Goal setting is easy. It’s achieving your goals that’s difficult. Life is full of distractions waiting to lead you astray, so you must do more than simply establish a list of goals. For example, if your goal is to build a successful business, you may get led astray by the desire to have a fancy office or expansive warehouse. However, if you avoid these distractions, start with far more affordable serviced or virtual offices, and upgrade when it makes financial sense, you’ll be on track to fulfilling your central goal: building a successful business.
Let’s take a look at six other ways to streamline your life and achieve your goals.
1. Batch similar tasks together
Different activities – such as organizing, planning, and writing – use specific parts of the brain. Constantly switching between these disparate activities leads to mental exhaustion, which can lead to burnout and ineffectiveness.
To avoid that unwanted fate, batch similar activities together and do them all at once. For example, check, respond, or organize your emails at designated times during the day. You can also batch things like content promotion through social media channels. This is particularly effective because social media is well-known to break up attention spans and affect other aspects of work. So, by batching the task, you avoid the daily temptation to get sucked into the infinite scroll.
2. Prioritize your tasks according to the 80/20 rule
Named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, the “Pareto Principle” is the idea that 20% of causes result in 80% of effects. In business, this can mean 20% of customers produce 80% of the sales. In software, 20% of bugs cause 80% of crashes. In both cases, focusing on that 20% leads to success.
To streamline your life for efficiency, prioritize that 20%. After that, you can focus on the remaining 80% of tasks that make up the last 20% of results. Better yet, see if you can delegate them to others.
3. Create (and stick to) boundaries
Just as countries have borders and neighbors have fences, your personal life should have clear boundaries. These don’t have to be physical. However, they should be well-defined and respected.
A boundary may be “no phones an hour before bed” or “no work at dinnertime.” Whatever the specifics, the point is to create a clear separation between work and home to be more effective at both.
4. Establish a weekly review
Constructive feedback is essential to goal setting. It lets you appreciate what went well and what needs to improve. So, consider setting up a weekly review of goals. On a Sunday or Monday, set aside 30 minutes to reflect on what worked last week and what you need to plan for this week.
5. Prioritize your tasks
Create a manageable list of priorities that you can focus on each day. Ideally, it’s no more than three. Then, arrange the tasks in descending order of importance. From here, break them into actionable steps you can take. Finally, take the steps needed to finish each one sequentially.
6. Create a “not to do” list
An updated “to-do” list is key to effective goal setting. It keeps your mind focused on what’s essential. However, it’s also vital to pre-identify what’s not critical to achieving each goal. You can do this with a “not to do” list. In a world of endless distractions, this clear reminder not to focus on certain things can be just as helpful as knowing what to focus on.
Keep these tips in mind to streamline your life and achieve your goals.
