It’s the end of the first quarter of 2014 is here, how did you do?
If you are on track, and forging ahead, please leave a comment below and tell us what you did to hit all your milestones for the first quarter. We want to be inspired!
Have you fallen off track, but are at a loss for what happened? Here are some reasons why you may be falling behind, and what you can do to get yourself back on track by mid-year.
You Are Still Trying to Do Most of the Work
If you set a big goal (and congratulations if you did) the whole point was to stretch yourself. You cannot achieve that goal by being the same leader you were last year.
A general can’t wage a war in the trenches and neither can you. You need to keep your eye on the big picture. Of course, there will be times you need to roll up your sleeves and pitch in, but that should not be the norm.
You are better served developing the skills of the people around you so they get better at doing those tasks.
The word of the day is delegate. Learn to let go of the control, allow others a learning curve, and focus on the tasks that only YOU can do. The tasks you know the company needs you to focus on.
You Are Still Saying “Yes” When You Want To Say “No”
You may have cleared some things off your schedule to allow you to focus on your goals but you are finding all new commitments on your calendar. No sooner is time is freed up than someone comes along and asks if they can have some of your time.
You know that time is meant for something else but you can’t stop yourself, you give the time away. Now you’re at square one and you don’t have time to work on your goal. You may find yourself saying, “I’m just so busy!”
Here I’m going to tell you to take responsibility. It’s your calendar and you are in control of it. You need to take an honest look at it and decide if what you see on your calendar is more important than your goal.
Is your calendar an honest reflection of what is important in your life?
Chances are there are some meetings you are taking just to be “nice.” Could a one-hour coffee meet-up be changed to a half-hour phone call, also saving you travel time? Is it something that can come off your calendar altogether?
Did you agree to take on a volunteer position but it really doesn’t work right now for you to do so?
Start the clean-up process again and start carving out blocks of time on your calendar that you consider etched in stone. Nothing that is less important than your goal is allowed to trump that time. Give that time-block a title that reflects its importance to remind you of this intention when the urge is to say “yes” when you know it’s a “no.”
You’ve Experienced Some Setbacks and You Are Not as Enthusiastic as You Were at the Beginning
Nobody loves to fail but failure is a part of the learning process. The question is what did you learn from these setbacks? How can they help you?
Setbacks are often opportunities, but only if we are willing to see and relate to them as opportunities.
If something isn’t working isn’t it better to know at the outset than to learn later in the process, when changes will not be as easily implemented? What a gift!
If you can change your perspective on challenges, failures and setbacks you will change your response to them and that will save you a lot of time and energy. You will remain enthusiastic, or become more so, because you won’t relate to the event as a reason to give up.
Remember, Thomas Edison had about 1,000 failed attempts at inventing the light bulb before he succeeded. He never related to his failed attempts as a reason to quit. They were experiments that informed his next attempt. As a result, he discovered several dozen other inventions and key scientific principles.
To Sum it Up…
We’ve got one quarter of the year behind us but three quarters left to go. If any of the three reasons for not hitting one’s milestones above sound familiar, you know what you need to do.
Delegate, set boundaries around your time, and change your interpretation of failure.
If you need help with any of this don’t hesitate to contact me so you’re not feeling left behind as the year continues.
If you’d like to add anything, or list another reason why someone might be falling behind on their goals, I’m sure the Luma community would be very appreciative! Just add your suggestion into the comment section below.
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Thank you so much, and here’s to your success!