Towards the end of July, most school children in UK received their end of year report card. Remember those days? Well, being on the flip side, I didn’t personally feel the joy or worry that comes with this kind of assessment – BUT it did inspire me to think about how I would be assessed against my targets for 2014 at this stage. Seeing as I love a good audit (as anyone who’s read Happily Ever After for Grown-Ups will know) – it became a prompt for me to imagine my end of term report… and it was a great exercise. In summary, it was a little bit like this: Goal (NB: Phrased here in a very general way – don’t worry…I have these in a more specific, measurable way!) Assessment Grade Effort Grade (where 1 is excellent and 4 leaves much to be desired!) Career development B- 2 Health & Fitness aspirations C+ 2 / 3 Focus on family and friends B 2 Adventure / fun B 2 Gratitude B+ 1 To have a fair idea, you first need to know what your targets are – and it’s most likely that these will involve recognition / clarity about your New Year’s Resolutions…and if you weren’t clear then, why don’t you get clear now. What might yours be like? Looking (way back) towards my school days, I had to really work hard to achieve the A grades I wanted and these days it’s no different. Not only can it be difficult but is also a strategic approach needed in going for your goals… but when you really want something –...
The nights are dark, the air is crisp and every other ad on TV mentions the words “this Christmas.” Yup – the season to be jolly is approaching which means that the end of 2013 is imminent. How has 2013 been for you? How far along did you get with any New Years Resolutions you set more than 11 months ago? Did you score the new job you were after? Gain the promotion you were working towards? Create a deeper, more supportive connection with your partner? Spend more quality time with your children? Have more fun with your friends? Lose that excess weight that’s been bugging you? Plan or go on the spectacular holiday you wanted? Yes? Yay you! There really is not much else that is as satisfying as moving closer and closer to these sorts of goals if they help you create the kind of lifestyle you want. If you’ve not quite gotten there yet and are already Thinking “it didn’t happen this year but I’ll DEFINITELY make it happen in 2014” then I would like to stop you in your tracks. Whoa there! “I’ll make it happen next year?!” Your resolve is commendable but you have forgotten one thing. There are (just under) 7.. Yes nearly 7 weeks of 2013 left. You know his much can happen in 7 weeks? Lots – to put it mildly – so with that in mind I would like to share 7 ways that you can progress further to your goals in the last 7 weeks of 2013. 1. Look for a quick win: Are you close to achieving one...
As we rapidly approach the second half of 2013 (yup… the time is nigh) – conversations I have recently had with colleagues, clients and friends led me to the conclusion that it was time to write a short, thought provoking, action-orientated post on “How to Prioritise”… so here goes: Why? Well 2013 seems to have the potential to turn into another one of those ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ years. You know the ones. The ones where January comes and the year feels like it’s full of promise. You take a deep breath and exhale when you think of the promise of the blank slate ahead of you. This will be the year that X, Y and Z happens. This will be the no-nonsense ‘I can do it’ year. Suddenly – before you know it, it’s July and although you hopefully have some of your main goals ticked off your list, you realise that unless you get your skates on- you’ll have less to celebrate by the end of than you would have envisaged. With that in mind, read the points below (and those in the rest of this series of posts) – designed to give you the tools to help you answer the question “what did I achieve this year” with your head held high. Have a look and adopt, remember and/or repeat anything which takes your fancy. Remember, when it comes to achieving your goals, the adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” applies if all is going as you’d like it to… but if you feel like you can stretch yourself even further – try...
Do you remember having discussions about how hard it was to believe 2012 was already coming to an end. “Where did the year go?” “2012 whizzed by… How did that happen?” “It seemed like only yesterday that”… etc. You remember those conversations? They happened over office Christmas meals, seasonal drinks with your friends and festive meals with your families. Yet, here we are at the end of January already… Suggesting that 2013 may have the same Usain Bolt-esque speed that we experienced last year. Whether or not you officially set yourself some resolutions / goals within the first month of the year, chances are, you at least paused to think about what you wanted 2013 to bring. How is that going for you? Here we are, past the alleged Blue Monday (3rd Monday in January – deemed to be a common day for giving up on new years resolutions), and on the cusp of the second month of the year. Even if you aren’t a structured resolution or goal setter, I bet you still don’t want the year to pass by without feeling like you’ve moved (edged, even) closer to your aspirations in some way. Whether its leaps and bounds or the slow but steady approach, don’t let 2013 come to an end with only fireworks to make you say ooh and aaah. My wish for you is that some of that incredulity is saved for your own special achievements this year. Whether that’s earning a promotion, finding a new job, getting onto the dating scene, improving your health and fitness, going on a trip you’ve always dreamed of...
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