As we begin another year it’s good to look ahead and to be intentional about what we would like to achieve and be. After all if you don’t know where you are planning to be in 12 months time it is not likely to just happen.

Perhaps though you have set goals before or made resolutions in the past only to forget them by February. What’s the secret then for making this year a year of real, sustained achievement and growth?

In a series of studies Golwitzer (1999) found that when people had clear ‘implementation intentions’ around their goals and plans they were much more likely to persist in striving to achieve these goals than if they did not. So what do these implementations look like? In fact they relate closely to the Tactics and Habits steps in the gci GROWTH Model.

Golwitzer’s research supported the value of:

• Identifying specific next steps and the what, when and where around these next steps. When these things were identified and made explicit the actions were more likely to take place. So in coaching conversations it is worth pushing for specifics of time and place when next step actions begin to emerge. Leaving them vague and unclear, almost always mean they just won’t happen. It is helpful to ask: What is the very next thing you need to do to progress this? What day next week will you do it? What time?
  
  
• Anticipating barriers to achievement and identifying specific actions to be ‘triggered’ if these barriers occurred. When these contingency actions were pre-identified before the potential derailing event, goal achievement was again, much more likely.

It is helpful to ask: What might happen that could get in the way of you sustaining your     focus and effort on this? If that does happen what alternative actions could you put in place to respond to that?
And some additional tried and proven tips for ensuring your plan for the year really does lead to sustained achievement...

• Start quickly
  Begin to get your plan for the year moving within 24 hours of finalising it. Getting started immediately gets the momentum going and gives a sense of being on your way. That feeling of getting started provides fuel for the longer journey.


• Make it visible
  Post your plan up somewhere you can see it on a daily basis. This way it stays top of mind and means that you are more likely to keep doing things that contribute to achieving your plan.


• Make it public
  Talking through your plan with a partner or friend puts you ‘on the line’ and builds your commitment to keep going when things get tough.


• Get some help
  Regular check in times with a coach or someone who will keep you on track may well be the best action you can take to achieve your goals. Making a time to connect monthly with this person to rate your progress, celebrate successes and set tasks for the next month is a powerful way to keep the momentum going for a successful year.

So get going and make it a great year!

Reference: Golwitzer ,P.M.(1999) Implementation intentions: simple effects of simple plans. American Psychologist 54(7) 493-503