There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishing a goal you put in place for yourself. You made a plan, stuck to it, and conquered — it is a very satisfying feeling, to say the least. In fact, when it comes to personal goals, you’re more likely to stay motivated with a clear vision if you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing.
In other words, loving what you do and doing what you love is important when it comes to designing a life that you want to live — with a higher purpose than just making good money.
The concept of getting shit done is something that I’ve consistently pushed to achieve even on days when I’d rather take it easy and lounge. But before I’m able to get into the “get shit done” mindset, I have to have goals in place.
Setting goals is a way to do the following:
- Have a clear vision of what the destination looks like
- Break up the path to achieving your goals into smaller steps
- Hold yourself accountable
- Design a roadmap that will help guide you
- Stay focused on making progress
In today’s blog post, I’m going to highlight some actionable tips on how to get shit done and track your efforts. Being able to surpass smaller milestones that build over time will keep you motivated to achieve your larger goals. Let’s get started…
Lay Out a Simple To-Do List
Before the day begins, it’s important to spend 15 minutes looking at all of the things you want to get done for the day. A tool I love to use is Tasks in my Google Calendar. I can easily list out the items I have to check off for a specific day. You can even plan out your entire day by setting specific times. This is a great way to make sure that you stay focused on boxing out your time properly for each task.
Once you are done with a specific task, you can check it off. This gives you a clear view of what’s left. At the end of the day, you can see what you were able to get done.
Take 45 Minutes to Review Every Month
At the end of every month, set aside at least 45 minutes to look at everything you accomplished for the month. Look at how much progress you’ve made and how much further you have to go to achieve a milestone that’s going to lead you closer to a bigger goal.
Reviewing the month will help you become incredibly disciplined in your daily habits in order to really get shit done. Additionally, know that this exercise is meant to help you reflect on the following:
- What you accomplished for the month
- What you weren’t able to get to and why
- The habit that you want to focus on improving
- Activities that helped boost your energy and productivity levels
- Changes you can make to improve for the next month
Here’s an example to consider by Buffer:
Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
Remember, it’s easier to be critical of yourself and to look at how far you have to go than it is to practice gratitude for how far you’ve come — even if the progress is slow. Make sure that as you break down your goals into smaller, actionable goals, stay patient with the process.
In other words, make sure you prioritize executions that will propel you to move ahead. This is more important than prioritizing a hundred things that only inch you towards the end zone.
Here’s are some tips to get you going:
- Rank each task you want to achieve. This will show you the importance of what needs to get done before other initiatives.
- Assign due dates to every initiative.
- Set short-term and long-term executions for each task.
- Guesstimate how long each task will take you.
- Make time to step outside of the work you’re doing. This will help ensure you don’t get burnt out and that you can return to what you’re doing with a fresh state of mind.
Starve Your Distractions
In a previous blog post entitled, How to Apply the ‘Get Shit Done’ Approach to Your Everyday Life, I wrote:
We all have the same 24 hours in a day, and that will never change. What separates productive individuals from the rest is their ability to best utilize the time they’re given — and they can usually do so without sacrificing important things like sleep or time with family.
You might be surprised to learn just how much of your time is eaten up by distractions. Sure, we’re all guilty of sneaking a peek at Facebook or replying to a group text when we’re supposed to be working, but these little micro-moments can add up to major lost time each day.
If you really want the data on how much time you’re wasting, use a time tracking app or tool that will break down your time spent by category. Apple built in a screen time feature for the iPhone, and it gives you some great insight into your mobile phone habits. You can also use free tools like Clockify to automatically track your project hours.
Once you know where your time is going, you’ll be better equipped to identify and eliminate distractions that aren’t adding value to your day.
Wrapping It Up: Have Fun
It can be easy to get carried away with feeling like work becomes a chore or that you want to procrastinate the next few executions that need to get done. However, know that if you are truly determined and focused on doing something you love, then it not only feels less like “work,” but more like something you absolutely need to do.
Here are some clear reasons to just simply do what you love:
- The work will inspire you to get shit done.
- You’ll feel more fulfilled.
- You’ll feel happier. Money is great, but purpose is better.
- You feel more in control of your own destiny and take on the authority with the responsibility of what it’ll take to get to where you want to be.
- You stop making excuses.
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