How to Show Up in 2021

I’ve always felt like the New Year presented a fresh start. Thankfully we do not have to repeat 2020, though we are only one week in, and for those of us here in the United States 2021 is already giving us a run for our money. But on a personal note, unless we make intentional changes to our goals and our habits, we may find ourselves a similar outcome one year from now. How to Win in 2021 Achieving your goals requires change. The gap between where you are and where you hope to be is a gap that can only be resolved by taking regular action on the things that move you forward. The best thing that you can do is stack the odds in your favor. Make it as easy as possible to close that gap and accomplish your goals. We do this in a few ways. - Identifying lifestyle practices that align with our overall goals - Tracking progress to keep ourselves on target and accountable - Making adjustments along the way. 1. Lifestyle Practices Simply put, lifestyle practices are intentional habits or routines that align with an area of life in which you are trying to make change. They are the vehicle that moves you toward your goal. The right lifestyle practices will automate your goals. For example. Say you have a goal of waking up at a certain time. Here are some lifestyle practices that would support that. - Start bedtime routine at 8:30pm - Only allowed to snooze my alarm and go back to bed after showering - Set out morning coffee stuff the night before - No evening TV time Sunday through Thursday This isn’t a destination goal as much as it is a habit to be installed. By shifting your focus from the time you wake up to consistently doing these lifestyle practices you are much more likely to routinize a new wakeup time. Lifestyle practices help set you up for success. They are like bumpers at a bowling alley. They keep you in the lane. You may not get a strike every roll, but at least you’ll hit a pin or two. And over time, that can add up quite a bit. 2. Track Progress Lifestyle practices are the first step to showing up in 2021. The second is tracking your progress. The best way to track your progress means having something that: - Can be measured daily - Is within your control - Has a direct effect on achieving your goal. Tracking progress is how you know if you are likely to achieve your goal. It’s a form of accountability to help you follow through on what you said you were going to do. Tracking progress is something you should be able to visualize — to see. It’s powerful to be able to see progress. It could be a log that you keep in a notebook, or a habit tracker like the one in our digital planner. As long as it’s simple enough to be updated regularly and doesn’t feel like a burden. Over time, you should be able to see trends emerge. - Am I consistently starting my bedtime routine at 8:30pm? - Did I keep the TV off Sun through Thu evening? If I’m consistently hitting my lifestyle practices, but still struggling to wake on time, then I may need to make some adjustments. More on that in a moment. Tracking progress plays a crucial role in achieving any goal. And whether we realize it or not, we are probably doing it subconsciously. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing how you will track your progress. - Is it easy to track? - Does it directly impact achieving a larger goal? - Is it within your control? The final key is making small adjustments as necessary. 3. Course Correct Rarely is it the case that what a goal requires at the start of our progress is actually what will be required throughout the entire process. We don’t yet know what we don’t know. The first days of progress are usually fueled by the adrenaline of starting something new. But as time goes on we begin to realize the lifestyle practices are not as effective as they used to be. It can be easy to drift off and quit in this stage. For our goals to stand a chance we need to make minor course corrections along the way. A simple question to ask yourself: Does this lifestyle practice still move me toward my ultimate goal? You will inevitably have to course correct. Don’t be thrown by this. It’s part of the process. Just keep leaning into the lifestyle practices you’ve established, keep tracking progress, and the right changes will present themselves. This can make it easier on you... Behavior change is hard. The reality is, there is no easy way. If you want to make lasting change toward things that truly matter, it’s going to be a fight. These concepts are nothing new, but they are proven to give greatest chance at success. - Get clear about what it is you want to achieve. - Build habits that will inch you toward your goal. - Track and review progress being made. - Make adjustments along the way. This is why we created [The Focus Course Digital Planner](. It is a tool you can use each day to walk you through that proven process for achieving your goals. [Get The Focus Course Digital Planner]( I can’t wait to hear about what you achieve in 2021. — Shawn P.S. If you grab your copy of the [Planner + Workshop bundle ($79)]( then you will still have time to join us next week for a live-online annual planning workshop led by The Sweet Setup team. [Get your copy of The Focus Course Digital Planner]( [In-Depth App Training for Power Users]( To unsubscribe, click [here](. Blanc Media, PO Box 9771, Kansas City, MO 64134, United States