WIZE TIME MANAGEMENT

Off your goal rails?

It’s almost February.  By now, goals are a distant memory.  Life has taken over once again and dreams are put on the back burner until next year or maybe never.

It’s happened before, right?

Great excitement January 1st, great goals – you could see them in your mind’s eye.  You may even have gone through the process following some system you learned on the internet or in a course or a book.   You wrote them down. You were very specific what you wanted.  You even found a way to measure your goals.

Yet, nothing has happened.

Did you get overwhelmed?

Likely – work, family, exchanging gifts, cleaning up, and getting back to the routine of life – where is there time to fit in the goals?  The “goals” part could have been the problem – too many, too little time.

So you dropped the whole idea of achieving any of the goals because you didn’t have the time – so you thought.

Are you willing to try again?

Try the system on this site. It has a twist to it and will likely give you the best chance of achieving at the very least, one goal in 2011.  Success builds on success.  If you accomplish something with this system, then it will build on itself.  Give it a shot.  It’s free – the best price around!

Lorraine Arams

http://www.wizetime.com

Do you really have to write down your goals?

I have two answers to that question:  Yes and no though I personally believe that every goal should be written down in one format or another.  Some people, however, are really, really good at keeping things in their head and following through – short term.

How do you know if you should write down a goal or not?

It’s very simple.  Is your goal a short-term goal?  What I mean by short term is a week or a month.  Short goals are generally urgent.  For instance, you have want to get a good mark in a course and need to do well on a paper which is due at the end of the month.  Or you need to have a report done by the end of the week for your boss – the deadline is set and there are no alternatives.

These are still goals, albeit short-term and related to an activity already underway such as passing a course or holding down a job.

Most of these goals can be added to your schedule for a short duration and, for those people who keep a running tally in their heads, well, these goals won’t take up too much space!

However, for long-term goals, that is, those goals which will take you a little longer than a week or a month, yes, it is very important that you do write it down.  The steps will become part of your schedule for a very long time to come.  It’s so easy to forget what your original intention was and get sidetracked.

What most people do not realize is that goal achievement is a process.  It’s not just a matter of deciding what they are, writing them down, putting a deadline on achieving them and that’s it.  If only it were that simple!

Process takes time.   Goals consists of things you’ve never achieved before.  You really don’t have a road map and need to build one as you go.  It takes time to research, talk to people, try things out, etc. And you’ll be encountering a lot of dead ends, detours, road blocks, ditches, washouts, treacherous conditions, and other factors as you travel down the road towards your goal.

I do not believe you can plan goals effectively in your head.  It’s so very important that goals and the achievement process are written down.

What do you write and how much?

You need all the standard stuff:  deadline, a way to measure it, a way of determining whether it is attainable or not, whether it is a reasonable goal for you, a complete description of what it will look like when you attain it,  whether or not it’s relevant to your life, how you feel when you do achieve it, why you want it and whether or not the goal is actually a goal you want or someone else wants you to achieve.

My favorite way to do this is as follows:

-  write like mad – one, two, fifteen – how ever many pages you want – in handwritten form or on the computer – whatever way you prefer

-  boil it all down to 60 words or less making sure you have all the key points in there

Why do I like this method so much?  Because by the time you have boiled the “dream” down to 60 words, you’ll really understand the goal and what you want to achieve.  You’ll “see” it in your mind’s eye.  One of two things will happen:

a)  you’ll decide you really want this goal

or

b)  it was a silly goal or something you really didn’t want after all and toss it -

either way, you’ve won.  If you want it, you’ll have the determination to see it through.  If you’ve decided against pursuing that goal, you will have saved yourself a lot of time, money and energy you can use elsewhere.

What next?

As I said before, it’s a process.  And processes require multiple steps.  It’s not always clear what the steps should be.

Also, as you move along towards your goal, you’ll discover that you’ll change your mind.  You’ll tweak some of the details or you’ll discover information which makes you rethink exactly what you want.   The more you work on your goal, the more precise your description will become.

If you have downloaded my free goal achievement system, I talk about the steps and how to keep building as you go along until you reach your goal.

Most importantly, when you reach it, you’ll know you’re there! Why?  Because you wrote it down!  You won’t have to wonder, “Is this what I wanted?” – you’ll know because you’ve worked with it throughout the adventure!

So, yes, I do believe it is critical to write down your goals, the steps, the planning, the changes, the “evolution” – it’s so much more fun when you can see it in writing and look back at what you did to get there.   What you have learned will serve you well achieving the next goal and the next.

If you would like the free tool I offer for achieving your goals, please visit my blog at http://www.wizetime.com.

Lorraine Arams

What happened?

You’ve taken the courses.  You’ve done the exercises.  You’ve thought it through.  You’ve written your goals down.  You’ve applied the SMART principles.  And yet . . . year after year, that’s where the goals seem to sit – on paper, going nowhere.

Life takes over.  That’s what many people say.

The deadlines  come and go.  Nothing.

It’s an empty feeling, isn’t it?  Is it the reason most people give up setting goals?  Likely.

Why is it happening to so many people despite the huge amount of material out there?

Would you like to know why you and others are not achieving those goals which have been neatly and carefully written?

The reasons are many, of course.  All people have some reason, not all the same.  And, each year there seems to be different reasons why not much has been accomplished towards achieving goals.

The last time you took a course or read a book, you thought for sure, this time, you would get there.  When you’re relaxed, everything seems possible.  Then, the pile ups happen.  All kinds of things happen.  Often, it has to do with work and health.  Long hours at work, even for a few months, can throw everything else out the window.  Or your health is impacted or someone else’s.  All of a sudden, it’s chaos.  You barely have the time to do laundry!

What has happened to your goals?  Can you even find them?

And that’s the problem with most goal setting courses and systems – you set a lot of goals in various parts of your life and, of course, even after all the terrific exercises are done, your life is still there – nothing has changed.  All that has happened is that you’ve invested time in this exercise, hoping you can do something to get your dreams to meet reality!

That’s the rub – you’ve still got a full life so how do you put all of those new things into it and expect to achieve them all?  You can’t.  That’s the truth.  It’s impossible.

The reason is simple:  your life was full before you began setting goals and it is still full after it.  Goals require attention and work.  Where will you fit them all in?

Every single goal needs work and work takes time.  That time may or may not be available in your current schedule. This is the point where most people fall flat – making room for the work involved in achieving a goal.

Let’s say you want to take up golf as your exercise this year.  An average round of golf takes at least 4 hours or more.  Where will you fit it  in?  Where will you fit in:  finding a reputable instructor, attending classes, practicing on the range, playing with friends, buying clubs and other equipment you’ll need.  It’s a great goal but where, in your schedule, will you find the time?

If you were already doing it and it was part of your regular schedule, it wouldn’t be a goal, would it?

That’s why I believe most people fail. They simply have not taken into account the time factors.  Then, they feel like failures and, year after year, they try again until one year, they simply give up.

If you want to try one more time, try the system I offer you for free on my blog.  It’s a blend of something old and something new, designed to assure that you reach your goals in the future the time management way.

I hope you do try it.  Do let me know how it works out for you.  Just that one little tweak contained in this system may just make the difference between achieving even one goal this year or achieving none – give it a shot.  Once you have achieved one goal, it’s so much easier to achieve the next and the next and the next.  Big goals don’t seem so onerous any longer – and your confidence rises – success builds upon success!

Lorraine Arams

http://www.wizetime.com

Let’s review what we talked about this week regarding goal setting.

How are you doing?

Did you get some interesting insights on how to “tweak” your goal setting process or are you encouraged to set goals even if you have never done it before or failed to reach goals you had once set?

I started on the first day talking about Missing Link – a free product that is available to you on my website.  This system is actually a “new twist on an old theme” – taking what is generally accepted as the right way to set goals and adding one crucial component to the mix:  time management.  All you need do is visit my site and you’ll find the way to access that down loadable product.  It might just be the key that finally gets you to achieving a goal and spurs you on to set more goals and achieve them too.    Does Setting a Goal Get you the Result you Want?

Then   I introduced you to some supporting material from Zig Ziglar.  In Missing Link, there are steps to be taken.  Zig Ziglar points to the fact that assessing what the obstacles are and identifying the people who can help us decide what those steps might be.  And, of course, as in Missing Link – “What’s in it for me” is ever so important to achieving goals – you won’t unless you  Goal Setting – are you missing these important steps?  Likely!

And finally in the last blog, I introduced you to the visual component of setting goals. It’s a tool that is seldom recommended in goal setting exercises but which is very important in the goal setting process – it’s much easier to believe in something when you can see it – Best Tool to Help You Set Goals Visually -and it’s much easier to understand the steps to take, when to take them and how each step builds on the other.

We all love to play – and this element certainly adds the playful element to setting and achieving goals.  The company I recommended offered you the best of all – the inventor of mind mapping – who can explain it better than the person who created it?  The video tells the story and if you try the system, you’ll see how all the color truly makes it a magnificent way to build the map!  Best of all, you can work on it either on the computer or on paper – either way or both ways is very helpful.

I hope you learned some new things and I hope you can now see how blending these components combined with your own discipline and your belief in yourself, can get you on the right track to achieving your goals, getting what you want and realizing long-held dreams!

Lorraine Arams
Missing Link at http://www.wizetime.com

Do goals limit you?  Have you ever even thought about that question?

Last night, I took a break and watched some famous chefs telling people about great foods in US restaurants.  At one point, an interviewer asked one of these successful chefs about goal setting.

The chef replied something to the effect, “I don’t set goals.  They limit me too much”.  That got me thinking because I know that to be a great chef, a person needs to be very creative and continuously learning.

I had never thought about goals limiting an individual.  We’ve been taught that setting goals is imperative to success.

I thought about it.  In a way, it’s true.  To set goals and ride after them does limit a person from pursuing whatever “pops up”.  However, whatever pops up might send a person into a multitude of directions and they end up nowhere.

But what had made this person an acclaimed chef?  Was it a desire, a goal to be a great chef? 

It’s likely true that this chef had not set any formal goals because the main goal absorbed the whole being.  To be a great chef, of course, a lot of training is required from the right instructors at the right schools, work in the right kitchens, get known by other chefs, and then, eventually, create a definitive, winning style. 

Nonetheless, the goal had been set, informally - in the chef’s head at the beginning of the journey – destination:  great chef.

If you know anything about becoming a chef, you know that becoming a great one is all consuming – a person lives, breathes, thinks and is totally absorbed in food and food preparation – it’s a vocation almost – they’ll do it for free if they have to!  The dedication and hard work is far beyond any other profession on the planet!  It’s not surprising – look at all the pleasure they bring to other people and the satisfaction of becoming so good at what you do, you know in your whole being that you are consistently creating the best you can create!  They know too that not all great chefs become well-known or make millions of dollars but they do it for the love of it – true love – like few other professions can boast.

So . . . yes, this chef did set a goal – but not formally.  And this chef achieved that goal and continues to achieve it because it’s  forever evolving – some goals are like that – the goals never really end during a person’s life time.  And chefs never retire – they just keep on cooking all their lives!   But, without having set that initial goal to be a great chef, this person may have ended up being a plumber!

Does goal setting limit you?  Yes – it does – to achieving what you want. 

Is that a good thing?  It can be as long as you know what you want.  If you don’t know what you want, then setting goals can be as devastating as not setting them. 

Like the chef, when the right goal is set because that’s what you really, really want, then the momentum begins, the energy is directed – it’s like a car – when you know the route, you steer the car in that direction and propel it forward to your destination by stepping on the gas – the car doesn’t wonder all over the road, backstreets nor in the opposite direction.  There might be some stops along the way, some detours and some pot holes, but, you get there.  It’s the same with goals – set and go – expect things to get in your way but you know what you want at the start. 

Lorraine Arams
Struggling to achieve your goals? There’s a new
complimentary system for you at:
http://www.wizetime.com

Are you achieving your goals?  Why?  What do you think is stopping you from reaching them? 

Or do you just like the dreaming and that’s enough for you?  After all, you likely have most everything you want in any case – job, family, friends, money and free time to enjoy your hobbies.  And that’s okay – it’s okay to have fun dreaming of possibilities.

For those of you who do set goals or New Year’s Resolutions, are you struggling to turn your dreams into goals and goals into reality?

If so, why not try a new approach based on time management. 

Stats haven’t changed much in years – 3% of the population achieve their goals – that means a whopping 97% of people who set goals never realize them.  Isn’t that amazing? 

It’s not because there are no courses, books, systems or loads of information, because there are  – you just need to go on Amazon and search goals – you’ll be amazed how much there is available.

So I asked myself why?  Why don’t people achieve their goals?  Is it because they really don’t want them but it’s a fun exercise to dream?  Perhaps.  Is it because their lives change and what seemed important at one time, isn’t so any longer?  Perhaps.  Is it that they really don’t want to read a 300-page book on attaining goals and apply the principles?  Perhaps.  Is it because the course is fun to take but, like so many things, learn and forget?  Perhaps.

Or it could be something else.  I thought it might be something else.

So I’ve created a new system based on some old principles used in books and courses plus I’ve added a new twist to the process.  This new twist combines several principles into a step-by-step system that I believe will allow people to achieve their goals.  It certainly has helped me get and stay on track. 

Staying on track with goals is the most difficult part.  Just like so many things in life, there are obstacles and, if there is no immediate loss, then goals take a back seat to potential losses which are immediately apparent.

It’s a 17-page fast read and fast implementation process  – at no cost to you!  That’s right – no cost.  It won’t cost you a cent.  However, I’d appreciate it if you would give me feedback how the system is working for you.    All you have to do is visit my site at http://www.wizetime.com.  You’ll find a box on the right hand side – fill it in and you’ll receive a download. 

Try it – you might like it! 

Lorraine Arams
http://www.wizetime.com
Time is your Life!

Goals – what do they mean?  How many years have we had formulas for setting goals?  What was the message?  How can we understand goals when we view the Olympics?

The underlying message with setting goals was this:  set the goals according to a set formula, work the goals and you’ll achieve them – all of them – you’ll have the success you desire!

Personally, I questioned the goal setting exercises and formulas?  Why?  Because what I saw in the world was this:

• people who never set goals and achieved a great deal
• people who set goals and achieved some
• people who didn’t know what a goal or goal system was and yet achieved a satisfying life

I worked with seniors for five years and had some good chats with many of them.  I learned from some of them, the dreams they had when they were young and learned that most of them never really got to live their dreams.  Why?  Social norms, wars, parental pressures, illness, death in the family, lack of money, luck, etc.  Others achieved way beyond what they could ever dream.  Why?  Met the right people for all the wrong reaons, luck, family ties and connections, monetary resources readily available, good health, etc. 

Did you ever notice that when someone achieves success, interviewers ask them if they had a goal.  Sometimes the answer was yes and sometimes they said they achieved more than they could ever imagine. 

I wondered why interviewers  never talked to people who had failed and asked them if their goal was to fail.  Doesn’t make sense, does it?  No one sets out to fail.

Watching the Olympics and interviews with the athletes, all the athletes said they had a goal to get GOLD!  Every single one!  So, then why is it they didn’t? 

Did they fail to set a goal?  Did they fail to work hard to achieve that goal?  Did they not have a plan?  Did they have all the advice and training they required?  Did they make sacrifices?  Did they visualize?  Did they receive psychological training? Did they have the equipment they needed?  Were there facilities for them to practice?  Were there other competitions to win or lose?  Was there money available for them to prepare properly, have the right nutrition, get the right exercises to strengthen their bodies, etc?  The list is endless.

And this exemplifies for us the fallacy that goal setting is a definitive model for achieving what we want in life – there are no guarantees that with or without goals, a person will achieve what they want out of life.  Everyone has a dream to achieve something.  For some, it materializes.  For others, the majority of the people, it doesn’t. The majority of the athletes will go home without a medal.  One athlete left the Olympics in casket – was that his dream?

At the Olympics, it’s very clear that, despite everyone dreaming, training, working hard, competing, sacrificing, spending money, planning, etc., not everyone gets a gold medal.  As it is for every other goal in life, there are many vying to achieve the same goal – only some will get there.  If everyone could achieve a particular goal, why would anyone dream of achieving it in the first place?  It would just happen.

Life is like that -  not everyone achieves the goals they set or live their dreams.  Why?  Because, as in sports, there are a multitude of factors including unforeseen obstacles to derail your dreams, people who have better luck than you, people who intentionally or unintentionally knock you out of contention, or events which impact your ability to reach your objective.

Should we set goals?  We all do.  Whether we formalize them on paper or not, we all have dreams.  Some of us will achieve all of our dreams, others something else entirely and for the majority, some goals some of the time.  

Is it still a good idea to go through goal processes and exercises?  I think it is if only to clarify what you really want and set realistic expectations of what is and is not possible.  Perhaps the goal of settings goals should be:  setting realistic expectations based on our strenghts and on the factors which will help or hinder us from getting what we want.   

Can the impossible be achieved?  Of course but a multitude of factors have to come together at just the right time, in the right circumstances, with the right people and mesh like no other – is that a goal?  Of course not. We can only control what we can control – everything else is unpredictable.  Calculating the odds of attaining what we want is probably a better plan!  

The Olympics can teach us a great deal about goals, about our attitudes towards not achieving the ultimate goal and about what’s really important – to live the best life we can – it won’t be for many as we had imagined – it could be better – it could be worse – it is what it is!  

How will we live the best life we can with what is available to us?