Thankfully it’s February. The post holiday blue’s are well behind you and you feel like you are back in your groove. And then it hits you, “I am back in the groove ok but I am also back to my old habits”. At this point you may realise you have forgotten those new years’ resolutions, forgotten all about the goals & targets you set yourself at the start of January and that you are now just cruising along day to day just like last year.

It seems all too common that we put time aside to set ourselves goals for both our business and personal lives but often people seem to give them little or no attention after that, let alone attempt to achieve them.  

We set time aside to dream about what we really want, or want to be. We let our mindset shift to think about the “big picture” and where we want to be and get excited about how great that will be once we get there. However pretty soon we find ourselves back in the “groove” making decisions with a short term day to day focus, forgetting about our big picture desires.

So how do we prevent this? The following are some tips I find useful

1. Make a short list of points that you want to achieve this year.

2. From this list pick 3-5 items maximum that will sum up your goals and you can easily measure in order to determine if you are on track. Some examples might include.

• Make X sales this year.
• Make Y in profits this year.
• Lose 1 stone this year.
• Take 3 weeks holiday
• Have dinner with my family everyday.

3. Print this short list out and put it in places you see everyday. Perhaps use it as a bookmark in your diary, attach it to you computer monitor, or on your notice board.

4. Take 2 minutes each day to look at the list. Think what it will be like if you had these things.

5. When making daily decisions consider these goals and ask yourself, “by doing this am I moving towards my goals or away from my goals?” Initially this may seem odd, but soon you will start to do it as second nature

6. Be realistic, accept setbacks if they happen and move on.

7. Keep focused and think of the “big picture”.

Remember – you don’t want to be stuck with the same habits this time next year – do you?