When it comes to achievement, you might say that I’m driven by it. This year has been one for the books in our business where increased our revenue exponentially (more on that later) and have been working hard for months on end. Maybe you can relate?
However, over the past few months I’ve found myself with less energy than needed on my daily basis. Eating right and being active, something was off. I was constantly distracted and moving from thing to thing with lack of focus. (Some would say I had around 20 tabs in my brain open and trying to run at the same time.)
With June here, we’re 6 months into the year. By now, you’ve probably crushed your goals since December and are longing for a break. Maybe you’ve completely forgotten your goals from NYE and the subsequent days after. Today, we’re diving deep into goal setting, adding a bit of strategy, and focus to change your life the next 6 months!
Are you ready? Let’s do it.
First things first. What is your why?
Championed by Simon Simonek in his TED talk, here’s the place where we start. There are going to be days where dream chasing, hustle, and prioritizing your goals is going to be simply hard. Knowing the outcome and the reward is necessary to keep moving when you’re exhausted plowing through the late nights and early mornings to make it happen.
Close out all the tabs and embrace the quiet.
Grab your favorite journal. It’s time to ideate. Whether it’s for your personal life, your business, or simply next steps on a project- take the time to back away from the daily grind, journal and dream. It’s the best way to rise above the noise. Envision what you’d love your life to look like and write it down. There’s so much power in writing things down in a journal. The power of pencil and paper is unreal.
Make it actionable.
Take these dreams and visions and make them specific. When and how will you do it? Maybe it’s the time leading up to a launch. Who is responsible for it? How can you make it happen? If it’s something that is in a new direction than what you are currently doing and you’re finding yourself at capacity, what can you edit, delegate, or simply accomplish in 1 hour a day?
Set the stage for focus.
There’s a playlist I adore for focus on Spotify. I light a candle, post up with a cup of coldbrew, and start to grind things out. On the right hand side of my desk is a list with three priorities for the day and appropriate time blocking. Unless I’m managing social media for a client, my phone stays in my bag and out of sight. Depending on the day, alarms might be set for getting work done and the speed of deadlines.
Know your rhythms and plan accordingly.
Speaking to all my fellow entrepreneurs out there, discover what days, time of day, and moments where you are the most productive. Whether it’s a rush at your waking hours or late at night when the house is quiet, there will be times where your brain will naturally focus better than others.
Focus and creativity most often occurs when there is ease.
We all have heard the previous sentence countless times over, right? But what does this look like practically? When in the process of projects, do you find struggle and tend to avoid, procrastinate or welcome distraction? (Often times creatives are great at ideating and starting things but struggle to complete projects, welcoming distraction instead of pushing through the resistance.) Cultivate margin in your life where focus can happen. We do this through time blocking in our schedule and sticking to it. (Taking a 17 minute break every 50 minutes helps as well, while adjusting between working at a sitting and standing desk.)
Tell me, how are you choosing focus and fresh goals in the last 6 months of 2019?
We’d love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments below.