Zvi Band — December 31, 2016 We all know that resolutions are nice in theory, but only 8% actually achieve it – in fact, within the first week, 25% have already given up! Why? Because we don’t fully grasp that we have to change our entire way of thinking to adapt to this new desired reality – which is incredibly challenging to do.
So why are we leaving the change we want to see in our business and our lives to something so ineffective?
Strategies will win in 2017.
Let’s implement strategies, now, for an epic 2017.
If you want to lose weight, don’t just say you’re going to lose weight. Come up with 50 recipes to choose from, weekly grocery lists, and block off time on Sunday nights to making lunches. If you want to learn a new skill – great, sign up for the course now, pay for the entire year, and set time in your calendar to practice.
And if you know that being obsessive with your sphere, your network of key relationships, is core to your business, get the processes and tools in place now, so Jan 2nd, 2017 is all about execution.
Don’t waste another second of your remaining time on earth on an intention.
To get you started, here are five specific strategies – recipes you can implement today. We at Contactually have given a webinar to thousands of folks with about 18 in total, but these are the key ones you should focus on as we enter a new year:
Strategy One: Calendar Driven
Look back on your calendar for the past few weeks. Other than holidays, how does it look? Block off what a normal day looks like for you. What are the key things you try and achieve every day? Block those off.
Set up Calendly or ScheduleOnce, and put it in your email signature. Get a really good calendar app for your phone. Insert normal appointment slots and blocks for what you want to achieve on a normal day. Add in a 30 minute weekly review.
Strategy Two: Sunday Planning Session
Sunday is the BEST time to plan the week ahead. Create the following Sunday ritual (use your calendar), at a concrete and convenient time. In your planner/task list, answer these questions for your upcoming week:
- What are the big goals I want to accomplish?
- What are the messes I need to clean up?
- Who do I know I need to reach out to?
Prioritize and split them down to each day what you need to achieve.
Strategy Three: Digital Task Management
Implement a central task tool will ensure no small detail slips through the cracks. Sign up for: Asana, Wunderlist, Evernote. Commit to opening it up daily – add it to your daily ritual. Use your Sunday ritual to keep it updated. Be sure to open it up everyday to help you determine what you want it to do. Invest in tools that make it SUPER easy to add tasks from anywhere because our brilliant ideas never come to us at a convenient time when we’re sitting at our desk and ready to make a list…
Strategy Four: The Hour of Power
Block off one hour in your calendar. Every day. Or at least every week. Early AM best. Put in your calendar what you’re going to achieve each time- and it should all be important, not urgent tasks. No checking email, no picking up incoming calls/texts. They can wait an hour!
Example ideas:
- 20 minutes – plan out and execute something really valuable for a VIP.
- 20 minutes – send handwritten, personal/cards or voicemails to 5 contacts
- 10 minutes – send quick thank you notes (or handwritten cards)
- 10 minutes – social media commenting/posting.
Strategy Five: Aggregate your Relationships
Getting all of your contacts into one place, and cleanly organized, is a key business tactic and part of your sphere strategy. Set a monthly calendar block to organize and prioritize your recent relationships. Put the right people into buckets. Identify how you meet people – where are the holes where people could fall out? Plug them with tools, calendar appointments. For example; how do you capture people you meet at Networking Events and Open Houses
Make 2017 your most EPIC yet
Hopefully among the five you’ve found one or two that resonate with you. So don’t leave it to Jan 2nd to try – start today – these are all clearly implementable now!
Good luck, and we wish you an #EPIC2017!
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