How many productivity and goal setting articles can you read at this time of year? Just so many right? And then it becomes redundant and you realize you are just procrastinating. You’re 1) not being productive, and 2) you’re not goal setting, you’re dreaming.

I’m a world-class procrastinator. I mean black belt level. Think Bruce Lee of procrastination. But somehow I’m a productive procrastinator. You might be one of those too.

As you kick off the New Year, you are probably setting goals for the growth of your practice as well as personal growth. Productivity can play a key role in helping you accomplish both of these goals. A simple example would be if you were highly productive during your work day, you might be able to get out of the office to meet more prospective clients or referral sources AND be home at a reasonable hour to have more family time.

So let’s look at some goal setting methods that can help:

Goal Setting Methods

Google “Goal Setting” and you’ll have 27.9 million results to keep you busy. Most of us don’t have a problem “setting” goals. The biggest problem is trying to tackle too much. We always think we can do more than we actually can OR we choose conflicting goals (i.e. make partner at the law firm versus spend more time with the family).

Below I highlight three methods (books) to help in your goal setting:

• Zig Ziglar’s Pick Four: Selected by Seth Godin as part of The Domino Project this is an extremely helpful guidebook based the goal setting principles laid out by Zig.  The concept is simple. You pick four major goals and are taken step-by-step on a 12-week journey toward achievement. You review goals daily and must record what you have done to advance. If nothing, you must write “nothing” which means you must pay attention.
• Getting Results the Agile Way: This book/methodology is a productivity system itself. The team at AsianEfficiency.com has done a great job of walking you through many of the “12 Core Practices.” The book is written by J.D. Meier who was a project manager at Microsoft. It would be nearly impossible to digest and implement all of the techniques simultaneously. But…the RULE OF 3 is mission critical. The idea of focusing on three major yearly goals, three monthly goals, three weekly goals, and three daily goals, all supposedly supporting one another, is one of my favorites.
• Chris Brogan 3 Words – Chris Brogan is a mega-personality in the online world and has been for years. For several years I have received his “My 3 Words for (enter year)” email and linked post. The concept is very simple and very zen-like. It’s an exercise where you pick three words that help you focus on your annual goals and filter your daily activities. For example, last year one of my words was “EARLY.” This was to remind me that I had a goal of getting up at 5:30 a.m. But this also helped me accomplish a fitness goal of getting to the gym first thing in the morning. This, ALSO, helped my wife start working out with me, which we found out we both enjoy that time together. So instead of picking a word like “Workout” or “Fitness” a broader word like “EARLY” accomplished many things in many areas. You get the idea?

There you have it. Together, we can make 2015 a productive and profitable year!