{"id":11789,"date":"2013-01-31T23:23:10","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T07:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=11789"},"modified":"2013-01-31T23:23:10","modified_gmt":"2013-02-01T07:23:10","slug":"how-to-get-stuff-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-get-stuff-done\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get Stuff Done. Period."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/pAjjf-349\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to goal setting and motivation, there are a couple of schools of thought:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You should set big, ambitious, audacious goals &#8230; ones that challenge you and inspire you<\/li>\n<li>You should set small, easy, minimum targets &#8230; ones that you can do without fail every single day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Who\u2019s right? I think that both can be. A big goal (like writing a book, or losing 50lbs) can be really inspiring, but it can also be daunting. Small targets aren\u2019t so inspiring or exciting &#8230; but they are reassuringly do-able.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to combine both for maximum effect.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Ambitious Goals: Shoot for the Moon<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cShoot for the moon. Even if you miss you&#8217;ll land among the stars.\u201d \u2013 Les Brown<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Big goals are inspiring. They give you something really worthwhile to go for: in many cases, achieving one of your biggest goals could make a huge difference to your life.<\/p>\n<p>And, as the Les Brown quote says, even if you miss your goal, you\u2019ll still have accomplished something worthwhile. Let\u2019s say you aim to lose 50lbs and you lose 30lb: that\u2019s still a great achievement, and one that will have huge benefits for your health.<\/p>\n<p>Your ambitious goals might be something like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Run a marathon<\/li>\n<li>Write a book and get it published<\/li>\n<li>Change to a new career<\/li>\n<li>Run a successful small business<\/li>\n<li>Get back into those old jeans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you\u2019re looking ahead to the long-term, set yourself some big goals. Don\u2019t make them so huge that they\u2019re totally unrealistic, but do make them inspiring and potentially life-changing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do it: Pick <em>one<\/em> big goal that you\u2019d like to accomplish within the next one to three years. That might be writing a book, losing weight, starting a business, getting a new qualification &#8230; or anything that\u2019s important to you. Write your goal down. (Tell us about it in the comments below, if you want.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Minimum Targets: A String of Successes<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cWhoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.\u201d \u2013 Saul Bellow<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While big goals can be inspiring, they can also be daunting. You might get excited when you think about having your published book on the shelves &#8230; but that excitement can easily give way to endless procrastination when you think of all the work involved.<\/p>\n<p>This is where minimum targets come in. A minimum target is something that you achieve every single day (or perhaps every weekday), without fail. That could be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Exercise for 10 minutes<\/li>\n<li>Write for 15 minutes<\/li>\n<li>Send one email to an old contact<\/li>\n<li>Read two pages of a book<\/li>\n<li>Eat two pieces of fruit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230;or anything at all that relates to your own goal. Ideally, your minimum target should take no more than 15 &#8211; 20 minutes: the idea is that you can do this on even the busiest days.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you may well have days when you go far beyond your minimum target. The target is there to ensure that you do make progress (and that you have an encouraging sense of achievement) even when things aren\u2019t going so well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do it: Come up with a minimum target that relates to your big goal. Get a calendar and put it somewhere visible (e.g. over your desk). Mark an X on every day that you achieve your minimum target. Your aim is to create a string of Xs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You <em>can<\/em> achieve great things in your life. Even if you\u2019ve struggled to reach your goals before, you can use straightforward techniques like the ones above to boost your chances of success. And if you\u2019d like to share a tip with us, or tell us about your own goals, just pop a comment below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to goal setting and motivation, there are a couple of schools of thought:<\/p>\n<p>    You should set big, ambitious, audacious goals &#8230; ones that challenge you and inspire you<br \/>\n    You should set small, easy, minimum targets &#8230; ones that you can do without fail every single day<\/p>\n<p>Who\u2019s right? I think that both can be. A big goal (like writing a book, or losing 50lbs) can be really inspiring, but it can also be daunting. Small targets aren\u2019t so inspiring or exciting &#8230; but they are reassuringly do-able.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to combine both for maximum effect. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-get-stuff-done\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":12421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[9,17,6],"tags":[91,4631,81,4639,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Get Stuff Done. Period. - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-get-stuff-done\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Get Stuff Done. Period. - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When it comes to goal setting and motivation, there are a couple of schools of thought:    You should set big, ambitious, audacious goals ... ones that challenge you and inspire you   You should set small, easy, minimum targets ... ones that you can do without fail every single day  Who\u2019s right? I think that both can be. A big goal (like writing a book, or losing 50lbs) can be really inspiring, but it can also be daunting. Small targets aren\u2019t so inspiring or exciting ... but they are reassuringly do-able.  Here\u2019s how to combine both for maximum effect. 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