It's the time of the year again when we make a list of the new habits and goals we want.
We want to remove bad habits from our life and have good ones instead.
Indeed, every new year is a motivating time to create such a list (although, personally, I'd recommend not limiting to new year's to make a list).
Our grand plan that will change everything in our lives and catapult us to the peak of success.
But the sad thing is just about 8% of people achieve their new year's resolutions.
Why is this so?
The biggest reason we fail is lack of follow through.
After all, success means follow through. And failing means lack of follow through.
The road to success will almost always not be a straight line.
You'll encounter twists and turns.
Lack of follow through has some common reasons
They are1) It is not really what you want.
That's why when something else comes along you get easily distracted and might pivot or change your goals completely. Here are tips on how to determine what you really want in life.2) You were unable to change who you are or part of who you are.
If you keep doing what you've been doing then you can expect the same result. Because insanity is doing the same things but expecting different result. If you want to achieve something you don't have you got to do things you've never done before. Determine the things you need to change about yourself.
3) Not being able to keep yourself on track
By tracking your progress (or lack thereof) you can determine where to adjust your efforts and where to continue your efforts. Plus, tracking your progress motivates you when you're doing good and helps you put things into perspective when your progress is not that good.
4) Not being able to plan from the start and not being able to revisit that plan regularly.
One of the most effective methods to planning is to follow the S.M.A.R.T. plan method.
Having a system around your goals frees you up from the fallacy of your willpower
Time
You have to have a system that works within your routine when it comes to your time. Or adjust your current routine to make time for your goals consistently in such a manner that's natural to your day as much as possible.
Environment
Having the ideal environment is quite underestimated when it comes to effectively achieving your goals. I can't state enough how having the right environment eases your struggle to achieving your goals.
Community
Having the community that is aligned with your goals gives you the proper perspective on things, motivates you to keep moving forward, helps you acquire knowledge from other like minded people, and prevents loneliness on your journey towards your goals.
Have tools to help you stay on your system of achieving your goals
Getting Things Done
This is my favorite productivity methodology and the one I am using right now in a major way (I compliment this methodology with Kanban, Pomodoro, 80/20 Rule, and Don't Break The Chain methodology)
Kanban
I use the Kanban board in Trello especially for my software development projects. It enables me to easily keep track of my todo and my done tasks.
Pomodoro Technique
I use Pomodoro technique but not strictly. For coding, I use a 2-3 hour Pomodoro technique and not the traditional 25 minute technique because I find that I can focus 2-3 hours in coding productively and 25 minutes just breaks my focus unnecessarily. I set browsing the internet to 10 minutes only for breaks. For reading books I usually set a Pomodoro technique of 1 and a half hours.
80/20 Rule
I love this technique because it enables me to give my focus on my most important tasks that contribute to my big goals. It keeps me from being distracted by the 80% of things that don't contribute to my big goals.
Seinfeld's Productivity Secret/Don't Break the Chain
Perfect for acquiring new productive habits and breaking bad ones. Consistency is the heart of habits.
Now that you
- have your goals
- know why you fail
- know how to follow through
- have the tools to help you follow through
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