Speed up to Slow Down and other Goal Setting Strategies
Jan 11, 2024
I read a book last week that has changed my approach to the new year.
We are far enough into January now to slow our roll on DREAMING BIG and SETTING GOALS. We are in the trenches now, mud on our faces, maybe wondering if we should adjust our INTENTIONS a bit. Am I right? The lofty ideals we have as the calendar ticks over to a new year don’t look as shiny 10 days in. So I’m going to suggest that we take those ideas out of the clouds, out of the realm of year long goals and zoom in.
A year is too long. We change too much in 12 months. Our circumstances can change too much to sustain the same idea 10 months from now.
I suggest we adopt what the title of the book I read suggests: The 12 Week Year.
Instead of thinking about our goal for the month of January - forgetting about it from February through October, then hitting it hard in November and December, what if we focus intently for just 90 Days?
When we do this, each WEEK is like a month, each DAY is like a week. If we are going to accomplish something, we have to FOCUS daily. The deadline is so much closer, there is no time to forget about the goal or put it off.
If we zoom in, not only will we be more efficient in reaching our goal, we will be working on something that matters NOW to the person we are currently.
I read another book over the holidays called Slipstream. It’s about time-hacking; gaining more time by accomplishing important life goals more quickly. We do this either by leveraging a mentor or opportunity that moves us ahead faster or by making choices that move us toward our dreams. And it doesn’t make us busier or more frantic; it actually slows time because we are wasting less.
Here’s an example in my life: I’ve had this idea for years about how wonderful it would be to go to France. Someday. When I have money. When it’s a good time. When I’m a person who can take a trip to France. Etc..
My oldest daughter, a French minor who missed studying abroad in college when the world shut down, suggested last week,
“Mom, we should go to France together this year.”
She wasn’t asking me to take her. She was suggesting that we both save up and put it on the calendar and see if we can make it happen. (The fact that my 23 year old daughter wants ME to go with her is motivation enough to try. What a gift!)
We talked about researching places, watching French films to learn the language, and finding ways for her to recall all the French speaking skills she once had.
By putting it on the calendar for October, we put ourselves in a slipstream - a way of getting to it faster. If we never planned it, we would for sure be still thinking about it as a “wouldn’t that be nice someday?” idea. October of 2024 would come and go without us sitting at a cafe in Paris.
To be clear, there is no funding to make this happen at the moment for either of us. We are not buying airline tickets. I don’t know if we will find a way, but I’d rather dream and plan and TRY than keep that memorable experience stuck in the “maybe someday” zone.
The 12 Week Year feels like a great strategy for being a woman who creates slipstreams - reaching my goals more quickly. If I reach a goal more quickly, I can move onto the next one sooner, accomplishing more in one year than I would have if I gave myself all 12 MONTHS.
How does this land with you? Would you consider moving your 2024 goal into 12 weeks? Would you dare to say,
“Actually, I’m doing that by April 1st.”
What would YOUR 12 week goal be??
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It’s only mid-January. Wipe that mud off your cheek, mama, and click the link below. Let’s do this.
Cheering you on,
Jill
*The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran
*Slipstream by Benjamin P. Hardy
*Affiliate links
