Too many people fail to achieve goals, but the reason is they aren’t using the right system. Writing down your goals is the first important step.

When you commit your goals to writing you’ll automatically clarify them and drastically increase your odds of achieving them. It’s also important to define your goals using the S.M.A.R.T. attributes.

Specific: Be specific about the objective (don’t just write “I want to lose weight;” define how much weight you want to lose).

Measurable: Your goal must be defined in measurable terms, which is closely related to the attribute above. For example, write “I want to lose 10 pounds.”

Actionable: Define the goal in terms of a specific action. Don’t write I want to blog more often. Write: I want to publish one blog post per week.

Reasonable: Don’t create unreasonable goals that you aren’t likely to attain. But also push yourself towards goals that feel a bit ambitious.

Time-keyed: Give yourself a deadline for attaining the goal so you can measure your progress against a specific time-frame.

If you are interested in creating goals for the upcoming year, and want to increase your odds of success, read Michael Hyatt’s book Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals.

I first used his system in 2016 to vastly improve my success in achieving some really big goals. And I’ve used it every year since then.

Typically, I map out my goals in late December so that I’m ahead of the game by the time that January 1st rolls around.

If you’ve had trouble sticking to your New Years’ resolutions it’s not your fault. You just need a solid system, which Michael Hyatt’s book will most assuredly provide you.

General Resources

General Resources

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P.S. If you want my Ultimate Guide to Technology for Lawyers click here.