It's the beginning of the year and we are all setting goals and planning how we want to progress and essentially develop ourselves in 2021 and beyond, which is fantastic for motivating changes we want to implement. The question is however, with all the planning how are we evaluating our progress?
We thought we would provide you with some insight into how to measure progress and the benefits associated with measuring changes we have made towards the progress we are making.
How Do You Check Progress?
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw.
1. Set Goals
When we set goals, the initial action requires us to write about what we want to achieve. In this act we are creating a vision of the change we want to implement. This allows us to clearly identify and clarify exactly what we need to do to get to where we want to be. When we see something clearly it creates change in how we act as we have clarity and direction.
2. Make an Action Plan
Once we can visually see where we want to be we need to make an action plan. An action plan gives us a strategy into how we will get to the end goal. Action plans help us narrow down the steps associated with the required change we need to make. An effective action plan generally includes steps, milestones, and measures of progress, as well as responsibilities, specific change assignments, and a timeline.
3. Record Progress
Recording our progress allows us to see exactly how we are performing against our set goals. Recording progress can be done on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis to keep our goals at the forefront of our minds. This recording and monitoring system ensures we direct our time, energy and attention at the most important things every single day, making it much easier to say 'no' to other opportunities that could side track our focus. In this process, we should review our goals, and make an honest assessment of our progress noting down any associated emotions, challenges and lessons learnt.
Benefits Of Having A Progress Checker
Having a progress checker can help us genuinely make changes and become changemakers as it will turn our visions into reality, and increase efficiency and accountability to ourselves. Tracking progress allows us to systematically prioritise, adjust where required and makes us do more in less time.
Measuring progress can improve our health, relationships and improve productivity which increases our morale which is an important step in the recovery from mental illness. We tend to have a strong sense of purpose in life when we set goals and review progress frequently. It is associated with positive health behaviours as we become more optimistic and persistent in pursuing our goals and life changes which leads to less depression and anxiety.
When we have a greater sense of life purpose, we are more likely to accept and adopt healthy behaviours and heal from the past. We are here for people honouring their progress however big or small. If you would like to receive our free Progress Tracker send us an email to smiles@coffeemorninglaughter.com and we will be more than happy to send this to you. Remember you are not defeated if you do not achieve your goals so don’t be discouraged, simply adjust, realign and keep moving, with a coffee and a smile on your face.
