What Is the Most Important Step in Prioritizing Goals?

If you’ve ever had nan pleasance of attending 1 of Tony Robbins’ seminars, you person apt heard him say, “successful group inquire amended questions, and arsenic a result, they get amended answers.” I’ve recovered that he was spot-on—questions bespeak really we spot nan world. As a productivity consultant, 1 of nan astir important questions I inquire my clients is, “what is nan astir important measurement successful prioritizing goals?”

Every CEO, executive, manager, and entrepreneur knows nan value of mounting goals, but not everyone understands really to group them properly. In fact, galore group make nan correction of confusing goals pinch dreams.

There’s thing incorrect pinch dreaming. It’s often a awesome spot to sojourn from clip to time, but arsenic Napoleon Hill said, “a extremity is simply a dream pinch a deadline.” It gets nan constituent across, but there’s a small much to it.

There is an creation to setting goals. A vague thought successful your caput is not a goal, nor is simply a database of things you want to accomplish. There is simply a strategy to mounting goals that will thief summation your chances of occurrence galore times over. Failure to usage a strategy for your goals reminds maine of thing Brian Tracy utilized to say: “failing to scheme is readying to fail.”

For anyone superior astir success, mastering nan creation of mounting goals isn’t conscionable important, it’s imperative. Thankfully, it’s not complicated. In fact, it’s conscionable nan opposite—it’s downright simple.

So, let’s return a look astatine really immoderate group attack extremity setting, and past we’ll beryllium capable to reply nan question: what is nan astir important measurement successful prioritizing goals?

1. The Ivy Lee Method

Ivy Lee is simply a sanction that CEOs, entrepreneurs, and managers should beryllium acquainted with. Back successful 1918, he walked into nan agency of Charles M. Schwab, nan president of nan Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and shared pinch him a method that Schwab later said was nan much profitable proposal he had ever received.

Inquiring minds would want to cognize what that proposal was. After all, Lee ended up being paid $25,000 for it (the balanced of $400,000 successful 2016 dollars).

He asked Schwab to springiness him 15 minutes pinch each of his executives, this is what he taught them:

• At nan extremity of each workday, constitute down nan six astir important things you request to execute nan pursuing day.
• Rewrite them successful bid of importance.
• The pursuing day, arsenic soon arsenic you get astatine work, activity connected only nan first task. Do not extremity moving connected it until you person it finished.
• Repeat this process each moving day.

The cardinal present is two-fold. Limiting yourself to conscionable six goals ensures that you disregard each non-essential goals and moving connected them 1 by 1 (in bid of importance) intends that you will win successful finishing your astir important goals first.

2. The Jim Rohn Method

Jim Rohn was nan maestro of making things simple, and his goal-setting method is simply a cleanable illustration of that. It’s a elemental four-step process:

1. Decide what you want.
2. Write them down connected a portion of paper, and make a list.
3. Add a day adjacent to each extremity erstwhile you expect you tin decorativeness it.
4. Go to activity and cheque things disconnected your list.

It’s simplicity itself. The cardinal constituent present is determining what precisely it is that you want.

3. The WOOP Technique

The acronym WOOP stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan.

• Wish – Have goals that are exciting, challenging, and realistic
• Outcome – Visualize yourself achieving nan extremity and really it would feel.
• Obstacle – Identify immoderate imaginable obstacles that could forestall you from achieving your goals.
• Plan – Create a meticulous plan of action to woody pinch each obstacle.

Nothing ever goes according to plan, but nan correction galore group make is assuming things will spell disconnected without a hitch. Things inevitably spell wrong, and chaos ensues. That’s why nan 4th shape of nan method is truthful critical. Having a scheme successful spot to woody pinch immoderate obstacles you mightiness travel crossed will prevention you countless hours of accent and headache.

4. The SMART Technique

This was nan first goal-setting method I was introduced to arsenic a young entrepreneur. It really originated from a guidance insubstantial by George Doran, erstwhile Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company, backmost successful 1981.

It’s awesome for beginners arsenic it’s easy to remember. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound.

• Specific – You cognize precisely what your extremity is.
• Measurable – You tin measurement and way your goal.
• Attainable – Your extremity is realistic and achievable.
• Relevant – Your extremity inspires you.
• Time-Bound – You person a clear deadline for your goal.

The cardinal to this method is mounting goals that are wrong reach, that are specific, and tin beryllium measured. For example, you person to manus retired flyers. Your extremity should not beryllium “to manus retired 1000 flyers successful 2 hours.” The logic is that you cannot power if group will return nan flyers. As such, if you neglect to scope your target, you will consciousness disappointed.

A much due extremity connection would be, “I will manus retired flyers for 2 hours and shake hands group pinch a smile.” This is achievable because your cognition and nan magnitude of clip you walk connected nan task are wholly nether your control.

5. The HARD Technique

HARD stands for heartfelt, animated, required, and difficult. Unlike SMART goals, which attraction connected realistic goals, HARD goals are meant to situation you. They are meant to get you out of your comfortableness zone and push you to your limits.

As such, HARD goals whitethorn not beryllium nan champion ones for goal-setting newbies. But erstwhile you person achieved immoderate results utilizing different methods and are fresh to return things to nan adjacent level, these could beryllium conscionable nan ticket.

• Heartfelt – Each extremity must person an affectional attachment.
• Animated – See yourself arsenic having achieved occurrence and ideate vivid pictures of achieving each goal.
• Required: – Build a consciousness of urgency into your goals.
• Difficult – Have goals that agelong you and invited nan challenge.

6. The Brian Tracy Method

Brain Tracy breaks down extremity mounting into six steps.

1. Take a cleanable expanse of insubstantial and constitute nan connection “Goals” astatine nan apical of nan page pinch today’s date.
2. Write retired astatine slightest 10 goals you would for illustration to execute successful nan twelvemonth ahead.
3. Each extremity must statesman pinch nan connection “I,” followed by an action verb.
4. Describe each goals successful nan coming tense arsenic if they had already been achieved. For example: “I gain $100,000 by nan extremity of this year.”
5. They must beryllium written successful affirmative form. Don’t write, “I will extremity eating chocolate.” Instead, write, “I eat patient snacks.”
6. Write extremity lists for your work, individual life, finances, and health.

The Answer

It should travel arsenic nary astonishment that location is simply a batch of overlap betwixt nan techniques. So now, let’s reply nan question, “what is nan astir important measurement successful prioritizing goals?”

The champion personification to reply this would beryllium nan best-selling writer and speaker Simon Sinek who, successful his celebrated TED Talk, explains that it each starts pinch “why.” As he explained, “Martin Luther King, Jr. gave nan “I person a dream” speech, not nan “I person a plan” speech. Martin Luther King, Jr had a imagination for nan early and it inspired him to return nan actions that changed a nation. His why was crystal clear not conscionable to him, but besides to everyone.

Regardless of which method you take to group goals, you must understand why you are doing it. As Friedrich Nietzche said, “He who has a beardown capable why tin carnivore almost immoderate how.” Accomplishing large goals requires large effort which is why only a mini percent of group really execute them. They don’t person a beardown capable “why” to motivate them to do nan basal work, to support fighting for what they want.

Final Thoughts

Managers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs each understand nan value of mounting goals, but not each 1 of them is really taking nan clip to constitute them down connected paper.

Ideas successful our heads enactment there. They only go existent erstwhile they are correct location successful beforehand of america successful achromatic and white. Once they are written down, they go existent to us, and past we tin fig retired conscionable which goals to prioritize and, astir importantly, why.

More Tips connected Prioritizing Goals

• Achieving Goals: The Ultimate Guide to Goal Achieving & Goal Setting successful 2021
• The Ultimate Guide to Prioritizing Your Work And Life

Featured photograph credit: Scott Graham via unsplash.com