The A’s and B’s of achievement

achievement
The red figure of a man stands on a tower of cubes with the word goal. Leadership skills. The concept of achieving the goal, dedication and diligence, overcoming obstacles and thinking extraordinarily

Action

Are you feeling stuck? There is always something you can do to move them forward. Ask yourself what is the single, next, action you can take to make progress. Then act on it. Planning is all very well, but it is only action that will get you the desired result.

Accountability

Make yourself accountable to someone. If you are a single operator, don’t rely on you to keep yourself on course. Get support from someone you trust – someone who will give you honest feedback.

Altitude

It’s so easy to get bogged down in details when under pressure to produce, causing you to drift off course, get distracted or become resentful. Make a habit of regularly getting “above” the day-to-day by reminding yourself of the big picture and why you are doing this in the first place.

Attitude

Set your attitude at the beginning of the day – it will guide you like a compass until you go to bed. Say something like “I’ve got this” as soon as you open your eyes in the morning.

Avoidance

What are you avoiding? Why are you avoiding? Avoidance uses a lot of energy. It’s better to “face the fear and do it anyway”. Sometimes the very task or issue you are avoiding, if confronted, will return the greatest reward. There is joy and freedom on the other side, and the increase to your confidence will cause you to get so much more done.

Awareness

The RAS (Reticular Activating System) is the way the brain filters incoming information, in accordance with its importance to you. For example, if you start thinking about buying a yellow VW Beetle, you will start seeing them everywhere. Start looking for ways to be more productive – you will start seeing them everywhere.

Begin

Planning is important, but sooner or later you have to begin. Finishing is impossible without it. If you must, break the task down to the smallest single next step you can think to take and do that. Then repeat.

Balance

Is your life out of balance? Too much work and not enough play make Jack and Jill dull and exhausted.

Believe

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” For example, notice what you are saying to yourself about your ability to manage time. Are these beliefs helping or hindering you?

Belong

Don’t just casually show up. Find and get involved in a community – it could be a Chamber of Commerce, a local traders’ group, a sporting club or some other volunteer-based organisation. Tap into the enthusiasm and resources of group members. Support others; the energy you gain will fuel your own productivity.

Brainstorming

Generate ideas and solutions by writing down whatever pops into your head. Get together with others and thrash things out. Use a whiteboard or a flip chart. Make it fun. Put it all down. No ideas are silly. Even the ‘crazy’ ideas can lead to inventive solutions and get you unstuck.

Breaks

Make sure you plan and take regular breaks throughout the day. Force yourself to step away from your work. This will restore your energy, which will increase the quality and quantity of your workday’s output.

Buddy

Don’t think you have to achieve everything on your own. Get a buddy – someone to talk to, to be accountable to, to walk with you along your journey. A load shared is a load halved.

Busy

It’s no use just being busy. As someone once said, “Even a see- saw is busy, but it doesn’t go anywhere”. Don’t merely be busy, be productive.

Les Watson, The Time Lord, www.getmoretime.com.au