Effective networking is most beneficial!

Networking is a hot topic with so many people out of work, underemployed, or simply having given up looking for work. Even some people who feel safe in their positions wonder what they would do if they lost their jobs.

The key for everyone? Networking, which is defined by Entrepreneur.com as meaning, “Developing and using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact.”

That’s a mouthful but it suggests something well beyond a passing fancy. It is all about building up relationships that are mutual and satisfying. Not always on equal terms, but beneficial to both parties.

Effective networking is something everyone should strive for, but how do we implement and nurture that strategy? There are a number of things you can do to help you in that endeavor:

1. Get Real: If you want to be a friend, then show yourself friendly. This means being “real” with people and genuinely concerned with how that person thinks or feels.

2. Be Clear: Too many messages are muddled these days with people parsing their words, changing what they said, or outright reneging on their promises. Who needs that? Say what you mean, mean what you say and you will eliminate most misunderstandings.

3. Immerse Yourself: Break free of just one group of people by joining several groups of interest to you. Let your enthusiasm spring forth, be passionate about whatever who you are and what you do. This also means culling activities where you do not excel or where networking fruit is non-existent. Poet Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.” Enthusiasm is contagious and can be a life giver!

4. Stand Tall: Are you an expert in your field or knowledgeable in a particular area of expertise? Become known as a trusted authority and do everything you can to cultivate and maintain that trust. A “go to” person is a people magnet, someone frequently called upon for help.

5. Assume Leadership: Not everyone is a leader, many people are followers. But leadership goes beyond a title, it is also a condition. Initiate, implement, and advance what you believe and people will respect you regardless of your title. Even effective leaders know their place as British statesman Benjamin Disraeli said, “I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?”

6. Respond Quickly: When approached by someone for assistance or when an inquiry is made, be prepared to respond as soon as you can. Your quick response shows this person that you think they are important, someone they will remember as being a helpful network builder.

7. Joint Projects: Collaborate with like-minded people to get the job done. Rubbing shoulders with people cements relationships, offering visible proof of each person’s talents.

Each of these steps must be put into practice nurtured if you want to be part of a healthy network. Your strong network is what you will need to fall back on in times of trouble, taking out from it what you have been putting into it all along.

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

VII: Starting a New Life Phase

You will begin a new life phase for two reasons:

a) When circumstances in your life require that you shift direction and pursue other goals.

Certain changes in your life may force you to end your current life phase and begin a new one. Changes such as a new career, marriage, transfer to a new location, etc., will require new goals and perhaps a different goal plan. This will be an appropriate time to begin a new life phase.

Some changes in your life can be dramatic like a divorce, a death in the family or a loss of job. This can be upsetting where you lack the enthusiasm to pursue your goals. This is understandable. Your best option under these circumstances is to begin a new life phase and select some special goals and benchmarks that can help you through this time.

Beginning a new life phase is easy. Simply follow the steps outlined in Chapter 12. The next phase will begin with n+1 ( n equals the number of your current phase that is ending). Assign 2-5 years to the n+1 phase. Select the goal(s) with their respective benchmarks that you want to achieve or continue for the next phase. Identify the tasks that will achieve the benchmarks with assigned completion dates.

b) When your current phase ends, or when you achieve all of the benchmarks and goals selected for the current phase.

You will begin a new life phase when your current phase ends. It’s a great feeling to complete a phase, especially when you achieved all of the goals/benchmarks assigned for this phase. You are achieving success . . . one phase at a time.

As you end one life phase and begin another, simply repeat the steps outlined in Chapter 12 for beginning a life phase. Consider working and accomplishing more goals and benchmarks in the next phase to inch yourself closer to the objective — if you have the confidence and strength to accomplish more.

Sometimes a life phase will end without your achieving all the goals and benchmarks assigned for this phase; e.g., you didn’t get accepted to graduate school or you failed to win that special promotion. You might want to extend your current life phase for additional year or two to complete the goals/benchmarks that were unfinished.

Next week: we move onto VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

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BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

VI: Life Phase Evaluation

We now turn to your personal “Goal Planning Kit” that you assembled in Chapter 12 to measure your goal progress. Periodically, you will refer to your kit to plan the goals/benchmarks/and related tasks for a planning week. As you complete each assigned task listed on your Task Assignment Sheet (Appendix Form-J), you will add new task assignments until you complete everything that has been planned for this life phase. You will refer back to Chapter 12 to assign new tasks as diagrammed by the letter “J” on the illustration.

Much can happen in the next 2-5 years to change your goal selection. You could change your career or studies, you could get married, or you could win a million-dollar lottery. Changes in your life can affect the selection of goals that you planned for this phase.

The Benchmark Planning and Selection sheets (Appendix Form-I) list the goals and benchmarks that you selected for this life phase. You will need to review this selection periodically to evaluate whether you are accomplishing these goals and benchmarks. Perhaps you need to change one or two goals. Or maybe you need to add or delete one or more goals or benchmarks (see the illustration below). If you decide to change your entire goal/benchmark selection, I suggest you begin a new phase selection as discussed in the next section.

Next week: we move onto VII: Starting a New Life Phase

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation

You will complete a weekly character evaluation when you plan your goals and benchmarks for the new week. The evaluation measures your development for the week as explained in the attribute chapters. You may also assign new character attribute goals for the week as appropriate. See the illustration below.

Chapters 7-11 outlined the steps that plan and measure your character development. You begin by developing one character attribute at a time (begin with the physical attribute). You will develop and strengthen this attribute for two consecutive weeks (11 or more days) before developing a second character attribute. You will repeat this cycle for all five attributes — developing each respective attribute for two consecutive weeks before taking on a new character attribute. Complete the steps in Chapters 7-11 as instructed. These steps will help you develop each character attribute as intended.

Below is a flow chart that summarizes the steps from Chapters 7-11. You will refer to this chart frequently when planning character development programs for the week.

Note the term, Attribute 1.1. This term refers to one of the five character attributes and its first character change or development. Note the term, Attribute 1.2. This term refers to the same character attribute and its second character change or development. Let’s use two examples to explain these terms.

You decide to develop your physical attribute by jogging 30 minutes each morning. You will then assign the term Attribute 1.1 to represent the physical character attribute(1) and its development goal, jogging(1). After successfully jogging for 10 consecutive weeks, you decide to set a new physical development goal such as eating a low-fat diet. You will then assign the term Attribute 1.2 to represent the physical attribute(1) and its development goal, low -fat diet(2). Attribute 1.1 references the physical development goal, jogging. Attribute 1.2 references the physical development goal, low-fat diet.

Note the term, Attribute 2.1. This term refers to the second of the five character attributes and its first character change or development. Note the term, Attribute 2.2. This term refers to the same character attribute and its second character change or development. For example, you decide to develop your physical temperance attribute by moderating your alcohol consumption to 1 drink per day. You will then assign the term Attribute 2.1 to represent the attribute physical temperance(2) and its development goal, moderation in drinking.

After successfully moderating your drinking habits for ten consecutive weeks, you decide to set a new physical temperance goal, such as limiting television time to 30 minutes each day. You will then assign the term Attribute 2.2 to represent the attribute physical temperance(2) and its development goal, limit television time(2).

Attribute 2.1 references the physical temperance goal, moderation in drinking. Attribute 2.2 references the physical temperance goal, limit television time. The term Attribute 3.1 references the third character attribute and its first character change or development.

I recommend the following assignment of terms:

Attribute 1:n Physical Attribute
Attribute 2:n Physical Temperance Attribute
Attribute 3:n Education Attribute
Attribute 4:n Social Attribute
Attribute 5:n Spiritual Attribute

n: refers to the development goal.

The order in which you shape your character is your decision. Your objective is to round your character and increase discipline. You are changing yourself physically, educationally, socially and spiritually. The length of time to make these changes will differ among people. The flow chart suggests that it takes at least ten consecutive weeks to make a character change. You may need more or less than ten weeks depending on your attribute goal and strength.

Note from the flow chart that you will remove Attribute 1.1 from your attribute development plan after ten consecutive weeks. Attribute 1.1 should become part of your character and will no longer be part of your weekly planning session. You will continue to strengthen Attribute 1.1, but more on a routine basis rather than on a planning basis. You should now plan and develop Attribute 1.2 for two consecutive weeks along with Attributes 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1.

After successfully completing Attribute 2.1 for ten consecutive weeks, Attribute 2.1 becomes part of your character and is dropped from the attribute development plan. You should now plan and develop Attribute 2.2 for two consecutive weeks along with Attributes 1.2, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1. This process repeats itself indefinitely for the rest of your life.

You will notice after several months that your character is becoming more rounded. You will have increased strength and discipline in all five character attributes. Your ability to accomplish feats will become easier. Physical, educational, social and spiritual feats that were impossible a few months ago will become part of your character.

The development pattern that you use to strengthen your character may change over time. You may find yourself doing more sporadic development of your character to keep in-shape. For example, you may develop Attributes 1.5, 3.4, and 5.2 for a stated period. Then after awhile, you may change this pattern and develop Attributes 1.3, 2.2, and 4.5. You may even repeat past character development goals if, for example, you fail to jog each morning as you did in the past.

Changing the pattern and alternating your character development goals is much like working atop a potter’s wheel. The potter shapes and reshapes a bowl to maintains its perfect circumference. If you shape one part of your character more than the other parts, a rounded character can easily become disfigured, much like a bowl that becomes disfigured by the disjointed movement of the potter’s hands.

Character changes are not guaranteed to be permanent. Disruptions or changes in your live can easily revert a strong character back into weak character. Keeping your character in-shape is much like cultivating a garden. You may shape the most beautiful garden over time, but simple neglect can reverse hours of painstaking work. In an unattended garden, weeds return and plague your furrowed rolls of vegetables and flowers.

To return the garden to its pristine beauty, you must go back into the garden and repeat the gardening process of weeding, cultivating, fertilizing, pruning, etc. This same analogy holds true for character development. Simple neglect in your character development can revert you to your weakened position. You must return and redevelop the character attribute that has become weakened. It is a process of shaping and reshaping your character that will last for the rest of your life.

Next week: we move onto VI: Life Phase Evaluation

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

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Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

III: Daily Character Evaluation

You will evaluate your achievement of the character attribute goals assigned for the day. Simply check the box indicating completion if you completed your physical development. Repeat this process for all character attributes assigned for the week as diagrammed in the illustration on the next page.

The more intangible the character development goal, the more difficult it will be to measure your completion. For example, how do you know if you completed your social goal for the day or not? The best way to measure your progress is to quantify what you want to achieve whenever you set attribute development goals.

Instead of writing a social goal that says, “be more friendly,” quantify your goal to read, “be friendly with one new person each day.” Instead of writing a physical goal that says, “exercise each day,” quantify your attribute goal to read, “45 minutes of exercise starting at 6:00AM.” By quantifying your character development goals, you will be able to measure whether you completed the goals for each day.

If you find yourself not achieving the development goals as assigned, you should return to the attribute chapters and repeat the steps in each chapter. Don’t rush the process. Develop one character attribute at a time for at least two weeks before taking on a new character attribute.

The character development process is like a Catch-22: You need discipline to build discipline. But as you force yourself up each morning to jog, for example — day after day after day for the two or more weeks as instructed in the attribute chapters— you eventually increase self-discipline and success.

Next week: we move onto V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

III: Weekly Role Evaluation

Each week when you assemble a new Role Planning Sheet, you need to determine whether any of the roles listed should be changed, modified or deleted? Roles can change for various reasons.

You may get a promotion that places you in a new position. You may become a parent, forcing you to spend more time with your family. You may change jobs, taking you to a new city. Or you may delete a role because of a change of strategy. A weekly role evaluation looks at your current roles and changes them whenever appropriate.

Step 1: Assemble a new Weekly Role Planning Sheet for the week that is beginning (Appendix Form-M). Assign dates running from Sunday to Sunday at the top of the form.

Step 2: Review your current role assignment. Have any of your roles been changed or deleted? Should new roles be added that impact how you will allocate your time as diagrammed by the letter “H” on the illustration?

Step 3: Note any tasks/appointments that were not completed last week. If needed, assign these role tasks for the week as diagrammed by the letter “I” on the illustration.

Step 4: Assign tasks that you must complete during the week for each role as explained earlier.

Next week: we move onto IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation

You will complete a weekly evaluation of your goal-achieving progress to determine what goals and tasks should be assigned for the new week. I suggest that you make this evaluation each Sunday morning as you plan for the new week.

We begin with the Weekly Goal Planning Sheet (Appendix Form-L) from the week you just completed. Review the sheet as diagrammed by the letter “D” on the illustration. Evaluate whether these goals/benchmarks and related tasks were completed as assigned. Determine whether these same goals/benchmarks/and related tasks should be worked for another week. Perhaps you should assign a new set of goals/benchmarks/ and related tasks for the upcoming week?

If you decide assign a new set of goals for the new week, plus work on the same goals/benchmarks/and related tasks from a prior Weekly Goal Planning Sheet, complete the following steps:

Step 1: Keep the prior week’s Weekly Goal Planning Sheet.

Step 2: Assemble a new Weekly Goal Planning Sheet (Appendix Form-L). Assign dates running from Sunday to Sunday at the top of the form as illustrated.

Step 3: Go to the middle section of the form. Select a new set of goals from your Task Assignment Sheets (Appendix Form-J) as diagrammed by the letter “F” on the illustration.

Step 4: Assign one or two benchmarks for each goal assigned for the week (diagrammed by the letter “F”).

Step 5: Assign the major tasks that will achieve the respective benchmarks (diagrammed by the letter “F”).

Step 6: Go to the goal/benchmark icon located just above the character attribute section (with the heading, “See Week:”). Write the dates for the week where you can find the continuing goals/benchmarks/and related tasks from a prior week (diagrammed by the letter G on the illustration). The “See Week” icon instructs you to reference a prior week’s Weekly Goal Planning Sheet. This prevents you from having to rewrite each week the goals/benchmarks/and related tasks that will continue.

The “See Week” icon in the left column references the goals/benchmarks/and related tasks from the “left-side column” of a prior week’s Weekly Goal Planning Sheet. The “See Week” icon in the right column references the goals/benchmarks/and related tasks from the “right-side column” of a prior week’s Weekly Goal Planning Sheet. You can reference two “See Weeks” icons per column per week. This will give you a maximum of 6 goals with 12 applicable benchmarks and major tasks to work on during a given week.

The “See Week:” icon is only operational during the current planning week. The “See Week:” icon from an old Weekly Goal Planning Sheet can no longer be used or referenced. This maximizes the planning of 6 goals and 12 benchmarks for any given week. If not, you could set up a labyrinth of goals/benchmarks/major tasks assignments that could be endless and confusing.

Next week: we move on to III: Weekly Role Evaluation

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation

You will complete a weekly evaluation of your goal-achieving progress to determine what goals and tasks should be assigned for the new week. I suggest that you make this evaluation each Sunday morning as you plan for the new week.

We begin with the Weekly Goal Planning Sheet (Appendix Form-L) from the week you just completed. Review the sheet as diagrammed by the letter “D” on the illustration. Evaluate whether these goals/benchmarks and related tasks were completed as assigned. Determine whether these same goals/benchmarks/and related tasks should be worked for another week. Perhaps you should assign a new set of goals/benchmarks/ and related tasks for the upcoming week?

If you decide to work on the same goals/benchmarks/tasks for an additional week, complete the following steps:

Step 1: Assemble a new Weekly Goal Planning Sheet for the week that is beginning (Appendix Form-L). Assign dates from Sunday to Sunday at the top of form as illustrated on the next page.

Step 2: Go to the middle section of the form. Reassign the goals from last week to this week as diagrammed by the letter “E” on the illustration.

Step 3: The new Weekly Goal Planning Sheet is now part of your Weekly Reference Kit. Discard your old Weekly Goal Planning Sheet.

Next week: we discuss assigning new goals.

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

Daily Task Measurement

Last week, we discussed assigning and measuring Daily Task Measurement. You will assign tasks that need to be completed as diagramed on the worksheet below:

But sometimes, tasks that you scheduled for “2 hours on Monday” will not get completed. You simply reschedule the task later in the week or into next week. One key rule in any time management program is to stick with your schedule. If you fail to complete the task as scheduled, place the work aside and move on to the next scheduled assignment. Uncompleted tasks at the end of the week can be scheduled for completion later on.

There are other reasons why you might fail to complete your schedule tasks. See if any of the following reasons apply to you:

1) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because there isn’t enough time.

When you find it difficult to allocate, say, “60 minutes each day to complete a goal task,” try assigning less time for a given task. For example, let’s say that you want to develop a reference book for investing in securities. You set a task to write each day for 60 minutes. But given your other commitments to career, education, and family, you can’t find the full 60 minutes each day to complete this task. Try to assign a task to write for 15 minutes each day instead. It’s far better to write a little each day then to not write at all.

You might need to change your lifestyle to find more time. For example, you could awake 30-60 minutes earlier. You could take public transportation to work so that you can work while commuting. You could hire outside services such as gardeners or house cleaners to perform some of your routine chores. And you can always free up your day by minimizing leisure time in front of the television or computer.

2) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because you lack discipline.

Discipline is the foundation of all goals. A house built upon a sandy foundation will eventually crumble with the onset of a storm. A house requires a solid foundation built upon rock and concrete to protect its structure from the elements. Likewise, goal plans require a similar foundation built upon discipline to protect the goals from procrastination, laziness, lack of self-esteem, etc. Without a solid foundation, structures like a goal plan will collapse.

Many tasks in your goal plan will require a special discipline such as physical strength, educational aptitude, social skills and spiritual qualities. It becomes necessary that you build discipline in all five character attributes. Strengthening the character attributes rounds your character so that you can achieve any required task. If you lack discipline, I suggest that you return to the attribute chapters (Ch. 7-11) and repeat the steps in each chapter to build self-discipline and motivation.

3) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because your goal planning and execution may be too advanced.

Crawl before you walk, walk before you jog, jog before you run, and run before you rollerblade. In other words, if you just completed your MBA and set an objective to become a CEO of a Fortune 100 company, you must first achieve some important first-level goals to support your advancement up the corporate ladder.

If you are tempted to skip steps to advance quickly up the goal pyramid, watch out! You could be heading for disaster, particularly when you fail to develop first-layer skills that support goals further up the model. I suggest you go back and review your goal plan if you find it too advanced. You might rewrite your plan and identify a different set of priorities that can help you achieve difficult tasks. Remember there is a hierarchical order to success. You need to obtain important skills and accomplishments before attempting goals higher up the hierarchy.

4) You fail to achieve your goal tasks because you are attempting too many tasks.

Attempting too many things can lead to discouragement and failure. It would be nice to achieve every task assigned. But we must remain realistic. We need to go to school. We need to work to support our family. We need to work overtime to build our careers. All of which competes for your valuable time. Try to reduce the number of tasks assigned for a given day. It is far better to achieve fewer tasks each day than none at all because of discouragement.

Next week: we discuss weekly goal and benchmark evaluation.

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

———-
Read more about achieving success and become something grand: subscribe to our RSS feed

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for PDF downloads)

Execute Success: The Evaluation Process

I saw a fleet of fishing boats . . . I flew down almost touching the craft and yelled at them, asking if I was on the right road to Ireland. They just stared. Maybe they didn’t hear me. Maybe I didn’t hear them. Or maybe they thought I was just a crazy fool. An hour later I saw land.
Charles Lindbergh

The steps outlined in these next postings will measure your progress on a daily, weekly and phase-to-phase basis. We have segmented the postings into the following discussions:

I: Daily Task Measurement.
II: Weekly Goal and Benchmark Evaluation
III: Weekly Role Evaluation
IV: Daily Character Attribute Evaluation
V: Weekly Character Attribute Evaluation
VI: Life Phase Evaluation
VII: Starting a New Life Phase
VIII: Objective and Goal Evaluation

Daily Task Measurement

A daily task evaluation measures your achievement of daily tasks. It’s a simple process. You check off each completed task and appointment as diagrammed by the letters “A” on the sample below.

Sometimes you will not be able to complete each task assigned because different priorities come up that force you to change your plans. Your daily schedules should be flexible. Your boss, family or other events may force you to alter your plan and reassign tasks to another time as diagrammed by the letter “B” on the Tuesday sample below.

This brings up a good question: What takes priority – your daily plan or other events that come up during the week? This is your call. Of course, an emergency meeting scheduled by your boss will take precedence over a scheduled task. And if your child or spouse needs your immediate attention, your plans may need to be rescheduled. But there comes a time when your scheduled plan must take priority. You will need to inform others that your time is currently occupied and that you can schedule some time next week to meet or complete another task. Learn to say ‘no’ when non-important events conflict with your pre-defined schedule.

Sometimes you will fail to complete the task within the time frame allotted. This is a common occurrence. We often tackle bigger assignments than time permits. Time is a valuable commodity and we are limited to 24 hours in a day. But the big difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is that successful people learn how to manage their time. Successful people watch less television, spend minimal time on menial chores, juggle several projects simultaneously and work aggressively fast to complete projects within assigned time limits. You need to develop these same traits to manage your time effectively.

You will be able to complete multiple tasks as you become more disciplined. But sometimes, tasks that you scheduled for “2 hours on Monday” will not get completed. You simply reschedule the task later in the week or into next week as diagrammed by the letter “C” on the Monday sample schedule and the next week’s Role Planning Sheet. One key rule in any time management program is to stick with your schedule. If you fail to complete the task as scheduled, place the work aside and move on to the next scheduled assignment. Uncompleted tasks at the end of the week can be scheduled for completion later on.

Next week: we discuss reasons why you will fail achieving your tasks.

You can find the day planning systems we are illustrating in this discussion in our FREE appendix file (Appendix as Form-N and Forms O.1-O.7 ).

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