Don't set annual goals--set quarterly goals to really make things happen. A full year outlook is too long to properly anticipate changes and new information and allows for too much procrastination to be an ideal time block for goal setting. Use quarters instead.

Read on: blog.WednesdayWin.com​

Read time: 6 minutes

The 12 + 1 week long period of a 3-month quarter are the ideal period for setting meaningful goals and making progress on your long term priorities. Think of twelve weeks instead of twelve years and watch your progress accelerate.

The concept of the "12 Week Year" was made more famous by authors Brian Moran and Michael Lennington in their 2013 book of the same name, but the concept has been helping high-achievers stay on track for many years.

Here's one way you can accelerate your achievements and ensure success with this new focus:

1. Focus on one or two major long-term goals

This system works best when you don't try to jam in every nice-to-have idea, but is instead focused on your highest priority, greatest value goals in your life. Is it a health goal? A financial goal? A new business goal? What is your big, hairy audacious goal? That's where to focus.

• What is the full goal?
• Break it down into what progess you can complete in 12 weeks
• Be clear and realistic about the progress you can make in this coming 12-week period

Don't forget the basics: your goal must be aligned with your sense of your self and your values, it must be precisely defined, and it should be measurable with a clear way to know that you've completed it.

2. Identify the milestones

Once you have a clear vision for where you'll be in 12 weeks, identify all of the meaningful milestones between the start and finish of the period.

• What are the interim steps?
• What does progress look like?
• Be specific

Leverage the idea of input vs. output goals. Recall that input goals are activities completely in your control like "make 10 customer calls". Output goals depend on others like "close 2 new sales". Focus on the input goals because they can be completed without excuses.

3. Breakdown your tasks

Now we are into the heart of the work. Identify each task that must be completed to reach each milestone. Try to break them down into items that can be completed in half a day or less.

• Be as complete as possible
• There may be some uncertain components, but still include those items as conditional tasks
• Be mindful of sequencing, too: what must be done before other tasks can be started or finished

Now you have a roadmap to reach your goal through milestones and by completing the necessary tasks.

4. Prepare your calendar

Not every week is the same. To avoid over-committing, chart out your next twelve weeks. Block off holidays, travel, and other scheduled and one-off events that will limit your ability to work on these priorities.

• Print out a calendar of the next twelve weeks and block out all unavailable time
• Don't forget both personal and professional commitments
• This is the time to track your real availability

Now you have the map to your available time.

5. Schedule your quarter

Now it's time to merge your necessary tasks with your available time. Map your milestones on to specific dates and assign the tasks to individual days.

• Respect your block outs and assign your work to reasonable periods for completion
• If you have more tasks than time to fit, re-work the milestones and adjust the quarterly goal if necessary
• Set yourself up for success by not overloading your available time

The goal is not to pack every last second, but reasonably assign the tasks to days when they can be completed.

And when tracking multiple goals like a fitness target and something new for your business, take note of what falls on the same days and weeks. Maybe the day after you run your first marathon won't be the best time to start a new live video blog.

Action Summary

For goals you want to accomplish, think in terms of quarters, 12 week periods, instead of full years. You can break down what's needed and get it done. Consistently.

• Prepare with care
• Manage your calendar
• Stay focused and just worry about each day's assigned tasks to make massive progress

You've got this.

For goals you want to accomplish, think in terms of quarters, 12 week periods, instead of full years. You can break down what's needed and get it done. Consistently.

• Prepare with care
• Manage your calendar
• Stay focused and just worry about each day's assigned tasks to make massive progress

You've got this.

One last tip: it's useful to schedule spare time blocks now and then as some tasks will be more time consuming than expected and new items are bound to fall onto your priority list. Many who use the 12 week year system also schedule a 13th week in each quarter, but without any specific assignments except to prepare for the next 12 week sequence. That week can also serve as a little bit of a catch up period as well.

​

Do you already use something similar? Reply to this email and let me know.

To your success,

Christopher

---

Looking for a deeper dive on these topics? Connect here and reach out:

1. Connect and follow on Twitter/X: @cbell​
2. Connect and follow on LinkedIn: @cbell​

Like this newsletter? Please share the sign-up link with others. Thank you.

​

​

​