Act to get traction

When you think about things you’ve wanted to achieve, how many have remained ideas or wishes? You may have guessed by now that you’ll have to do something. So if those plans are long overdue, here are some tips for bringing them to life.

Don’t rely on motivation: Motivation is important, but as you know, you’ll not always feel motivated and need something more reliable. Schedule what you’ll be doing daily and don’t give yourself the option of skipping or replacing it with something else when the time comes. Sticking with the schedule will make it become a habit in time.

Take small, but daily steps: Doing something small everyday is better than planning to take big steps ‘sometime’. Starting is critical even if it’s with a tiny step. You can ramp up as you go. Whatever you have on your list to do, break it down into small steps and do something about it today. Once you hit that target of doing that first thing, you can take the next and expand as you go.

Get crisp before going big: Be crisp about what you want, why you want it and what you need to start doing. Get away from those generic goals such as “I want a better job or I want make more money”, that’s vague. What does a better job for you look like? What is more money?

Give yourself constraints: You may think you need total freedom to do what you want. Sometimes the right constraints with the correct perspective can help you focus and propel you into what you really want.

Now take action: Do at least one thing this week to move your plans from paper to life.