The new year is here. All around us people’s motivation is at an all time high, anything is possible and 2016 is going to be the best year ever! Until that first hurdle or first missed gym session or blog post or resolution bump in the road. Sound familiar? I know we are all guilty of this, including me.

Well, today we are going to talk about how one simple change to your thinking can help you avoid these pitfalls and get the most out of your year.

Firstly, stop putting so much pressure on yourself. January 1 is just another day of the year. Yes, it is the first day but it’s not the only day you can set goals or start a new project. If you get caught up in holiday fun or children on school holidays, it’s not the end of the world, you don’t have to wait until 2017 to get started because you missed January.

January always brings a big influx of coaching clients for me and they usually want intensive sessions ie: 2 hours blocks, weekly sessions, half day/full day sessions. It’s full steam ahead this month, then life happens, preparing kids to go back to school, husbands go back to work, business picks up again and they start selling a few products or services and then have no time to dedicate to improving their business or reviewing their goals and next thing you know, it’s September and they are no where closer to achieving anything they set out to do. Instead of deciding to focus 100% in those last few months, they decide they have failed and will start again next year…..and so the cycle continues.

How do you avoid this trap? Simple, one word, focus.

Think about all the things you would like to do in your business, the long term goals, the reason you started it. This exercise is so uplifting and motivating and is a good way to get you out of the “doing” and working on your business again.

Next think about your big goal and decide, if I could only do one thing this year that would help me achieve this goal, what would it be? Instead of thinking about all the hundreds of overwhelming things you need to do, just pick one. One goal, one new product or service, one task to focus on. This one thing needs to directly relate back to helping you achieve your overall big business goal.

From there it is much easier to achieve by breaking it down into chunks.

  1. Big goal.
  2. Quarterly tasks to help you achieve this big goal.
  3. Monthly tasks to help you achieve your quarterly tasks.
  4. Weekly tasks to help you achieve your monthly tasks.
  5. Daily tasks to help you achieve your weekly tasks.

All of a sudden it looks much easier and more achievable plus you are hitting mini milestones that keep you motivated. Make sure you reward yourself once you hit one of these milestones. If you miss a day or go on holidays for a week, it’s easy to pick up where you left off and play catch up. Many big brands have made their millions by focussing on just one thing at a time – think Apple as an example. Each year there is a new focus – iMac, Macbook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc. They don’t get rid of any of the old product, just put all their energy into launching and perfecting the next.

By choosing to focus on that one thing that you need to do, you won’t get as easily distracted by all the shiny new opportunities that come your way during the year.

While we are on the topic of shiny new opportunities, this is one of the top reason’s people fail to achieve their goals. Distraction. Here’s a list of questions you can ask yourself should one come your way.

  1. If I say yes to this opportunity will it get me to my big goal quicker?
  2. Is it in line with what I want to achieve in my business?
  3. Can I resource this or will I need additional help?
  4. If I need additional help, can I afford this/will it self fund?
  5. Am I saying yes just because I’m flattered to be asked?

So often it is easy to say yes to something then regret it later or find that it takes all your time and energy away from your core business which in all reality is your lively hood.

In summary, here is your top lessons for helping you achieve more in 2016.

  1. Focus on just one thing that will help you achieve your big goal
  2. Don’t say yes to everything because you are flattered, make sure it is a good fit for your big goal.
  3. Start today, tomorrow or even April 25 – just start!

What is the one thing you are focussing on this year? If you think you might need some help consider a coach or an accountability partner to keep you motivated!