Over the last couple of weeks, if you accepted my challenge, you have been looking closely at the weight, and health goals you made for yourself to guide your weight loss journey.
What did you find? Are your goals written down? Are they SMART goals? Are they still relevant or did they need adjusting?
Let me know using the comment box, and if you need assistance with any of the steps, please ask. There are some terrific resources available if you need them.
Okay. You have all these wonderful goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-limited – But what do you do with them now.
It is not unusual for people to spend so much time developing fantastic goals for weight loss, nutrition, activity and other healthy behaviors that they miss the next, critical step.
Making a plan for how to attain the goal.
This week we are looking again at action plans. The specific steps you will take to achieve your goals. Your action plan is a list of all the steps or individual tasks that have to be completed to achieve a single goal.
No matter how simple the goal may seem to you, creating a solid action plan is the most reliable way to ensure success.
Creating your action plan is done in three steps.
- Identifying tasks
- Analyzing tasks
- Checking the completeness of the plan
Creating a list of tasks is straightforward. Start at the beginning and write down everything you can think of that will need to be done to achieve your goal.
Once you have your list, make sure you highlight the most important ones especially if they have to be done before a date that you have set.
Now, look at your list a second time. This is the analysis step where you are looking at the list in its entirety and making sure that each task will move you closer to the goal. If not – drop it. You want to end up with the essentials only. The tasks that are “must haves” not those that would be “nice to have.”
Finally, check your list to make sure you have everything you need. Professionals often use a mnemonic called SCHEME to check the plan.
SCHEME stands for:
- space
- cash
- helpers
- equipment
- materials
- expertise
For each item run through the list and see if you need to define further what will be required to complete the task. Knowing these things up front prevents surprises later that may derail your plan.
Now your plan is right there in front of you represented by a list of steps. All that is left is to start checking off the steps one by one. Don’t put it off.
Grab item number one or two and complete it right now. You will be surprised how good you will feel when you do.
So that is this weeks challenge.
Take your goals, and any action plans you have already created and run them through the steps I just described. When you are done, congratulate yourself for taking the first and biggest step toward achieving your goal.
Now take the next step. For each of your goals begin working on the tasks. Carry your lists with you for the next two weeks, and we will review how much progress you have made.
Now, turn off the video and start now – you will be really glad if you do.
