoda.

Now, please give me some feedback on your goals.

Thanks for reading? Did it help? We hope so! Remember, IT’S SIMPLE to create 7 goals for 2010, if you believe in the process!

So, do you do this goal-setting already? Is it working for you? Do you have some suggestions about how to do this better? Or, could you elaborate on the points above in more detail? I would love this to be a collaborative effort – so share, why don’t you! Tell us what you think of our 7 Goals concept below in the comments section.