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This week I’m celebrating the  completion of a long cherished dream – to finally write a book that simplifies Goal Setting and Achievement with a look back at my own childhood and my favorite activity of creating To Do Lists.

On being ‘Miss To Do List’

Every family has that one individual whose antics are a source of amusement. In our family, I wore the coveted crown for many years until a pair of dachshunds joined our family. Then their progeny gave enough competition for me to bail out gracefully muttering that I had to make way for new talent!

One of my habits, which has since been adopted by my family related to my tendency to write things down. It did not matter what I was writing, it had to be done in style and in an eye-appealing manner.

I bought special colored stationery to prepare my To Do Lists and Goal Setting was done in an equally attractive manner. No wonder my father nick-named me Miss To-Do List!

Those were the pre-computer days (other than the big IBM machines and data card entry) yet I managed to inspire myself. Now my mantra for happiness includes PowerPoint templates and colored printouts.

But no one could deny the fact that I got things done, efficiently and effectively.

So my tribe started with my family and went on to gather members from my friends and associates. I gather new converts whenever and wherever I can to the art of writing down goals and yes, the famous To-Do List.

I read an article sometime back which mentioned that studies have found that only 5% of adults ever write their goals. It got me wondering, is there a correlation between written goals and goal achievement? I believe there is.

Why it makes sense to write down goals

The beauty of writing down goals and tasks for that matter is that one tends to look at them, think about them and finally action them. It is easier to monitor progress and adjust strategy before the goal goes for a toss.

If the goal is a mental one, it stays that way. The mind has enough to think about and if the goal is overtaken by urgent and important matters, then the probability of it being pushed to the back-burner increases until such time that the goal too acquires an urgent and important status.

Writing down goals can be a simple exercise and not an elaborate power point presentation. The point is to put it down in writing so that you can see the goal for what it is and not what you think it is.

We talk of SMART Goals but how would you know if your goal is SMART if you cannot see the pieces and the strategy for goal success?

Are there any missing pieces to your strategy jig-saw puzzle?

Write it down and look at it. Quite possibly the missing pieces may take you in another direction where more important goals or steps are required before starting on the goal you really want to achieve.

Once you have put your SMART Goals down in print, preparing an action plan is the next step. It also means breaking down tasks into smaller ones where the sum of the small tasks equals achieving the main task and perhaps even more. It means knowing where you might encounter roadblocks or need to tweak and improve your skills. More importantly, it means taking stock of your skills and strengths.

When the goal is in writing, there is a means of tracking your progress and keeping you accountable to yourself.  Written evidence of success helps to boost your self-confidence. It provides evidence of your achievements to pull you through difficult times when there are setbacks and a morale boost is required.

Monitoring your progress also helps to identify what is working and what is not. For the latter, be flexible and make the necessary adjustments while keeping your focus on the end goal.

Take heart and put pen to paper or fingers to computer keys and create your SMART Goals with an Action Plan.

Better yet, acquire a copy of my Kindle book  by clicking on the image or here

Goal Achievement Simplified – When Your Actions Give Results

Do you write down your Goals and create Action Plans? I’d love to read about your method to stay on track in the comments box below.

Goals by Peter Griffin