Don't Miss a Beat (Tracking Your Progress in Your Goals)
It is a summer evening and you are on a date with your Goal (personified for this post). There is an uncomfortable energy between your plate and Goal's third glass of champagne. He/She looks as you distraught. You have forgotten him/her. You didn't want to spend time with him/her because you were too tired or busy. You didn't realize how much time had passed, you were not keeping track. Now it has come to this. What can you do to make it up to Goal? After all, he/she has been waiting patiently for you.
This unfortunate situation has happened to me numerous times. That is why when there is a vision I want to be dedicated to, I use the Evaluation Method. You may use this for all of your goals if you wish, but you may find it easier to use for an important, long-term dream. If you find this method to be tedious, do not force yourself to use it. But if you wish to try it, here is the outline.
The evaluations I have listed for you are the weekly checklist and the monthly checklist. If you wish to do a daily list, that is fine as well. The evaluations are a series of questions you ask in relation to your goals. Here are the questions for your weekly evaluation and your monthly evaluation.
WEEKLY EVALUATION
1. Did I accomplish any of my goals this week?
2. Were there any obstacles?
3. What opportunities presented themselves? Did I take the opportunity, consider it, or ignore it? Why?
4. In what ways can I prepare for next week? What are next week's goals?
5. What lessons did I learn this week?
6. How can I be even better next week?
7. What is my motto/mantra/theme for the upcoming week?
MONTHLY EVALUATION
1. Did I accomplish this month's goals?
2. Were there any obstacles?
3. What were the lessons I learned this month?
4. What successful steps did I take to accomplish my goals?
5. What was my overall mindset during this entire month?
6, How can I prepare for next month or a different month?
7. What is my motto/mantra/theme for next month or a different month?
Answer as many questions as you feel you need. Sometimes three questions can be answered with simply one or two answers. Take between 30 minutes to an hour to answer the questions so you can truly think about them. Keep all of the evaluations that you have done and compare them. There may be a theme or pattern. You may notice that the same obstacle keeps appearing or you may be able to replicate the steps that gave you success. You can personalize your evaluation, as I said earlier, to focus on a single goal. Add questions or delete questions, but have fun with tracking your progress. When you reach your goal, you will see that your efforts paid off for you.