The Tuesday Business Corner: Achieve all your Q2 resolutions

So, that’s three months of 2014 gone already…

And how’s it gone for you so far? Well, I hope.

And, how are you doing with your 2014 objectives you set in January?

And, even if they’re going well, how are you faring with your New Year’s resolutions?

It isn’t easy to achieve goals. Despite our best intentions, things can get in the way – life, busy-ness,habits.

So, here’s a useful technique to maximise your chances of achieving your Q2 goals:

Do NOT do a 30:60:90 day plan

When you do one of these, you start by focusing on the nearest time to you – 30 days from now. That often makes it all-to-easy to make your 30-day goal not stretching enough, in that it can be too similar to your current situation.

Instead, do a 90:60:30 day plan

So, work in reverse, as follows:

• Identify where you need to be in 90 days (if it helps, think OMG):

                     Objectives: what are your goals for the quarter?

                     Measures: how will know you’ve achieved them?

                     Gain: what value will they bring when you do?

• Now, identify where you need to be in 60 days, to make sure that you achieve your 90-day plan. In other words, if you haven’t achieved XYZ by 60 days, there is no way you’ll be where you need to be by 90. So what’s XYZ?
• Similarly, establish where you need to be after 30 days, to make sure you aren’t late for your 60-day target
• Then, keep going, halving as you go: what must you have achieved within 15 days so you hit the 30-day target; then in 7 days to hit the 15; then in the next 3-4 days; then today/tomorrow

When you do this, it encourages big action quickly. Why? Because you quickly realise there are certain things to get cracking with over the next 1-2 days, or you’re already doomed to miss your 90 day target.

Lose the ‘Q2 mindset’

A final thought about having an effective Q2: the England rugby team once realised it didn’t feel the same running out for the second half of a match as it did for the first. There was no national anthem, the crowd was quieter, all the players’ shirts were dirty, and so on.

So, the team decided to pretend there wasn’t a second half; instead, there were two ‘first halves’. For example, they changed into new shirts, to get them back to the mental space they had at the start.

And the relevance to you? Well, if you’re one of those who doesn’t really like Q2 – you know the type of thing… it just feels like a rubbish quarter: the early year drive’s gone, you’ve got tons to do to hit your 2014 targets, it feels ages till the summer holiday (or Christmas!)…

…well, don’t think of it as a Q2. Instead, pretend it’s a second Q1. Put your new rugby kit on, set your new resolutions, and know exactly where you need to be in 90, 60, 30, 15, 7… days’ time.

Action point

If this is the sort of technique that will work for you and/or your team, diarise time to create your plan (this exercise definitely won’t fit around your diary appointments. It needs to become a diary appointment!)

Know people who'd enjoy reading this post? Please forward it on, and introduce them to our Blog :)

Written by NativeEnglish

Native English Spain is dedicated to make learning English simple, fun and affordable for Spanish people.