Whatever you did to create that ‘superman peed in my porridge’ feeling, do more of that. Job done.
Not so fast there goal digger. You’ve set your goals for the year with your goal map beautifully laminated and put up in a place you can see it every day. You’ve got good intentions and things are feeling fresh. For now. Let me tell you what’s going to happen. Energy is going to start to wane as we get to the 49th day of February, you’ll start to get distracted by what competitors are doing over there, setbacks that are going to happen over here and just like that vertigo feeling you’ll get sucked into the day to day.
You’ve gone from being a boss to playing a game of whack-a-mole!
That means going a few days without looking at your goal map and then before you know it those threads start to unravel. Priorities don’t seem like priorities anymore, you let yourself off the hook with those deadlines you set. And before you know it you’re saying “oh my god, how is it halloween already?”
Welcome to real life. The thing is, you’re on that Dawn Wall and you’ve got another 2,700 feet to go my fellow goal digger. Let’s stay focused, stay on track and don’t start to fray.
Consistency + Time = Results
When you realise that nearly half of your actions are not conscious and that you have to create habits to support your goals, you’ll make quantum leaps (or freak out a little bit like I did).
Habits take time, commitment and they’re a slog. Good habits help you create consistency and move the needle forward in your business (you only have to see there are over 4,000 search results in the book section on Amazon to habits are a popular topic).
I say show up with attitude, keep it simple and do the things. You know that I like to have lots of smaller goals that stack up to breakthrough goals and that’s important for eating the frog as they say.
Top secret. I’m awful at creating new habits - really, really awful at it. My days are so different and varied, the thought of having to meditate at the same time every day for kills me a little bit. My secret weapon is scheduling. Know what you need to get done, get everything you need lined up and schedule it to get it done. I plan like this every Sunday so I know what my week has in store and I’ve committed to working ON the business.
If you talk about it, its’ a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. But if you schedule it, it’s real
You know all those things and you don’t need to read the 4,000 books on creating habits (unless you want to). But often my clients ask me what to do when consistency isn’t so consistent. Let’s talk about that and maybe you can bookmark this or save this and come back to it when it’s needed.
How to stay consistent working towards your goals (even when you’re falling off the wall)
1. Focus on progress not perfection
Neil Gaiman famously said “perfection is like chasing the horizon.” To me this means that if your morning, your day or your week isn’t quite going to plan, you can start over. You don’t need to wait for another Monday to roll around. Hit the reset button, any time.
What’s your reset button? When my progress is waning or I’m staring at my screen, letting distractions do their thing, there’s nothing better than a walk or a bit of Peloton to hit reset. Get up, change your view, do something to move your body or maybe meditation is your thing.
2. Redefine what productivity looks like
As business owners, aka overachievers, it’s so tempting to try to do all the things. Pause a moment. Whether you’re looking at your annual goals, quarterly rocks or tasks for the day, less is more.
You want to have 3 to 6 things on your goal list or on your daily task list. When you try to do all the things and have too many things in front of you, your brain doesn’t know what to focus on. As a result, you won’t get through many of your tasks or goals. Don’t spread yourself so thin, the less you focus on the more you’ll get done.
3. Don’t stay stuck
If you’ve ever had moments when you feel stuck, you’re not quite sure what to do next, maybe it gets you a little frustrated, raise your hand.
Yep, we’ve all been there.
Take a look at your actions (and your habits) and ask yourself what are they saying to you right now? If you’re stuck because you’re procrastinating I sometimes think that it’s is a form of gut instinct. Listen to what your actions and behaviours are telling you.
Maybe it’s instinct, maybe it’s a blocker and maybe you just need a word from Theodore Roosevelt. “If you could kick the person in the pants for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
Just don’t stay stuck, rubber duck it with someone, talk to a friend or hire a coach for a power hour. Remember, the things you do today and every day take you closer to your goals. Movement creates momentum, keep moving.
4. Create boundaries
How good are you at setting boundaries? If prioritising and saying no makes you squirm in your chair a little bit, you might know that you need to be better at setting boundaries.
This isn’t just about scheduling and ring-fencing time, creating boundaries needs to be mindful. As a business owner, you could work all the hours in the day and every day of the week and still not have enough time.
Boundaries are the guardrails to our productivity (and our sanity). I’ve got a whole post dedicated to setting boundaries for your success and recommend heading on back to that one. It’s deep.
5. Be kind to yourself
I’m often calling clients out on their language. I’m not talking about f-bombs but rather how we talk to ourselves. It can be so negative, we wouldn’t talk to friends or family that way. “I’m not doing enough, I’m not enough, look at them, they have it all together, what’s wrong with me.”
Dr Amy Arnsten, a neuroscience professor says that when we’re stressed our brains are wired in a way that we lose our ability to focus. It’s wired to start shutting down so we can respond to danger, weird hey.
Whatever it might be that’s got you hooped take a break, have a kind word with yourself and don’t beat yourself up.
If you find the positive self-talk a little weird like I do, then try keeping a diary of magic moments or wins. I have a little place where things like that get recorded. If you ever found yourself lacking a bit of oomph you can find it in celebrating the wins - big or small.
If you always do the things you’ve always done you’ll keep getting the same results you’ve always gotten. I hope this gives you a boost and you hear something that you needed wherever you are on your entrepreneurial journey.
You’ve got this. And remember, consistency’s best friend is accountability. If you need a little bit of that then let’s talk.
Which one resonated most with you? I’d love to hear from you so drop me a DM on social media or email me hello@workwithsian.co.uk and ask me a question.
