Unlike apps like Yammer and Socialtext, which are trying to be more general social tools for the enterprise, WorkSimple concentrates specifically on the sharing of goals. Users can comment on shared goals and “follow” the people, teams and categories they are interested in, in order to get visibility of goals (and their progress) across an organization. While the app can be used for collaboration — by uploading file attachments to goals, and commenting on shared goals, for example — WorkSimple isn’t really designed to be used as a general communications tool.

As well as individuals sharing their own goals, users can also assign goals to individuals and teams. Reporting features allow users to track goal progress. The tool allows managers to provide continuous feedback through comments, goal tracking and goal reviews.

WorkSimple shares some features with many collaborative task and project management apps, such as Basecamp and Producteev, but it’s better suited to sharing and managing broader goals, rather than more granular, individual tasks. As its name implies, it’s also simpler and easier to use than many task management apps, which should make it easier to deploy across an entire organization. That ease of use is a necessary asset, because the whole idea behind the app is to create a transparent environment where everyone is provided with real-time visibility into what people are working on, what work needs to get done and how things are going — if only a few people use it, it won’t be anywhere near as effective.

I can see WorkSimple being particularly beneficial in larger organizations and those using distributed teams, where visibility of goal setting and progress across an organization can be a big issue. However, its lack of integration with other task management, collaboration and social business tools may prove to be a stumbling block for many organizations. Additionally, businesses with existing task management or social business tools in place may find it somewhat redundant.

The basic social goals features in WorkSimple are free. Advanced features, such as the reporting tools, require a paid Company ($5 per month, or less with volume discounts) or Manager ($5 per month) account.

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Last year, the New York Times published an article (login required) citing research finding that about 80 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions break them by Valentine’s Day. A study from 2007 supports this, saying only twelve percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals.

Perhaps this means that before we list our goals for 2011, we should take a closer look at our own attitudes towards goal-setting. What misconceptions do we have, and what can we do to remedy them?

Myth #1: Tell everyone your goals so that you’re publicly accountable.

In theory, publicizing your goals with friends, or on your blog or Facebook profile, might force you to achieve them, so as not to be seen as someone who’s all talk and no action. But according to a 2009 study by goal-setting researcher Peter Gollwitzer (PDF), this isn’t always true. Most people state their behavioral goals in very general terms (“My goal is to eat healthier”) that gives the premature impression we’ve already done them.

Here’s what works instead: implementation intentions. Gollwitzer defines them (PDF) as a plan spelling out when, where, and how you intend to accomplish a goal. In fact, another study (PDF) shows that implementation intentions work so well that they can help you accomplish your goals despite the presence of distracting thoughts and emotions.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy after you establish a plan. You’ll need to check and update your plan often. It’s also important to start working on your goal as soon as possible. The more time your goal remains inactive after you’ve stated your intentions, the less likely you are to accomplish it.

Myth #2: Reward yourself for your progress.

Some people suggest that to keep yourself focused and motivated in your pursuit of a goal, you need to have rewards for accomplishments. For example, if you successfully stick to your schedule for a week, you’ll give yourself the license to go out with friends during the weekend. While there’s nothing wrong with rewards per se, you need to be careful about how you think of them.

Research shows that for large goals (e.g.. becoming healthier) that have many supporting subgoals (e.g.. sticking to a diet, exercising regularly), whenever you successfully achieve a subgoal, you should reward your personal commitment to the larger goal rather than to  your progress. Rewarding yourself for achieving one subgoal may lead you to ignore the other subgoals, because you’ll view them as substitutes. If you reward your commitment to the larger goal, the subgoals will seem interrelated, and you’ll be more driven to pursue each of them.

Myth #3: Focus on yearly goals.

By definition, New Year’s resolutions are goals that must be achieved within a year. While this tradition can work for some goals, it may not be effective to use such a long time-frame. First, even if we think we know ourselves well, we tend to be poor predictors of what we’ll need or feel in the future. Our perspectives, situations, and desires may differ greatly within a year. Second, most research (PDF) backs up the idea that setting short-term goals is more effective than looking at the big picture. This means that even if you have a list of yearly goals, it’s better to break them down into smaller monthly or weekly subgoals.

Given these goal-setting myths, we should be more attentive to how we set our goals, what works in practice, and what only seems effective in theory. By looking at our goal-setting behavior together with the goals themselves, we’ll be more likely to accomplish more this year.

Do you set goals during the New Year? Which tactics improve your success rate?

Photo by sxc.hu user lazydog

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Certainly, some of us make half-hearted attempts to accomplish a few of our life and business goals. But how many people do you know who put everything on the line to pursue their deepest, most life-changing dreams? What are the rest of us doing, and what are we waiting for?

Choices and Challenges

Of course, circumstances get in the way. There are challenges, setbacks and detours. But each of us has a choice. Although it won’t be easy to navigate back to the right path, if we say that we can’t find our way around obstacles, we’re making a choice to leave things as they are.

Last night, I was reading about Roald Dahl, author of such hopeful and imaginative books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That might be my absolute favorite story about an underdog who overcomes obstacles while continuing to believe in something, even when all is stacked against him.

It turns out Roald Dahl was a lot like his character Charlie. Dahl’s personal life was filled with hardship and tragedy. In spite of all the challenges he faced, he remained positive and achieved great things. As it says on his website, “The series of misfortunes and tragedies Dahl… suffer[ed did not] made him more bitter. Loss and physical adversity seemed to stimulate his enormous energies to positive action. He fought misfortune as if it was a dragon to be slain.”

Time to Dream Big

I hope that 2011 will be a year of great progress toward achieving our deeply-buried dreams, and a year of doing things that require us to step out of our comfort zones and test our abilities, even if they lead to failure or, even more frightening, success.

I challenge you, as we round out these last few days of 2010: dust off those gutsy dreams and ambitions you’ve kept to yourself until now. Dare to put yourself out there; do something big this coming year. It doesn’t need to look big to anyone else, but you’ll know it is, because it will require you to go out on a limb and do things in an entirely different way.

For 2011, live the way you truly want to live, and achieve what you’ve only ever dreamed you could achieve.

What big, audacious goals do you have for 2011?

Photo courtesy Flickr user Neal

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A long December and there’s reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last…

“A Long December”
Adam Duritz

2009 was a tremendously challenging year for me, both personally and professionally. But although it was a year of many changes, it was also one of tremendous opportunity. For me, the transition to 2010 is a logical time to pause and examine the direction my business is headed to reaffirm I’m on the right course.

So with that in mind, I’ve identified some plans or aspirations for things I’d like to accomplish to make sure that 2010 is a better year than 2009.

Renewed emphasis on writing. Writing for WebWorkerDaily really is one of the most enjoyable parts of my professional work. It allows me to use my knowledge as a consultant and small business owner, and tie it in with my interest in web working and web applications. It allows me to connect with amazingly smart people and each article I write is a learning experience. Some larger projects and other issues have kept my writing to a minimum over the last few months, but I find I quite miss it and plan to expand my work in this area.

Saying no. 2009 presented me with many opportunities including some that, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have taken on. Part of this comes with the expansion of my service offerings, part is due to the economic conditions and not wanting to pass on work, and part is just my natural inclination to want to help. A goal for this year is to be conscious of whether the job, the client, and myself is the right fit – for all of us, before I take on new jobs and new work. I think this is a lesson that one must learn from experience, and one I need to pay careful attention to this upcoming year.

Streamline my focus. As mentioned, I’ve expanded my service offerings over the last few years. This has afforded me a lot of new opportunities, but I think in some ways it has also hampered my overall effectiveness. This year I’m getting back to basics and once again stressing my core competencies. I’m working to better define just what it is I do, and how to best present that to clients.

Get out. I’ve become very active on Twitter over the last year and have made some wonderful connections there. It is easily my most successful networking effort. Judging by the number of laptop laden folks I see at my local Panera, though, there are a lot of freelancers and web workers right here in my area. Like Simon mentioned in his plan, I’d really like to get out and meet more of them. One of my plans for this year then is to try to arrange some local meetups or some other sort of in-person get togethers. I believe there is strength in numbers and only good things can come from getting us all connected.

I have big plans for myself and my business for 2010. How about you?

Photo credit: stock xchng user lusi

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Gear

I accumulated a lot of new gear in 2009, but that doesn’t stop me from still having some gear goals for 2010. One of those goals I already fulfilled by purchasing a Canon 270ex flash for my Canon XS last week. I can now avoid the recurring expense of renting a 430ex ii when I attend trade shows, and the 270 will do the job with less weight to carry.

Like Simon, I’m looking forward to an upgrade to my iPhone 3G when I’m eligible this summer, right after the traditional new model rollout time. I’ve also been shopping for EVDO card options after our Christmas week Internet outage (and another one caused by our cold snap this week in Florida) made me realize I needed a better Internet access back-up plan. So far, I’m leaning toward a MiFi from Verizon.

I’d also like a 15” MacBook Pro to upgrade the MacBook I bought as a refurb last April. I didn’t anticipate that machine becoming my primary computer (it waved goodbye to my Vista desktop once I got my hands on that MacBook) and the 13” screen gets a little cramped. But that may have to wait until 2011.

Work

My business and career were expanded greatly in 2009. I aim to continue to carry that momentum into 2010 in several ways.

The first goal was already met, with the successful relaunch a few days ago of the scrapbook audio show that I co-host online called Paperclipping Roundtable. I also am working on constructing a brand web site for my media company, and plan on rolling out some additional web properties for the company during 2010. Unlike previous properties the company has experimented with, these properties will offer content somewhat related to the main Scrapbook Update topic, part of a move toward a more cohesive vision for the company.

My goals also include making progress toward becoming an established speaker in the areas that I work in. I also hope to have the opportunity to travel more so that I can do more in-person professional networking.

Personal

Like several other WebWorkerDaily folk, one of my 2010 goals is to get a lot of reading done. I also wish to spend more time on my scrapbook hobby, instead of just on my scrapbook job. Another goal is to simplify our home to more easily accommodate our busy schedules. And perhaps most important of all is my goal for my autistic six-year-old daughter, which is to finish the process of toilet training her. We’ve made major progress on that in the past six weeks and fully achieving that would be a major milestone in her development.

If a few of these sound suspiciously like the resolutions I’ve said I abhor, then I’ll tell you that I think of them as projects. And my Things is loaded down with projects for 2010. It’s going to be a busy year, but I think it’s going to be a really good one.

Does using the term “project” make a goal seem less intimidating to you?

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1. Attention to small steps. On New Year’s Day, I found myself feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the goals I hoped to achieve this year and wondering how in the world I’d ever reach them. I became frustrated by the sheer volume of work that needed to be done and wasted the majority of the day worrying over it all. The next day, though, I remembered that success really comes from consistency in the small steps. I’ve made a lot of progress in my business over the past couple of years, and I know that what it’s really about is increasing the number of small steps I take, as well as the frequency that I take them. In 2010, the important thing is to simply take small steps — and more of them.
2. Discipline. Small steps only work if they’re taken over and over again. If you start an exercise routine and miss a day, that won’t matter so much, as long as you exercise more days than you don’t. To succeed, simply focus on reducing the number of days you don’t do the things you need to do.
3. Having a destination in mind. Most entrepreneurs appreciate that the journey is usually far more important than arriving at any given point, but it’s still important to know where you want to go and have a general direction to move toward.
4. Constantly switching from big picture to small picture. For me, I know that I have some pretty big goals and several large rocks to move this year, but I also have to keep my eye on smaller-view things (like how the bills will get paid this month and next). I have a tendency to either be in big-picture mode or small-picture mode, when what I really need is to look at my situation from both vantage points very frequently. By switching view points often, I’m less likely to neglect the present or the future of my business.
5. Support. Even though it may feel like we’re on an island a lot of the time, we definitely need support to build successful businesses, whether that’s our accountability partners who keep our feet to the fire, our networks who help us bridge the gaps along the way, or our family and friends who keep us grounded to what’s important.
6. Leaving behind limiting beliefs. We all have our own gremlins that follow us around trying to convince us of what we can’t do and why we can’t do it, but to succeed, we have to leave them behind. There will always be excuses and reasons not to do things, but this year, figure out reasons why you should and how you can.
7. Encompassing valued traits. Just as important (maybe more so) as the doing and the having is the being. Who is it that you hope to be? What traits do you want to embody? How can you start integrating those traits into your daily life?
8. Appreciation. It’s hard to stay connected to any vision if you’re not savoring the things in your life along the way toward reaching it, and that includes the people in your life, who you are, where you’ve been, and what you’ve accomplished.

Success in the new year will come if you stay focused on making the most of each moment you’re given, and with these few tools helping you along your way, I hope success will prove inevitable.

What else could you use in your toolkit in order to make 2010 a success?

Image from Flickr by ahisgett

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Yes, I know I said in an earlier article that the New Year is a bad time to set arbitrary goals about changing your life. But while it may not be the best time to start a successful diet, it can actually be the perfect time to do certain resolution-related things for your business.

• Accounting: Jan. 1 isn’t just the start of a new calendar year. For most of us, it is also the start of a new fiscal year for our business. So if we’d like to improve on our methods of accounting or record keeping from the past, Jan. 1 is the time to start implementing those improvements so that any new systems we implement cover the whole fiscal year. Many of us don’t get really motivated to make these changes until we have to deal in-depth with the previous year’s mess as tax time approaches in April. By then, at least a quarter of the new fiscal year may have passed and we have missed a prime chance to start improving our systems from the beginning.
• Statistics & Goals: The calendar/fiscal year is also the natural time frame that most businesses use to set financial and other goals by. As Jan. 1 approaches, it’s a good time to evaluate how you did against your current year’s goals and create a new set of goals (or resolutions) for the new year. Then, put in place a plan that will allow you to make progress towards meeting those goals.
• Projects: We all have a traditional resolution-type project that has been sitting uncompleted: the file cabinet that needs archiving and shredding, an out-of-control inbox, or computer files that really should have an off-site backup. Take advantage of all that social programming that says you should be making a resolution and use it convince yourself to set aside the time to do some of those projects. Don’t bother trying to convince yourself that your file cabinet will be in that pristine condition three months from now. But at least you’ll start out 2010 in better shape than you ended 2009.
• Organizing: Some of the pressure for New Year’s resolutions in January comes from retailers as they spend the month pushing sales on products that are targeted at “traditional” resolutions such as organization and weight loss. So if you have any organizing projects that need to be done, now is the time to do them, because you can save money on any supplies you’ll need to complete them. Everything from labelers and fire safes to closet shelving goes on sale in January. Who isn’t motivated to get things done by saving money?

Don’t expect to change your whole life overnight just because the date on the calendar changed. But if you are realistic about your expectations and make the best of the arrival of Jan. 1, you can use it to start off your business year on the right foot.

What will you be doing to start off 2010 better than you ended 2009?

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In recent months, I’d been working toward a certain fixed, arbitrary goal, when it came to my business and my income.

I had three income “buckets,” and I had decided how much revenue I wanted in each bucket, but by essentially capping my income in each of the buckets, I was unintentionally capping my potential. I wasn’t aware of that fact until I was forced to rework my numbers after a change in priorities: I wanted to shift my attention to focus more on one of my buckets in place of another. The only problem was that I couldn’t make the numbers work.

In order to reduce what was in one of the buckets, I had to increase what was in one or both of the others, but my self-imposed boundaries were forcing me to fit things neatly into a glass box.

I had unintentionally limited myself and my business with my revenue cap for one of my buckets. Not only that, I had also limited myself by my own willingness (or lack thereof) to do certain things. Here were the conditions I had set for myself.

Rule 1: I wanted to make x dollars.
My first mistake was that my income goal was arbitrary. At some point, I had decided I didn’t “need” more money, so there was no point in aiming for more of it. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that by limiting the revenue potential for my business, I was also limiting my ability to hire outside help, which completely interfered with Rule 2.

Rule 2: I wanted to work x hours.
My second mistake was that my work hours were arbitrary. Aiming to work only a certain number of hours or forcing myself into busy work by feeling compelled to work 9-5 was silly. There are days when I work three hours and get more done than on days I work twelve. A schedule needs to be about getting things done and moving goals forward, not working a set number of hours. Plus, just because work needs to be done doesn’t mean that I have to be the one to do it. If the workload starts to exceed my availability or abilities, I should hire help. If I hired help, though, that would mean I’d have to take on more clients, which interfered with Rule 3.

Rule 3: I wanted x number of clients.
My third mistake was that the number of clients my business served was arbitrary. If I had more help, I could serve more clients. Period. There was nothing stopping me from taking on more clients, except that to take on more clients meant that I needed more clients, which meant that I’d have to generate more leads and take my marketing to the next level. I could, in theory, start an affiliate program, which would help me “duplicate myself” and generate more clients, but in order to have an affiliate program, I’d need affiliates, and the only way to get affiliates is to pay them, which definitely interfered with Rule 4.

Rule 4: I wanted to make x dollars per client.
If I started an affiliate program, it would need to be so worthwhile that people would want to be a part of it, which meant I would need to pay my affiliates well. If I paid my affiliates well, that would definitely reduce what I made per client, which meant that I’d need to have more clients in order to make the same amount of money, which interfered with Rules 1, 2 and 3.

I started to realize the absurdity of my self-imposed rules and decided to challenge every one of them. Who said I had to limit my potential and that of my business? Who said I couldn’t hire help and serve more clients? There were no rules or limitations on how I played this game, except for the ridiculous ones I was setting for myself.

I realized the importance of stopping and checking in with myself every once in a while to see if I was forcing myself into some glass box that I had created. Many times, we think outside influences and obstacles are affecting our progress, when really we’re getting in our own way and holding ourselves back.

Challenge your own rules. Challenge your own assumptions and limitations. Why do you have them? Are they serving a purpose, or are you simply not thinking outside your own glass box?

Image from Flickr by Nikki L.

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Successful musicians, athletes, writers and entrepreneurs all have one thing in common: They practice their craft, and then they practice some more. They dedicate time for practice by creating structure in their daily lives. By establishing their own unique routines, they ensure progress is made in the most important areas of their lives on a regular basis. Success is about consistency, and there’s no better way to establish consistency than through daily routine and habit.

I’m still trying to figure out a good routine for me, but I’m fairly confident it will follow a few basic principles.

Less is More
I’m learning that elimination is becoming more and more important for my productivity. I’m subtracting things from my life and my days rather than adding more to them. Of course, this brings up one glaring fact, which is that something has to give. I cannot be everything. I cannot do all things. I’m having to reevaluate my life, my business, and my priorities and accept that, if I hope to be successful at the most important few things, I must be willing to let go of the least important lot of things. I’m having to ask the tough questions and really get down to what matters and then, most importantly of all, eliminate those things I cannot give my whole self to right now.

Slow Down
In the movie “Curly Sue,” attorney and workaholic Grey’s co-worker says, “You keep going 190 miles an hour, you’re going to hit something.” I often try to push myself to the breaking point, and when I do, I always think of that quote. The natural rhythm of life involves relatively equal amounts of activity and rest. Trying to fight that reality results in loss of balance, so I’m trying to intentionally create more space in my days by reducing my work hours, adding buffers around major time blocks, and setting hours that are realistic for my life and its demands.

Be Real
I would love to say that outside influence does not impact my life and schedule, but that would be a lie. It does, and so far I’ve been unable to find a way to successfully prevent it from happening. My mom and “next in line” sister call me in the middle of the day. My “younger” sister calls me at 10:30 at night. Friends and family text me at all hours. My family is large (I’m the oldest of six) and many times imposing, and they drive me crazy sometimes, but I’ve thought about this a lot, and I never want there to be a day when they don’t call me because we’ve grown apart from lack of involvement in each others’ lives. We are close, and I think that’s a rarity these days, and I like that they’re all a big part of my life. That’s my reality, and I have to accommodate for it. That means people will be calling in the middle of my work day, but I try to balance it with blocks of productive time (generally two 2-hour blocks of time each day that I try to keep relatively interruption-free). Does it work all the time? No, but when it doesn’t, I make up for it with a late night or weekend work session here or there. The point is, that’s my reality, and if I ignore it, I’ll never set up a routine that works for me.

A routine is a very personal thing, but it can be a powerful tool for creating lasting success in life and business. When set up deliberately, taking into account one’s life goals, it instills discipline and consistency — both of which are necessary in order to make progress.

What principles guide your routine? Do you have any firm beliefs about what works and doesn’t work when it comes to creating an effective schedule?

Image from Flickr by koyochi

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At the end of the day, you feel spent, yet you don’t feel that you’ve made any real progress toward your goals. You’re left feeling frustrated, like you’re floundering and can’t find solid ground.

The good news is, it’s actually fairly easy to get out of this mess and start moving forward again. All it takes is laser focus and the willingness to let go.

Step 1: Get Focused

Here’s the reality. You can’t be all things within your business. Well, let me rephrase that. You can play multiple roles, but you’re going to have to limit them.

There are tons of things that could be done within your business, but what are the things that really matter? If you’re a graphic designer, for instance, you really only have two main roles, increasing awareness around your business (finding clients) and completing design projects (doing the work). Once you know your roles, you need to break them down into specific actions that you’ll need to do each day.

Your first role is to find clients, which means lead generation. There are tons of lead generation and marketing tactics that could be used to market your business, but what would be the most effective for you? Lay out all the options, but then pick the top four or five tactics that make most sense for your strengths and weaknesses, budget and availability. You might be tempted to try every new social media and networking tactic that glitters and sparkles, but the reality is consistency will win out in the end, so you have to have the “sticktoitiveness” to see the tactic to success. Find your four or five strategies and vow to stick with them for at least twelve months before moving on to something else.

For example, you might choose to:

1. Post a daily blog
2. Send a monthly email newsletter
3. Participate at your favorite social networks
4. Write for article directories
5. Host a monthly tele-seminar

That’s it. Those are your tactics. Each day, you’ll spend your time maintaining them.

Your second role is doing your work, and if you were a graphic designer, that would likely include:

1. Doing the actual design work
2. Compiling quotes for prospective clients
3. Communicating with current and prospective clients
4. Setting up new clients
5. Closing out work you’ve completed

Again, you’re limited to a handful of tasks that must be done on a daily basis.

Step 2: Let Go

Although it’s tempting to want to over-complicate the days with busy work, if you hope to be successful, you have to get to the meat of it and focus on those things that most directly contribute to your bottom line. It might not seem as interesting or exciting, but the key to success is doing what works over and over again. Everything else must take a back seat to your core responsibilities that you need to maintain each day. Distractions will present themselves often, so it’s helpful to step back and remember your primary roles within your business. In most cases, that will consist of the two main roles (finding clients and doing your work). Everything else is secondary and is a lot less likely to contribute to your long-term success.

How do you stay focused each day? What techniques do you use to make sure you stay on point, working on those few things that directly influence your bottom line?

Image from Flickr by antony_mayfield

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It’s easy to lose track of time and get confused about when you signed that new client and how many jobs you’ve had this month or this year.

Tracking key metrics for your business can help you see exactly how well your business is doing. It can help you make improvements, forecast income and set goals for your future.

But what should you track? The answer really depends on your business. What’s important to one won’t be important for another. In most cases, though, it’s best to keep it simple and not overthink it.

Track Your Income

The most important thing you must know at all times is if you’re making money. Time can pass more quickly or slowly than you believe, making you think you’ve made more or less than you actually have, so it’s important to have regular check-ins to see where you are financially. A good rule of thumb is to check in weekly to see how much you’ve made and where you are in relation to your monthly goal.

Track Your Pending Income

It may seem like you’re coming up a bit short one week, but money in the pipeline may put you back on track. Always keep an eye on the horizon so that you have a better idea of what’s to come for your business.

Track Your Clients, Customers, Jobs or Projects

You need to be able to average your income by client or project so that you can make projections and adjustments for your business and know roughly how many clients or projects you need to meet your income goals. This is also a helpful performance metric. You might see that it took you twelve projects to make the same amount of money as eight projects this time last year.

Track the Sources of Your Business

Are clients finding you through your web site, or are they being referred to you by past clients? Knowing the source of your customers and clients can help you fine-tune your marketing and lead generation plans to make the most of your resources.

Of course, there are a variety of metrics that can be tracked aside from those mentioned here, including your website traffic and subscriber counts, so you’ll need to figure out what’s most important to your business.

Keep it simple, or you’ll be less likely to keep up the tracking. Pay attention to the numbers driving your business, and then figure out how to improve or maintain them.

How do you make metric-tracking easy and painless? What have you found to be the most important things to track for your business?

Flickr image by net_efekt

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In trying to fine-tune my own productivity and lead generation efforts, I find myself needing to be increasingly clear and concise with my planning. For example, until today, you would have found the phrase “Social Networking” on my calendar. At some point in the past, I selected the handful of lead generation and marketing tactics that I would use for growing my business. Social networking was one of those tactics.  I blocked out time within my schedule on a daily basis for “Social Networking,” but when I got to that time slot, I found myself floundering over what to do with the time.

More important than having “social networking” on my radar is having clear-cut action steps that will move me closer to my goals. For instance, part of my social networking involves finding people to interview for my podcast and blog. Last week, I contacted several people with proposals for podcast episodes and blog articles. I settled on specific topics, contacted experts in the respective fields, and coordinated times to meet with them to discuss the topics. These were clear and concise steps. I was still networking with a group of online contacts, but I was taking specific actions to generate tangible results (in this case, podcast episodes and blog articles, plus the added benefit of promoting the two media in the process).

On my calendar now, you won’t find a slot for “Social Networking.” Instead, you’ll find two slots, “Blog Work” and “Podcast Work.” For simplicity’s sake, I’m still keeping my descriptions to one or two words for my calendar, but when I go to a given task, I’ll see a set of next actions that require my attention. For example, when I go to “Podcast Work,” I’ll see that I have several episodes in progress, along with specific tasks that need to be completed to move each episode along.

The intention for the time slot has not changed, but the outcome has. I know now exactly how to use the time. I’m not contemplating what needs to be done; I already know that part. Instead, I focus on actually getting the work done, and at the end of the day, I can say that I’ve completed real steps that move me a little further in the direction I want to go.

How do you make real progress toward your goals? What systems, tools and tactics do you use to make sure that you’re taking specific actions instead of floundering over ambiguous to-dos?

Flickr Post-It image by J_O_I_D

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Many times, there are limits as to how far we’ll go to achieve success in our lives and businesses. Maybe we don’t want to move, or give up a certain type of lifestyle. Maybe we don’t want to have to bootstrap our new business idea and drop some of the luxuries we enjoy on a daily basis, like cable television or expensive cell phone plans, or maybe we don’t want to have to do things we’re uncomfortable doing, like promoting our businesses and “putting ourselves out there.”

We say we want to “do everything” to see our businesses succeed, but we don’t stop to think about the sacrifices we might need to make along the way in order to reach our destination.

In his book, Dyer suggests making a list entitled “All the Things I’m Unwilling to Do in Order to Live the Life That I Intend to Live,” with the ultimate goal being to have a blank “unwillingness sheet.” We have to be willing to stretch our comfort zones and do things we’ve never done before, if we ever hope to succeed. So, how do you keep from getting in your own way?

Have a Blank “Unwillingness Sheet”

Having a blank “unwillingness sheet” doesn’t mean being willing to do anything unethical or illegal, but it does mean making sacrifices and pushing yourself. List all the things that you’re afraid to do, and then learn to embrace them and work through them. Write down the things that are standing in your way and then figure out how you can overcome them.

Put an End to All Limiting Thoughts and Beliefs

Many times, we sell ourselves short by imposing ceilings on our abilities, our resources and our goals. We tell ourselves we’re not smart enough or successful enough or connected enough to succeed, and most times, we believe it. In his book, Dyer quotes Lao-tzu: “In order to eliminate the negative influences, simply ignore them.”

I can think of relevant example of this that happened just yesterday. I’m in the middle of launching a new branch off my business and was thinking of contacting someone who might be able to help me. I wrote the person’s name on a list, along with a few others who might be able to help, but this person was the next in line to be contacted. Immediately, my limiting thoughts started trying to sabotage my efforts. “This person is too busy, too successful. She’ll probably laugh in my face. After all, I bet she gets paid to do what I’m going to ask her to do for free.” I scratched her name off the list. My next thought, “Do you want to make this a success or not?” That was followed by, “What’s the worst she can say? No? I have nothing to lose by simply asking.” I didn’t give it another thought. I composed a very brief and concise message asking her to help me. Within five or ten minutes, she had replied with an emphatic “Yes!”

A roadblock presented itself, and in the past, I would have easily let it stop me, but this time, I was serious. My “unwillingness sheet” is empty, and I’ve decided to stop thinking bad thoughts about this endeavor entirely. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Don’t worry about what others will think of you. As Dyer says, “What you think of me is none of my business.” That’s an easy way of thinking of it and shutting down the limiting thought.

Find a Way to Make it Work

Dyer also shares a  great quote from Virginia Woolf:  “Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” Things are not going to always go well, or in your favor. Inevitably, there will be some challenges and surprises. Maybe some things will not work out as anticipated, so you’ll have to be ready to make adjustments. It’s a work in progress. Just “arrange the pieces” and keep moving.

Hold on to Your Vision

“Hold it in your mind.” This final quote isn’t from “Excuses Begone!,” but another Dyer book called “Write It Down, Make It Happen.” You have to keep the vision for your business and its ultimate success in your mind until you finally reach it. Stay connected to why you want to do this, how you intend to accomplish it, and what things will look like when you get there.

Take a look at where you are in your life and business. Are things moving towards your goals? Are you doing things with intention and focus, purposefully moving where you want to go? It’s hard to see it, but sometimes, we get in our own way. We have to stop and think about what it is that we’re really willing to do to see our vision into existence.

Have there been times when you’ve gotten in your own way? How did you overcome limiting beliefs and roadblocks to move one step closer to achieving your goals?

Image from Flickr by MobilFunk7

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• Your clients. Are you giving more time to clients who are completely wrong for you, rather than those who are ideal?
• Your goals and vision for your life. Are you working on things that don’t really matter to you rather than those that you really want to do?
• Your daily activities. Do you fill your days with “junk” activities, like watching a lot of television or checking your email a thousand times, rather than doing those things you know you should be doing that support the life you want to lead, like exercising and preparing healthy meals?

A sideshow is just that: something that perhaps fills the time between the main events and attractions. It’s never the thing that deserves our undivided attention, and yet, we can be heard on a much-too-regular basis saying things like:

• “I don’t have time to get to [important things]. I’ve been so busy with [sideshow].”
• “As soon as I finish with [sideshow], I’ll get to that [important thing].”
• “If it weren’t for all these [sideshows], I wouldn’t be so tired, and I’d have time for [important things].”

Stop. Ask yourself these questions. Why am I wasting so much time on the sideshows in my life? Why am I here? What is the main event or attraction for me and for my life? How can I stop giving so much attention to sideshows and focus more on the things that really matter?

The solution could be easier than you think.

1. Identify the side shows.

Did you know that most people watch over 4.5 hours of television per day? If you claimed one “TV-free day” per week, you could devote 234 hours to something else each year!

Another option, stop checking email so often. According to one study, people can spend nearly two hours per day checking and replying to email. Designate “email-free weekends” and “email-free Fridays,” and you could save 278 hours per year.

2. Work from a list.

Each day, work from a list. Set aside a designated time each day to create a list that is “heavy on main events and light on sideshows.” Include action steps that will help move you closer to achieving your goals.

3. Always be aware of how you’re spending your time.

If you’re working from a list that focuses on the main events in your life, then you’re already halfway there, but it’s important to stop every so often and check in to be sure that you are, in fact, spending your time on the important things rather than sideshows. This is especially true for web workers; it’s so easy to start doing one task online and end up ten clicks away on something entirely different. Check in with yourself often to make sure you’re not losing time on things that do not matter.

It’s actually quite easy to begin making real progress away from life’s distractions and toward the things you love. You simply have to approach your days with intention and full awareness of how you’re spending your time. Identify the main events in your life and then find ways to give them more of your attention.

What “sideshows” have you removed from your life, whether partially or completely? How has it helped you reclaim time for your true passions and the things that are most important to you?

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Step 1: Alert the People You Trust

If you’re worried about the feasibility of your goals, bouncing them off of your closest friends and relatives is a sure way of getting some invaluable early feedback. You probably have some good friends who aren’t afraid to make you look foolish (and, in fact, might relish the opportunity), so you don’t have to worry that they’ll pull punches to spare your feelings. Conversely, if you have a good idea, they won’t summarily cut you down, like some of your more trollish online contacts might.

Your inner circle of real-life peers and confidants will also have a better idea of what you’re realistically capable of. In fact, they might be more aware of your own limitations than you yourself are. Most Internet connections, as familiar with your work as they might be, will likely judge based on the apparent difficulty of the goal in a general sense, without specific reflection on your level of talent, dedication or ability.

Step 2: Keep Your Twitter/Facebook Friends in the Loop

Once your plan has passed muster with those you trust, you can broaden the audience using Twitter and Facebook status updates. Don’t make a huge deal out of it, but do post things like “Starting work on my ABC certification today, wish me luck!” At the very least you should secure some words of encouragement.

Most likely, depending on the size and nature of your networks, there will be others among your friends and contacts who’ve tried to achieve the same or similar goals. They’ll be able to offer advice, helpful links, and possibly even prep materials or information sources, depending on what it is you want to accomplish.

Mining your social networks for support is great, but be prepared for challenges, too. Anything from doubt concerning the merits of your chosen goals, to flamebait and personal attacks is possible, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, particularly if you’re thick-skinned. Hopefully, you’ve already applied the golden rule of the Internet: Never take anything personally, unless it makes you look good.

Step 3: Broadcast Beyond Your Network

While making the people you know and interact with on a regular basis aware of what you intend to do is the best way to get yourself to stick to your guns, it might not be the most effective method of garnering feedback.

Reaching out to strangers might give you a fresh perspective on what you’re doing, and how to go about doing it. It may also help when your goals are off the beaten track, and therefore less likely to be shared by other individuals in your social circles. To some degree, Twitter will broadcast your plans out to the ether if people are searching for keywords that occur in your tweets, but other alternatives are much more targeted.

MySomeday is a new web app in public beta that is designed specifically to help you share your goals with others in a community setting that will help you garner constructive criticism and words of encouragement. The concept is simple: You post a plan, and other members of the community comment on what you want to do and how you want to do it. You set up steps towards achieving your goal, and then you rate each step in terms of importance and check them off as they’re accomplished. Checking off tasks updates your progress bar, which displays the completion percentage of your overall goal.

Step 4: Stick to It

Just talking about your goals is a sure way to not accomplish what you want to do. Action is the only real solution, but sometimes the key to spurring yourself to act rests outside of yourself. Regardless of whether you draw your inspiration from yourself or others, though, the only way to achieve your goals is to persevere in your pursuit of them. Especially for web workers, using the Internet to garner encouragement might just be the extra push you need to keep your nose to the grindstone.

Does sharing your goals with your network spur you into action?

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Chart

The question is where to begin, and how to avoid making too many mistakes or following too many false leads along the way. I’m a visual person, so I recommend starting by literally charting your course. You can pick your software of choice, but for me, this is a task that mind-mapping software is nicely suited for, especially since my career path is non-linear. A pen and paper or word processing software could work just as well, depending on your preference.

Start with your current state of affairs at the center, then brainstorm a number of possible directions your career could take. You could do this by comparing yourself with others in the field, by taking a survey of existing professional goals you might have, or by asking friends, colleagues and relatives what they imagine in your professional future. This last one can produce some very interesting answers, often those that you would not come up with for yourself.

Use your career goals and directions as end- (or mid-) points surrounding your current state. Now comes the fun part, which is figuring out how to get from point A to point B in as few steps as possible. That might mean taking courses, reading books, consulting other professionals, increasing monthly sales output, joining professional organizations, etc.

Focus on one goal at a time, and choose them in order of importance. Then, when you’re working out your map, figure out which steps toward it are absolutely necessary, and which are just beneficial. Rank the steps in order of importance once they’re broken down into these two categories. In the interest of not overlooking minor but crucial things like paperwork and application processes, try to be as detailed as possible, including attaching time estimates.

Check

Once you’ve accomplished a sub-goal, go back and check your career path chart against the results to see if what you’ve achieved actually does further your progress towards your overall objective. If it hasn’t opened up more options or helped in some way, you may want to rethink your overall strategy. Pay attention to your timelines, too, and see if your estimates are accurately reflecting your experience.

Choose

Of course, all the mind maps in the world won’t make the big choices for you. For that, you need the experience of your peers. Identify people who are currently in the places and professions that you’d like to be. If possible, try to find out how they got there by charting their career trajectory. Luckily, the web working space isn’t a brave new frontier any longer, so you don’t have to fumble around in the dark on your own. Other people have made mistakes for you, and there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that.

Always remember, though, one of the big advantages of being a full-time web worker is that you don’t have to follow someone else’s prescribed idea of how you should grow professionally. Even if you do use someone else’s experience as a model, make it your own as well. The Internet, after all, has no use for hundreds of Robert Scobles.

How are you managing your career path?

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• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
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• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks