Now that the new year has started and most people are back to work, you may find it hard to find time to set some written goals. Before you know it it will be December again and those lofty ideas that sounded so great in January will still be just that… lofty ideas. I propose that you take the Success Begins Today 5 Minute Success Challenge. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it may even impact your life.
Here are the three simple steps to success in 2006.
- Download the 5 Minute Success Form and print it out.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes
- Fill in three boxes with a marking pen. Write down a five year goal, a one year goal, and a simple habit that you can develop this month. That’s it!
- There is no step four
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Let me give you an example of how this works. Let’s say you have a health and fitness mindset and you really want to run a marathon in the next five years. You put the word “marathon” in the five year goal box. The holidays have added to your waistline and your one year goal is to lose 20 pounds. Put lose 20 pounds in the one year goal box.
You now have 12 monthly boxes on the sheet. Write one simple habit that you can develop this month that will move you closer to your one year goal. Make it easy, measurable and attainable. For our example you might put down “walk 15 minutes every morning” in the January box. Post this sheet where you can see it everyday such as on the refrigerator door.
To be successful, focus on this one habit until the end of the month. Make sure you are diligent and write the number of each day that you accomplish the goal in the January box. Keep this up till the end of the month.
On the last day of the month write down a new habit that will move you closer to your one year goal in the February box. As with January make it easy, measurable and attainable. For our example let’s put down give up french fries. This simple habit will save thousands of calories over the period of a month.
The key to this simple system is to keep doing January’s habit while developing the new habit in February. Repeat this pattern month after month and you will have twelve new habits by the end of the year. March may be “give up sodas”, April might bring “have an apple a day” and on and on.
Use your imagination and make this fun. Pick things that are attainable and that you can write down in one sentence. Nothing complicated here. Don’t kill yourself if you miss a day but make sure you get back on track the following day.
Researchers say it takes 21 days to form a habit. This plan gives you 30. You can reprint the success challenge each month and mark off each successful day in each months category. The key to this whole plan is simplicity and WRITING things down.
Please keep us all informed how you do. Use the contact form or leave comments on your progress.
In the coming days we’ll have strategies and plans to help you make this simple plan a success!
About John Richardson
Author, Speaker, and Digital Media Creator. Personal Development Blogger. Ideas for Success!
Outstanding tip, and outstanding form! Thanks for creating and sharing with all of us!
Thanks for the comment Phil. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is the power of today. So many times we put off planning and goal setting until we have more time. Unfortunately “more time” never comes. This exercise is designed to get two goals and an action item on paper in five minutes.
Written goals and action items are really the key to success. If you can add a photo of the goal it is even better. This program and form are designed to be simple so they get done.
Written Goals, Simple Habits… Done
Thanks, John, for such a beautifully simple method and tool for goal-setting. I’m working it now, and looking forward to the results.
Thanks for the reply Tim. In years past I would have all sorts of elaborate goals on my mind in January. When I look back at the lists I made I can’t believe how complicated they were. All it took was one of them to go wrong and the whole house of cards came tumbling down. With this system you are only concerned with one habit at a time and you revisit your plan at the end of each month.
The 5 minute original time limit is designed to get your goals on paper. If they are written down and put in a place where you will see them on a daily basis you are much more likely to acheive them.
Good luck on your journey!
John
yah!!! we could get goals if we could action to that matter want to be done or to fulfill.
Thank you John for this simple, and what looks like a very effective system of outling goals and developing habits. I will print out the form and give it a go.