Earlier this week during a meeting with a couple of colleagues, one of them asked me a question I was least expecting. "How have you managed to keep your weekly blog going for 10 years ?"
I was surprised. Pleasantly. Since I had no idea that anyone other than Freia and Reia even read my blog. He further went on to say that he had tried writing and it ended after 2 attempts. As was the case with several things that he did. He wanted to know the secret of being able to take up and do things you want to. Consistently over a period of time.
I mumbled a few tips and tricks that I had used over a period of time. And told him my experiences and how my kids nagging, or rather the fear of my kids nagging, kept me going. And while this is partially true, it set me thinking. Could there be a methodology to being able to do exactly what my colleague was trying. And if I could figure it out, it might help him. And me, since I too struggle with the exact same problem on several occasions.
Here are 8 things that I believe might help.
1. Have Realistic Goals.
The probability of success of any goal is determined when you set the goal. If you set unrealistic goals, you have guaranteed failure, even before you start.
Don't start with running a marathon. If you want to run a marathon, start with a 10K goal. And depending on how comfortable you were and whether you enjoyed it, you can bump it up to a Half marathon and then a marathon.
2. Divide the Goals.
Once you've set a realistic goal, divide that goal into mini goals. Then divide these into micro goals. These micro goals should have a high frequency. Daily or Weekly.
If you want to read 20 books in the year, divide the target into 10 books in 6 months. And 5 each quarter. And then 2 every month. And 1 every 2 weeks. And if you keep up and don't miss your fortnightly goal, you'll end up reading 26 books instead of 20.
3. Have a Monitor.
A monitor could be your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friends, your colleagues... Enabling someone else to monitor your progress and hold you accountable will do wonders. Especially if its someone you care for and don't want to disappoint.
In my case my kids monitor my weekly blog. And when I fall a little behind, I get the warning message. Or call. And am left with no option but to quickly catch up.
4. Reward yourself.
A reward is always an incentive to get something done. A reward on completion of something makes the task easier to do, since you're looking forward to the reward. Reward yourself for meeting your micro goals. And mini goals.
As an example, maybe you love watching movies, as I do and don't like reading fiction, as I don't. You could link the two. At a 1:1 ratio. And only watch a movie for the extent of time that you have read, or like in my case listened to your wish-list of books. And the thought of watching the movies will show you interesting ways to get the reading done.
5. If you miss a goal, don't let it go.
It will happen sometimes, or possibly many times that you miss your weekly or monthly target.
Typically most people will justify the circumstances and say that they'll do it later. And then get into the habit of skipping the missed goal. Till the goal is abandoned. Get into the habit of completing past goals, even if the due date is past. It could be difficult. And painful. But once you get into the habit of not allowing yourself to skip, you'll have an additional incentive to get it done on time.
6. Measure your Progress.
You need to measure your micro progress. Which in turn measures your mini progress and your progress towards the goal.
Map your measurements to your plans. And share your progress periodically with your monitor. Chances are that she will be asking for progress reports regularly. All of this will make achieving your goals that much easier.
7. Re-calibrate. When required.
While setting goals there are occasions when we really don't know how much time or how difficult it's likely to be. When you find that your goals may not be realistic you may need to re-calibrate.
It's okay to accept that the goal was not practical. Life, work and family trump personal goals. And circumstances as well as time could sometimes make achieving the original goal impractical. That's when you re-calibrate. Using the new knowledge you now have. And go about achieving the new goal.
8. Make a Promise. Or have a Bet.
To whoever you believe in. Your God. Your mother. Your kids. Yourself. Or have a bet that you cannot afford to lose.
As humans we tend to be more aware and keep promises made to others than ourselves. And pride ourselves on not breaking our promises. While this may not be scientific and may even defy logic, it seems to work. And if that doesn't work, make a bet which you can't afford to lose. You'll figure out a way to get it done. Since you can't afford to lose.
I was surprised. Pleasantly. Since I had no idea that anyone other than Freia and Reia even read my blog. He further went on to say that he had tried writing and it ended after 2 attempts. As was the case with several things that he did. He wanted to know the secret of being able to take up and do things you want to. Consistently over a period of time.
I mumbled a few tips and tricks that I had used over a period of time. And told him my experiences and how my kids nagging, or rather the fear of my kids nagging, kept me going. And while this is partially true, it set me thinking. Could there be a methodology to being able to do exactly what my colleague was trying. And if I could figure it out, it might help him. And me, since I too struggle with the exact same problem on several occasions.
Here are 8 things that I believe might help.
The probability of success of any goal is determined when you set the goal. If you set unrealistic goals, you have guaranteed failure, even before you start.
Don't start with running a marathon. If you want to run a marathon, start with a 10K goal. And depending on how comfortable you were and whether you enjoyed it, you can bump it up to a Half marathon and then a marathon.
Once you've set a realistic goal, divide that goal into mini goals. Then divide these into micro goals. These micro goals should have a high frequency. Daily or Weekly.
If you want to read 20 books in the year, divide the target into 10 books in 6 months. And 5 each quarter. And then 2 every month. And 1 every 2 weeks. And if you keep up and don't miss your fortnightly goal, you'll end up reading 26 books instead of 20.
A monitor could be your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friends, your colleagues... Enabling someone else to monitor your progress and hold you accountable will do wonders. Especially if its someone you care for and don't want to disappoint.
In my case my kids monitor my weekly blog. And when I fall a little behind, I get the warning message. Or call. And am left with no option but to quickly catch up.
A reward is always an incentive to get something done. A reward on completion of something makes the task easier to do, since you're looking forward to the reward. Reward yourself for meeting your micro goals. And mini goals.
As an example, maybe you love watching movies, as I do and don't like reading fiction, as I don't. You could link the two. At a 1:1 ratio. And only watch a movie for the extent of time that you have read, or like in my case listened to your wish-list of books. And the thought of watching the movies will show you interesting ways to get the reading done.
It will happen sometimes, or possibly many times that you miss your weekly or monthly target.
Typically most people will justify the circumstances and say that they'll do it later. And then get into the habit of skipping the missed goal. Till the goal is abandoned. Get into the habit of completing past goals, even if the due date is past. It could be difficult. And painful. But once you get into the habit of not allowing yourself to skip, you'll have an additional incentive to get it done on time.
You need to measure your micro progress. Which in turn measures your mini progress and your progress towards the goal.
Map your measurements to your plans. And share your progress periodically with your monitor. Chances are that she will be asking for progress reports regularly. All of this will make achieving your goals that much easier.
While setting goals there are occasions when we really don't know how much time or how difficult it's likely to be. When you find that your goals may not be realistic you may need to re-calibrate.
It's okay to accept that the goal was not practical. Life, work and family trump personal goals. And circumstances as well as time could sometimes make achieving the original goal impractical. That's when you re-calibrate. Using the new knowledge you now have. And go about achieving the new goal.
To whoever you believe in. Your God. Your mother. Your kids. Yourself. Or have a bet that you cannot afford to lose.
As humans we tend to be more aware and keep promises made to others than ourselves. And pride ourselves on not breaking our promises. While this may not be scientific and may even defy logic, it seems to work. And if that doesn't work, make a bet which you can't afford to lose. You'll figure out a way to get it done. Since you can't afford to lose.
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