Paper based Goal Setting Tool
Are you more a paper and pencil type of person when it comes to goal setting?
If you are, you may want to check out this neat little tool called “5×5p5 Goals Booklet“. It’s a free PDF download that you can print it out on a nice sheet of paper, and fold it up into a neat little booklet. You can keep it in your wallet and keep track of your goals anywhere you go. What a nice idea!
Goal Setting Booklet
The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals
Do you hate setting goals? Many people do. If you happen to be one of them, you may want to check out this book called “The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals”.
It describes a simple yet unforgettable process for how to obtain what you want from both your personal life and your career. You can read it as a goal-setting guide for people who hate setting goals.
This book tries to convert the process of setting goals from a dull routine into an exciting adventure by combining the methods of goal setting with the magic of making your wishes come true.
It offers a 4-step process:
- Step 1: Lock On
- Step 2: Act
- Step 3: Manage Your Progress
- Step 4: Persist
For more detaied reviews of the book, you can check it out at Amazon.com.
Time Management Advice from Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch
I came across this great video on YouTube on time management. It was a talk given by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the professor who gave that famous “Last Lecture”. He did this talk about only one year before he died of cancer. Who else could have given us better advice on time management than he?
The speech offers a lot of great advice on how to make plans for goals, how to better manage your time, and be more productive with your life. It’s full of very practical techniques and tricks that anyone can take advantage easily, such as:
- Use quadrant method for your TODO list
- Have 3 monitors
- Have a speaker phone
- Stand up when you are on the phone
- Write thank-you notes
- … …
It’s a great talk.
How to Do Your New Year Goals?
Perhaps you have been wondering what’s the best way to set and achieve your new year goals for 2010.
There are certainly many different goal setting strategies and theories that people can use , but I think what Khuram Malik suggested in this new blog post “How to have your best year ever” shed some great light on how to make goal setting really work for you.
Also Khuram went on to create a video reviewing how GoalsOnTrack.com can help you keep track on your goals. If you have never used GoalsOnTrack before, this could be a great tutorial tour of how it works and how it can help you achieve goals.
Top 10 New Year Resolutions of All Time
Have you wondered what New Year resolutions most of people create all these years?
According to polls from Quicken, nutrition centers and others, the top ten New Year’s resolutions are (remarkably consistent year after year):
- Spend more quality time with family and friends,
- Get in shape and/or lose weight
- Quit smoking and/or drinking
- Enjoy life more
- Get into a good relationship
- Find a better job
- Get out of debt
- Volunteer more and/or help others
- Learn something new
- Get Organized
I guess this list only applies to people in the U.S. or western world. In many other countries, with different cultures and traditions than here, I would seriously doubt “Spend more quality time with family and friends” could be the number 1 goal for most people. 
Of course, that doesn’t mean people in those countries wouldn’t want to spend time with family and friends, but just that it wouldn’t be their first priority, amongst all things. What do you think?
Be Better Organized With A Mind Map Template
Have you ever tried mind mapping tools? I find it sometimes useful and effective for organizing things related to goals, projects, schedules etc. I guess the reason that it’s very good organizer tool is because the mind map is very easy for the brain to hold these things we try to remember as a picture in mind.
If you have never tried it, you may want to start with a free Personal Organizer Template mind map. It’s built with BiggerPlate.com.
Personal Organiser Template Mind Map
There is another very good mind mapping tool I’ve used before is called Mindjet.
Most recent release
Last week we deployed another performance release. In that release, we’ve further optimized the code so that the dashboard and tasks pages load much faster now.
We’ve also added a “Delete” command in the quick “Re-Schedule” button on dashboard. This small function is useful if you find you no longer need to complete a task that is overdue or not worth doing at all.
We’ve also added feature to import tasks in ICS format, from programs such as Google Calender, iCalender, etc. To give it try, go to “Settings” on the top right of the page, and then select “Import Tasks” link.
In our current development sprint, we’re working on fixing all critial bugs and avoiding potential performance bottlenecks, and further optiming the layout for tasks and sub tasks pages.
As always, please don’t hesitate to send in your feedback.
Thanks,
Harry
Critical bug fixes
We’ve just fixed a bug in creating goals for some users. The bug was introduced by the caching code from last deploy we did early this week. It may have affected some users, but it’s now been fixed and it should be working all right.
Please let me know if you have any problems with goal creation.
Thanks,
Harry
The Simple Steps To Reaching Your Goals
By Carol Halsey
I’m sure this is not the first time you have heard about goal setting. The reason you keep hearing about it is because it really is important to your life. A good definition of goals is that they are dreams with deadlines. Yes, you can make your dreams come true. How do you want your life to be 10 years from now? How about 5 years, next year, or even 6 months from now.
The only difference between setting goals for your business or career, and setting personal goals is the subject matter. With commitment and persistence, and setting goals, your life can be any way you want it.
When you actually sit down and start identifying goals, you will probably end up with a long list. Decide what is most important to you in your business and personal lives. All goals do not have equal value. Some will be more meaningful to you. These are the goals to start on. Keep your list of the remaining goals to get back to later. Trying to do too much at the same time can be self-defeating.
Once you have selected the goals to start on, give each goal a deadline. Short term goals, such as completing a project, will be completed in six months or less. Medium term goals, such as increasing a customer base, or revenue, will be a yearly target. Your goal for career advancement could be in this time frame. Long term goals can run for several years, such as where do you want your business to be in 5 years, or building your nest egg to retire in 5, 10 or 20 years.
Write your goals down, as this increases commitment. Make your deadline for each goal realistic and reachable. There is no right or wrong on how long you determine it will take to reach a goal. It will be different for each person and each goal. Whatever is comfortable for you is what counts.
Okay, you have done this. Now, how do you get started? By identifying what you must do to accomplish your goals. Look at each one individually. Under each goal, write down the tasks to be undertaken to reach that goal. You may not think of everything to the smallest detail, but you will come up with the major tasks. Give each one of these tasks a deadline.
On short term goals, your deadlines will most likely be daily, weekly and monthly. On long term goals, deadlines are more like six months, first year, eighteen months, second year. You can break these down even further. If you know what you want to accomplish the first six months of a long term goal, what can you do this month, next month, etc. to get there. Include these tasks and their deadlines in your calendar, and schedule the time needed to work on them.
Once this is done with all your goals, you have made a contract with yourself and the commitment to take action. This is your road map to get you where you want to go. Each day, ask yourself if what you are doing is helping you get there. If the answer is no, be sure you know why you are doing it at all.
If all this seems difficult or overwhelming, start with just one goal. Make it easy and short term. Once you have accomplished this, go on to another goal. Remember that life is a journey to be enjoyed. Be kind to yourself. You will find by setting goals and identifying what you need to do to get there, will cut down on a lot of stress in your life. At the same time, you will be making those dreams a reality.
Here are a few good quotes to inspire you.
“Happiness, wealth, and success are by-products of goal setting, they cannot be the goal themselves. ” - Denis Waitley
“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” - Laurence J. Peter
“People have more options than they think they do. But most people spend more time planning their vacations than thinking about what they want to do with their lives.” - Bob McDonald
“What you do every day should contribute to giving your life meaning. If it doesn’t, why are you doing it?” - Don Hutcheson
Carol Halsey is Founder and President of Business Organizing Solutions. She is a professional organizer, consultant, speaker, and author of “93 Organizing Tips to Simplify Your Business Life.” You can get this booklet and articles, ideas and a free Idea Kit, filled with simple tips for saving time, by visiting her web site: http://www.PilesToFiles.com
“Free” accounts will be closed soon
We will be closing the “free” and “trial” account in the coming week or so, as it no longer supports our business model, nor does it seem to bring much value to our existing customers.
If you’d like to keep your account, please upgrade to the “Standard” plan as soon as possible. Otherwise, do nothing and your account will be automatically closed and your data will be removed.
