What's your Top Twelve in 2012?

By Peter Forint, BA, MBA, GBM

It’s the end of January and New Year’s Eve resolutions are but a distant memory. Now it’s time to really sit down, get serious, and plan the rest of your year. Now’s the time to make this a special year by accomplishing not one special goal, but an even dozen for the year; that is your Top Twelve in 2012.

You may be thinking: Twelve goals in one year? You’ve got to be kidding. I’m too busy to even think of that many let alone get them all done in a year! Well, here’s a simple process that can enable you to decide what your top priorities are and when to achieve them.

The first step is to make a list of your goals. At Wardell we teach our clients that there are five categories of goals, we call The Five Ps of Goals Setting:

1. Personal Goals: These are your self-improvement goals, that is mastering a skill, such as taking fitness classes, or learning to speed read
2. People Goals: These are your relationship goals, for spending time with family or friends
3. Play Goals: These are your fun goals such as travel, buying that reward, enjoying your hobbies
4. Professional Goals: These are your work and financial related goals
5. Public Goals: These are how you give back to society, your volunteer and charitable activities.

Give yourself five sheets of paper, one for each category, to jot down your goals. Think to yourself, “What would I do if I had no limitations?” Dream big! Write down at least three in each category.

Next, rank your goals as A, B, C, in terms of commitment.   “A” goals are the ones that you would most like to achieve. “B” goals are those that you might change if serious obstacles arise, and “C” goals are those that you’ll look at only after the A and B goals are done. Go through the list and identify your top dozen goals across all the categories, choosing at least two from each category.

Once you have your goals prioritized, create a one page calendar with 12 columns; in the first list the goals and in the next eleven the months February through December. Choose the starting month for each project in your calendar and you will have a visual time-line of your Top Twelve in 2012.

Finally, carve out the time you need to invest working on your goals, and schedule in your Outlook, or other daily calendar as regularly occurring weekly appointments. Cancel or move them only for the same reasons you would cancel appointments with your best customer. By treating such time as just as important as the time you schedule for our best customers you will give your priorities the attention they deserve. That’s how you’ll achieve your Top Twelve in 2012!

Peter Forint is a management consultant with Wardell Professional Development, a business coaching and consulting organization serving owner-managed and family run businesses. E-mail: peter.forint@wardell.biz; Website: www.wardell.biz; GTA: 416-290-5718, Toll Free: 877-290-5718.

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