Eat That Frog! Part 2 of 9: Think on Paper
October 15, 2009 by dr. lam
![write-your-goals[2]](http://lfp-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/write-your-goals2-300x214.jpg "write-your-goals[2]")
Too often we have fanciful ideas of what we would like to do floating in our minds that in turn quickly evaporate. We allow multiple idea threads to enter our minds then easily allow them to slip from our grasp. Without writing them down, we cannot plan our moves nor can we firmly visualize what we want to accomplish and on what timetable. Tracy’s admonition to “Think on Paper” is great one that we all should incorporate.
Here are seven steps that Tracy provides to help you eat that frog:
Step 1- Decide what you want. Sit down and simply start writing ideas of what you want in a free flowing manner. You can and should then edit those ideas only after you have brainstormed on what you want. You have to prioritize what is important to you. We may in fact choose the wrong thing to do that will only compel us to waste precious time. Steven Covey says, “Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building.”
Step 2- Write it down. As I said, “Think on Paper”. If it is not written, it is not going to be done; or it is going to be forgotten. Unwritten goals are vague, confusing, and may never be accomplished.
Step 3- Set a deadline on your goal then set subdeadlines as needed. Without a deadline, goals have no urgency. He encourages us all to feel a sense of pressure to do the task otherwise we simply put will never accomplish anything.
Step 4- Make a list of everything that you think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. This will help you define the right tools or steps to get the job done. Without a list of action steps, we simply have a goal that is difficult to accomplish.
Step 5- Organize the list into a plan. Put priorities on your objective by putting priorities and sequence. Write lines and arrows that join your boxes and circles so that you can naturally see the flow of action steps. That will help you join the loose action steps into a cohesive and directed plan.
Step 6- Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Do anything. The hardest thing that I have noticed to do with any task is the initial work, e.g., starting a blog series, starting a workout routine, and for this weekend starting to prepare for 3 courses I am directing and 15 lectures that I need to prepare for in the coming month.
Step 7- Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your goal. What is so important is defining small chunks of time that you can do to chip away at the bigger task. We need to work to accomplish the goal by defining quantifiable smaller measurements that allow us incrementally to accomplish the desired task. For example, I will make sales calls to 10 people from 10 to 11 am every weekday. I will read 10 pages of this novel every day except Sunday. I shall write 2 pages of my essay every day until the task is completed. Etc.
Every morning look at the hardest task first and eat that frog to move you forward to accomplish your goals.
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6 Responses to “Eat That Frog! Part 2 of 9: Think on Paper”
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Loved this entry!
Not only do I think that thinking on paper is great to truly organize our own ideas, I believe it can help us even more by and when we have someone else in our lives sharing some of our goals and projects. When two people share a goal, and that both put their thoughts into paper, it is easier to “unite forces”, identify “black holes” in each other’s plans and in turn “fill in the blanks” or agree on how and when to help each other.
briliant. yes. i look at what you are saying also like an accountability group. i have 2 accountability groups. they help keep you on track! thanks MA!!!
sml
Hey, Mysteryagain!! Nice to see you! Great point! Great point too. Dr. Lam!
I’ve already done the paper thing…lol For me, I consider a goal not a goal if it is something that I will forget about. I mean, for me, it has to be more than just writing it on paper, I have to want it, or else I seem to lose interest in accomplishing it. I’m a strange case, I know…lol This is all very helpful, Dr. Lam!! Again, if I want to do something, the action steps will already be there. I’ve found though that sometimes when I contemplate all the action steps that sometimes it causes me not to aim for a goal, because I think that it cannot be done. Now, I know your previous blogs covered that attitude, but still it seems to bring me to that conclusion every time. I’ve found that sometimes it is better to just know you want something and go for it, without analyzing it. Just my thoughts. I LOVE step 6!! I like step 7, but I like the idea that instead of aiming to make a step everyday to make a step every opportunity, if that makes sense, that way it is not a task on the “to-do” list but a mindset—much easier.
I find that if I exercise and get that over with early, I am more productive during the day, than if I don’t, so the mindset of eating that frog is definitely more productive overall.
Great stuff here, Dr. Lam!! And thanks so much!!!
excellent heather. like how you synthesize all the other blogs here too!
I read your blogs and meditate on them till they are part of my thinking process.