I remember the time I used to be so enthusiastic about a new year and formulate an exciting plan. However after a few months there is disappointment realizing that I had made only insignificant progress in executing the plan.

 

Over the years I have formulated and refined a method of ensuring my plans get achieved by carrying out a month end (or next month beginning) booster and I would like to share it with you. As I always say, just because this worked for me, there is no guarantee it will work for you. Therefore I invite you to try this out and adjust it to suit your situation so that it works for you.

This method is even more powerful if you had formulated a plan to make 2016 the most spectacular year of your life, using the format suggested by me in my blog (Click here to access this activity in my blog. ) or any other method that works for you.

 

Given below is a process that I find quite useful to take stock of the month that ended, so that I can celebrate the successes, make some commitments to take corrective action where required and plan for the next month6.

 

Part 1: How I lived my life this month (January 2016)

 

Step 1: What steps did I take toward my [or my family or my team] three big goals you for 2016? E.G.: I started reading a book on building high quality relationships.

 

Step 2: What attitude changes did I make in order to achieve my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: Daily meditation helps improve my mindfulness and thereby my effectiveness.

 

Step 3: What changes did I make in my beliefs in order to achieve my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: I believe I have the time to do 30 mts. of exercises everyday.

 

Step 4: What changes in behaviour did I make in order to achieve my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: I started my day thinking of my big goals and doing a mental rehearsal of me achieving my tasks planned for the day.

 

Step 5: What attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of mine could have been better during the month? E.G.: I could have been more consistent and focused in my daily prayers.

 

 

My plan for the next month (February 2016)

 

Step 1: What steps would I take toward furthering my [or my family or my team] three big goals you for 2016? E.G.: I will meet at least 2 new customers per week during this month.

 

Step 2: What attitude changes would I make in order to move towards my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: Attitude change: spending at least 5 minutes a day getting to know a colleague at a deeper level will build high quality relationships.

 

Step 3: What changes in my belief would I make to move towards my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: I believe I have the confidence to coach my team members.

 

Step 4: What changes in behaviour would I make to move towards my 3 big goals for 2016? E.G.: I will start my morning meetings with a friendly greeting and encouraging comment.

 

I recommend you invest 30 mts. of your life to plan for success this month. Thereafter take a look at this plan every morning and remind yourselves to take steps to make this plan real. It is also powerful to do a quick review of the plan before you go to bed every night.

 

Following this process day-by-day and month-by-month helps get closer and closer to our plans and live a happy and purposeful life.

 

Now it’s your turn to take action. Let me know how it goes so that I can use your inputs to further refine this process.