Did you start 2009 with brand new and exciting ideas, goals and plans? It’s time to a review your year and figure out exactly where you want to go in 2010.

I know, I know…it sounds like a boring concept when all you want to do is party, right? Well, maybe but the important thing is doing a little review before you welcome the New Year is an excellent way to take a look at your New Year’s goals and map out a plan to achieve those goals.

Listen; let me be completely honest with you. Most people make New Year’s resolutions and completely forget about their goals and dreams in a day or two. And those who do remember their resolutions give up before the end of the first week because they are overwhelmed and don’t know what to do.

Anyhow, we’ll talk more about New Year’s resolutions and how to make them real later on this week, but for now, I want you to stop what you’re doing and take 30 minutes to do a little exercise that will help you gain clarity and focus in 2010.

Ready?

1. Review your New Year Resolutions for 2009 (5 minutes)

Now, I’m hoping that you still remember your goals. (And, give yourself extra points if you had them written down somewhere). Anyhow here’s what I want you to do:

• Take a piece of paper and write down what your goals were for 2009.
• Now, beside every single goal I want you to put a number between 0 and 100 that tells you how close you are to that particular goal. So, if one of your goals for 2009 was to exercise everyday and you have developed a habit of doing something twice a week, you may want to put down a 20% or even a 70% if that sounded unattainable a year ago.

Listen, the key is how far you have come along with your goals….so give yourself a fair number.

• Look at your list and take full and complete responsibility from where you are at with every single one of your goals.

And that does mean congratulating yourself for everything you’ve done right to achieve your goals or to even just stay in the playing field.

2. Make your 2010 goals (10 minutes)

• Make goals for every part of your life that is important to you. This includes your family, relationships, health, business, career and financial goals in life. Create your 2010 resolutions.

It’s very important to include all those significant part of your life even if your major focus is going to be any one of these things. Grow a little in each aspect and that will help you with your main goal.

• Make sure your goal is measurable. One of the main reasons why  people don’t keep their New Year’s resolutions is because they don’t make it attainable.

Saying “I want my business to do well” is not a measurable goal. Put in some realistic but big numbers.

• Make your goals big but realistic: Another reason people don’t keep their New Year’s resolutions is because it’s too boring. Their goals are too small, too easy. Set a big goal that will keep you motivated despite the challenges.

3. Mark Milestones Dates but don’t get too detailed yet (15 minutes)

There are two reasons for this:

• One whole year is a long time. Trust me, you will forget your goals if you wait until Dec. 31^st to review them and see how you’re doing. You need to check your goals from time-to-time to make sure you’re on the right track.

• A big goal is big and overwhelming.

Ok, now that you have your big 2010 goals written down, I want you to first of all, save it and print that out. Or, you can put it in a notebook or something that you can look at frequently and make sure it’s something you are not going to throw away before 2011.

• Now sit down with each goal (each one should take roughly 3-5 minutes).
• What are the distinct steps for each goal (see example if needed)?

Now listen, this is the key. This is how you measure a good goal. A good goal should have distinct looking phases or things you can measure to tell how you’re doing. Write them down, it does not have to be perfect.

• Assign dates for each little step. And mark those dates on your calendar. Always remember to setup reminders for those dates.

Alright here’s a real example.

One of my mom’s goals for the New Year is to experiment with a new business idea (on the side while she’s busy with everything else). She wants to import handmade jewelries, handbags and sell them here. Here’s how I would break that down in 5 minutes.

• Market Research: Is this a good idea? – Feb. 1
• Create marketing plan – Feb. 20
• Get all the paperwork, incorporation etc. done – April 15
• Research vendors and order samples – May 25
• Distribute samples – July 10
• Gather feedback – July 30
• Choose 2 vendors – Aug. 30
• Order flyers - Sept. 10
• Distribute flyers to family and friends - Sept. 25
• Offer discounts for referring others - Sept. 30
• Setup marketing campaign – Oct. 20

Is that an all inclusive list? NO

Could she run her business based on this list? NO

Is it a good start thinking about what to do and break things down to get some work done. I think so.

Remember: Make a rough list (you’re going to go back and plan this out later), assign rough dates and just think of your other commitments and plans and try to figure out when would be the best time to squeeze this new goal in.

Ok, that’s it.

Put the pen and paper down for now. Let the idea cook in the back of your mind while you ring in the New Year.

And, we’ll talk about making more concrete plans to gain better clarity and focus on January 1.

Bye for now and Happy New Year 2010!
photo credit: Patrick Hoesly