Want An Easy And Realistic Way To Achieve What’s Important To You?

Create a sensible roadmap using the rule of three

Many years ago, when I was a life coach, one of the most popular exercises I did with my clients was to plan their goals using a rule of three.

It’s very simple. Here’s the short version:

Decide what is important to you and do three small things towards it this week.

Repeat next week.

If you want to do the full exercise, it’s still simple and quick:

1. Decide on three things you would like to achieve in the next year. Write them down.
   

2. Now write down three things you need to do in six months time in order to achieve those yearly goals. Write them down.
   

3. Similarly, what are three things that you would need to get done in three months time to take you towards those goals? Write them down.
   

4. What are three things that you would need to get done in the next month? Write them down.
   

5. The last step is to choose three action steps in the next week that will take you towards the above milestones.
   

The beauty of this system is that it gives you three small, doable steps every week that you can fit in around your other responsibilities. Small, consistent steps accumulate over time and progress is made.

This method is a fantastic way to figure out your goals and create an achievable roadmap to get there.

When you are deciding on the one, three or six month milestones – if they don’t seem achievable then adjust the other milestones. Maybe your six month milestone is more suitable for the yearly goal. Maybe those yearly goals will take two years.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to achieve your goals, it just matters that you start to take action on them and make consistent progress.

The three weekly actions don’t have to be big. They can be to do with your creative work and for other areas of your life where you need to make progress.

You could make a phone call about something you’ve been procrastinating on, or pitch a podcast to market your book, or go out for a twenty minute walk.

You could also use this approach in your day job so that you keep focussed on the most important tasks that you need to get done each week. (Or you could even focus on three essential tasks each day). If you get your work done in an efficient manner then you’ll have more time and energy for your creative activities.

What are three small steps you can do in the next week which will take you closer to your heart’s desire?

Starting this Monday I’m going to introduce a new weekly post which will be a discussion thread inviting you to share your three action points. If you’re not already a subscriber, please subscribe now to be part of this.

I’ll be sharing my goals too. We can make progress together and keep ourselves accountable.

(Photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash)

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