Set Goals, And Yet Not Successful?

Many people set goals for themselves but find it hard to achieve anything. Even simple to do lists for the day don’t get ticked off as often as they would like!

It is this lack of focus that is stopping many people from achieving success.

Common problem — people know they should be doing something productive to help themselves but they don’t do it. They get distracted too easily.

So for example, people don’t want to wait and build a business online, they want to succeed within the next 36 hours– in reality this does not happen.

The question is, how can we focus more?

I think you’ve already knew the answer — by setting out specific goals and having a clear vision of the outcome that we want to accomplish, and once we know why we are doing something, we will find it easier to stick to.

For example you want to make $500,000 this year from the internet. Therefore you know that every minute you spend at the computer has to be productive. Why? Because the more productive you are, the closer you will be to getting to you goal of making $500,000 this year.

Obviously, you know what you need to do. If you do get distracted you know you have the choice of continuing with the activity that is distracting you or going back to being productive and working towards your goal.

The trick is, in order to stay focused, you need sheer determination. These two go hand in hand because focus without determination is not going to let you move forward and determination without focus means you don’t have a direction to move towards. Do you see the connection now?

You must be determined to succeed. Many people begin very determined and then start to make excuses. Hey, focus!

Remember success can take time. Overnight success is a… well, a rarity. Research shows that you need to do something for 28 days (or is it 21?) in a row before it becomes a habit. So begin to work at being successful and keep doing it.

Keep the long term goal in mind for everything that you do. It’s very easy to get distracted in the short term but this distraction — watching TV, going for a drink, can have affects that reaches the long term goal.

By focusing on the long term goal, your determination will come in.

Does this mean that you can’t watch TV, go for drinks with friends or do other non-productive things? Of course not.

But there is a time for everything. Be as productive as you can with the time you have in a day but allow yourself the down time as well to enjoy yourself and relax. Get back on the horse after that and achieve the next milestone.

But sometimes, it’s not because lack of determination — it’s limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs are beliefs that you can’t do it, you can’t make a change, you will fail, only other people succeed and so on. The fact is, we have so many limiting beliefs and many people have an inner critic that tells them they can’t do things.

So before a person wanted to start, he has already loses his confident.

Here are more examples of what someone might think or say to himself if he wanted to quit his job to start a business:

* I might as well stay in my job, as it’s not so bad
* If my business fails, I will lose everything
* I can’t succeed online — it’s all a scam
* What if I try something and I don’t succeed… people will laugh at me
* I don’t have time to do it

The last excuse is probably the most often use and the most preposterous — however bear in mind that we ALL only have 24 hours in a day. Believe it or not, even the most successful people in the world only have the same amount of time.  It’s just how we use those hours that’s important.

So what happens is, you listen to this critic and never take action. Many people feel if they don’t try something then they can’t fail — yup, “weird” logic but people actually think unconsciously like this.

Stop and listen to yourself and see if you can recognize your “inner critic”, hear what it is saying to you. Many of us have one and it can really stop us succeeding! Take a few minutes and complete this simple exercise.

As yourself, “What’s my excuse?”

Write down all the “excuses” you make for not doing something.

Now go back to your list and write out fully why what you wrote above is actually a limiting believe — try to really prove why it is true. Be honest.

When you really examined these thoughts that you had, you will realize that they were excuses you were making.

So the next time you stop yourself from doing something, pause and take the time to examine your thoughts. Is the reality really like that or is it just your inner critic talking?

The secret to stop your inner critic — make yourself bigger than your excuses.

Written by Patric Chan

6 Ways to Beat Procrastination – on Big and Little Tasks

Ask almost anyone what holds them back from reaching their goals, or what bad habit they’d like to overcome, and there’s a good chance they’ll say “procrastination.”

All of us procrastinate, at least a little bit. We put off things that we feel we should do, and even things that we want to do: anything from doing the dishes to writing a book.

Sometimes, a certain level of putting-things-off is a smart move. After all, if you’ve got a bunch of tasks on your list, you’re much better off prioritizing the important ones and letting the others slide for a few days, instead of running yourself into the ground trying to get everything done.

Often, though, procrastination is simply a bad habit. If you constantly procrastinate over little tasks, to the extent that they cause problems, or if you never get round to tackling bigger tasks, even though you’d really love to complete some major projects … then read on.

Big Projects

If you’ve got a big project in mind – perhaps writing a book, taking a new qualification, or changing careers – then you probably feel that there’s never enough time. Maybe you’re waiting until you’re not quite so busy, or until you feel more motivated.

Often, the best way to get motivated is to get moving – and you may have to make time for your goals rather than find it. Here’s how:

#1: Set Yourself a Deadline

Let’s say you’re 30lbs overweight, and you want to get healthier. A sensible goal might be to lose those 30lbs within the next six – nine months. You might want to look for a particular milestone (like a vacation, your next birthday, or Christmas) to help you stay focused.

Goals often remain dreams until they have a firm timescale attached. Once you’ve set that deadline, you can work backwards and pick milestones to help you keep up a good rate of progress with your project.

#2: Make it a Priority in Your Day

Even if you’re not really a morning person, making time for a big project first thing can be very powerful – it gets your day off to the right start. If you wait until all your other tasks are done, you’ll often find that you simply run out of time, or don’t have the energy.

For personal projects, try setting your alarm 20 minutes early, and spending those 20 minutes making progress. That might mean reading a book related to your goal, doing some research, writing, exercising…

#3: Be Accountable to Others

If you find yourself hitting “snooze” on the alarm every day, and if your deadline is getting closer and closer without you taking any action, then you need an extra motivational boost. By making other people aware of your goal, you’re much less likely to procrastinate (even if you still feel like it sometimes!)

You could join a group or club to help you along (offline or online) and get the support of like-minded people. Alternatively, you could simply announce your goal to your friends and family on Facebook: even if they don’t fully understand what you’re trying to achieve, they’ll want to encourage and support you.

Small Tasks

If you find yourself putting off chores and other little tasks, you might think that this isn’t a problem – especially if you’re making good progress towards your goals. But all those incomplete tasks tend to mount up, and can lead to a lot of wasted time. (If you’ve ever lost one vital piece of paper in the chaos that is your workspace, you’ll know what I mean..!)

By finding time to take care of the little things, you’ll feel more relaxed and on top of life. Here’s how:

#4: Batch Similar Tasks Together

When you switch from one task to another, you tend to lose a bit of time – and concentration. For instance, if you answer one email, then file a few pieces of paper, then update your Facebook page, then answer another email, you make it very easy for procrastination to get the better of you.

Batching together similar tasks makes it much easier to stay focused and you work more efficiently. This might mean answering all your emails at once, then closing your inbox, or making several phone calls in a row.

#5: Set a Timer Going

However much you dislike a particular task, it’s on your to-do list for a reason. If you keep putting off the housework, your filing, or some other dreaded chore, try doing it for just 15 minutes. Set a timer going and work on that one task until the time’s up.

You can face just about anything for 15 minutes … and you may well find that, once you get going, it’s really not so bad as you thought.

#6: Create a Schedule

Perhaps you tend to procrastinate on some tasks because you simply forget about them – or remember them at completely the wrong time, like when you’re in the shower or driving to work.

If you have certain tasks that really should be done on a weekly or monthly basis, put them into your calendar. That way, you won’t have to worry about forgetting them – and you’ll have time set aside in order to get them done.

 Where in your life do you struggle with procrastination – on your big projects or your small tasks? Let us know your experience (and your tips!) in the comments

Written by Ali Luke