As we enter the final 82 day sprint to the end of the year, what are you doing to review where you are up to and plan where you want to be when 1st Jan 2021 arrives?
There are so many memes relating to 2020 being a year to forget in order to start over in 2021, but please don’t give up on what’s left of this year.
Bruce Lee famously said, “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
We’re all so conscious that this tumultuous year has caused us to be reactive and reserved in some areas, but I hope it’s also caused you to be extremely proactive in others areas that will pay massive dividends.
Wherever you stand how can you create a plan that will still bring a win for the final quarter?
Something I work hard at practising each year is to act on the wisdom that there is real power in advance DECISION making when it comes to simply getting things done. It’s a massive productivity hack because most of the energy and stress of your property entrepreneurship isn’t actually “doing stuff”… it’s deciding which stuff to do. Figuring it out, eliminating alternatives, prioritising… that’s the stuff that wears us out.
That’s why people like Steve Jobs wore identical clothes every day. Less decisions. I think Mark Zuckerberg does the same – ie by having a wardrobe of jeans and tees of the same colour/design.
Whilst it takes being really intentional, I’ve found that by using pre-decision on a Sunday night to get clear on the week ahead it avoids second guessing in the moment of each day. I learned this from a productivity coach years ago and practice the advice each week. When Monday comes it’s then just a matter of showing up as per the diary and executing. Following through on what you said you would. You already decided. The hardest part (deciding) is over.
No need to second guess. No need to hesitate. Just get it done. Execution is everything.
So why not apply this simple yet powerful approach to finishing the year strong this Q4?
You may or may not remember I share a 2 part post at the beginning of each year about goal setting and implementing, [link below for those interested]
Here are four key steps from that post to help you DECIDE NOW what your Q4 will look like and how to stack the probability of success in your favour!
For each main goal/project run through these steps:
#1 What specifically needs to happen…to get started? To continue? To finish?
#2 How can you measure progress? (ie no. of viewings/offers per week. Booking revenue, occupancy by month..) When answering these questions think about what can be ritualised/repeated.
#3 What deadlines need to happen within these last 11 weeks? Think it through and allocate deadlines you can put into your diary.
#4 How can you stack multiple layers of accountability onto this project. In other words, who all can you inform, involve, make a pledge to etc that will help you follow through on your promise. (Think mentors, family, advisors, peers).
12 WEEK PROJECT PLAN
The final stage to this is creating your 12 week (OK 11 weeks now) project plan where you literally create a grid with 84 – 91 days and then populate it with dates, specifics and deadlines (as per your answers to the Q’s above) to work to each day and week. Schedule this stuff in using the mechanisms that work for you, phone, outlook calendar, a wall chart or whatever. Allocate sufficient time and protect it in your diary.
And there you have it.
Decide to finish strong – this is a powerful philosophy to carry into any final stretch, whether it be the task, the day, the week, the month….you get the picture. Here’s to finishing the year strong!
I’d love to hear who’s got a Q4 plan like this set up, and particularly who makes one after reading this?