How do I pick a 100 Day Goal when I’ve got lots of things I need to get done?

Written by Julia Bickerstaff // December 27, 2016 // Daily Juice // No comments

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So, lots of you have asked about how to set your goal when you have TONS of things you need to get done/want to achieve AND you are already super busy.

Like this:

“I work in Direct Sales with a company. I need to gain promotion:I need to increase my sales and I need to recruit fresh blood into the team! I also need to lose 4 stone in weight. And I need to move house. I am mum to two children with mental and cognitive issues so I’m juggling a lot and get quite distracted. Help! don’t know where to start with setting a 100 Day Goal.”

“I don’t know what my goal is. I just started a soap business, I need to do so much on it. I also work as a Personal Trainer and I’m studying pilates. I have a lot of things on but don’t know how to turn this into a 100 Day Goal”

How I do it

As a rule of thumb I use the 100 Day Goal to get something done that either:

1. I want to do, but will never get round to without the 100 Day Goal, because I’m so busy, or
2. Needs a big consistent focus which I’m unlikely to do without the 100 Day Goal because it’s hard or unpleasant (Like most of us, I avoid hard things!)

Projects I want to do, but will never get round to without the 100 Day Goal, because I’m so busy

I don’t use the 100 Day Goal to do stuff that that I’ll do anyway. I don’t need to because that stuff will get done. Rather, I save it for the things that I want to do but will never find time to do without the 100 Day Goal because of all the OTHER STUFF that I have to do!

Examples for me have included a website overhaul, writing a book and running a marathon (training for it from scratch)

This year I moved house (twice!) but I didn’t pick it as a 100 Day Goal because it was going to happen anyway. I couldn’t avoid it! Though I probably should have picked ‘decluttering the house’ as a 100 Day Goal as we ended up taking all our junk with us!

Projects that fall under this heading are mostly things that would fall into my “Important not Urgent” quadrant in the Eisenhower Box.

Projects that need a big consistent focus which I’m unlikely to do without the 100 Day Goal because they are hard or unpleasant

I’m not a total avoider of hard things – I often begin unpleasant projects – but I’m a master at “pausing” projects when they start getting VERY HARD WORK. I have an excuse I roll out every time. “I’m too busy”.

If I really want to get a HARD project done, I use the 100 Day Goal. I find it helps me break through the pain barrier! And after working on the tough project for, say, 21 days, it does become easier. I just have to get through the awful stage first!

Examples for me include sales goals and writing the Healthy Income Program. Lots of my friends have used the 100 Day Goal for weight loss or exercise (because mostly we don’t stick with it because it’s hard!)

Struggling to pick your Goal?

So if you’re struggling to pick your goal, think about something that you either:
1. Want to do, but will never get round to without the 100 Day Goal, because you are so busy, or
2. Need to give a big consistent focus to which you’re unlikely to do without the 100 Day Goal because it’s hard or unpleasant

Pick ONEGoal

If you’ve got lots of projects you want to do, you might be tempted to start them all. But don’t. You’ll just burn out. It’s MUCH better to pick ONE goal, stick with it, reach it and then start another with us next time (1 May).

Once you start to see progress towards your ONE goal you’ll experience a fabulous halo effect which energises and motivates you to do more stuff! You might then find you have enough steam to start another project too! (BOOSTers, there’s a video coming up on this!)

Most people ignore this advice the first time they try the 100 Day Goal, and then take it on board the second time!