Good Excuse Goals (TM) is an event-based form of structured procrastination and also mitigates perfectionism. The premise is to set something in motion that:

1. involves other people
2. leads to a time-stamped event and
3. means something to you

The old way of date-based goal setting says set a final due date and work towards completing the task at hand before that date. The problem with this form of goal setting is that if you miss the deadline, there is no accountability. You can keep procrastinating and pushing the date backward to whenever you feel like doing what you need to do.

Event-based goal setting says create a good excuse to complete the goal on time by creating an event (celebration, presentation, etc) that involves other people. For some reason, we're comfortable disappointing ourselves. That's why so many new year's resolution go undone. But we hate disappointing other people, so event-based goal setting uses our desire to impress others to motivate us.

Student Example:

It's the first day of the semester and you already have a term paper due in 4 weeks. Date-based goal setting says mark your calendar with the dates you want your first, second, and final draft to be done and that's it. Event-based goal setting says on the second day of the semester, schedule two meetings with your professor TA; one to review the first draft and one to review the second draft. By establishing the meetings, you now have another person holding you accountable to your goals and are less likely to procrastinate. By mid-semester, you'll have 90% of the paper done already.

Artist Example:

Say for instance you're a musician who wants to release an album by a certain date. Instead of just secretly writing the date on a calendar, good excuse goal setting says book a venue for a listening party or live performance a week or two before you want to actual CD to be done and send invitations to 30 friends and fans anticipating that 5-10 of them will come. Now you have to get ready and that forces (in a good way) you to create the music you want to make. By creating the event, you've set something in motion and create a good excuse to complete the CD.

It could be something you need to start, stop, or go harder on
It could be a relationship with an organization or person that you need to end (ie board seat, job, volunteer, etc)
Or one you need to begin (mentor, leadership role, ToastMasters, your own company, etc)
It may be something you need to invest in (an instrument software, a class, training, lessons, video cam)
Or something that you need to stop invest in

More ideas

It's officially been one month since I've been self-employed and working from home. I don't really have a home office. I just sit at a desk in my bedroom. For anyone considering working from home or just contemplating their personal productivity, here are some lessons I learned over the past month.

• Write one thing: Each day I recommend writing down one thing that if you accomplished it would make your day a success. This should be connected to your overall business priorities in some way. Make sure it follows the SMART goals methodology.
  
  
• Plan your day: I created these two simple tools to help me plan my day, week, and month. One is just a weekly time grid and the other one is a personal planning chart.
  
  
• Make time to eat: It's easy to get sucked into work and not eat all day. When I do that, it usually because I'm feeling unproductive and thus guilty or superproductive and in the zone. Perhaps your daily walk should be to the grocery store to get fresh fruits and veggies.
  
  
• People are important: One thing that an office provides is an opportunity to be with other people. Working from home can be lonely. A good solution is to arrange dinners with friends who have 9-to-5 jobs. I would avoid lunch engagements because it may take you out of your flow if it too far away.
  
  
• Set office hours: Since my bedroom and office are one in the same, I never know when to stop working. Though you have pushed against 9-to-5 culture, I think it's a good idea to set office hours based on when your productivity is highest. If you can separate your bedroom and office, even better.
  
  
• Get outside: Since there is no transportation to work besides rolling out of bed, I recommend scheduling a walk, run, or workout during the day to get some fresh air.
  
  
• Count your minutes: All of sudden your cell phone becomes your office phone so watch your cell phone minutes and make sure that you don't go over. You may want to consider using Skype for outgoing calls or upgrade your cell phone plan.
  
  
• Get a printer/fax/scan/copy: It's important to be able to print things on the spot. I took the printer at my employer's office for granted. The last thing you want to have to do is run to Kinko's across town once a day. A good printer and ink cartridges may run $150.
  
  
• Write your distractions: Oftentimes we justify our distractions as doing tangential work and then at the end of the day we only end up working 3 hours in an 8 hour day. Write your distractions on the wall so that you know when you're being distracted. Some of mine are sorting stray paper, unwashed clothes, the refrigerator, and Facebook.
  
  
• Get dressed (from Paul C.): My friend Paul read this posts and recommends that you get dressed like you're going to work. You may even want to take a walk around the block like you're in transit to work to change your mindset about your environment especially if your office is in your bedroom.
  

E-goals are lofty goals that sound fly like eagles but are primarily ego-driven. They sound great, but have no significance beyond the individual's pursuit. Oftentimes, e-goals aren't even personal; they are simply aggressive goals that one sets for themselves relative to their peer group. They have little to do one's unique individual path and the pursuit of their purpose.

Here's how you, the readers, can support me this month. My accomp-lists are below. Thanks,

1. Help me find a Chief Technology Officer to be a partner in Mylinia
2. Inquire on how you can be a part of the Mylinia Private Beta group
3. Help me find a agent to get a publishing deal
4. Attend the potluck at my house on April 20th
5. Let me know if you have any furniture or appliances to give away in LA
   
6. Complete the 15-minute 8 Principle of Purpose self-exploration exercise
   

Feel Accomplished with Accomp-Lists

I don't know about you, but I love making to do list. I make one every day and I get pleasure out of crossing things out. Sometimes I'll even write things down that weren't even on the list just so I can cross them out. I look at my to do list way too often.

Anyways, even though I hack away at my to do list every day, I still feel unaccomplished sometimes. As I started to contemplate why, I realized that I felt this way because I throw everything I accomplished that day in the garbage after creating my new list for the next day. As a result, I always have this feeling that there is more to do because my to do list always has empty check boxes every morning.

So in January, I decided to change the game and keep my daily to do lists instead of throw them away and below is my accomp-list for January 2008. Download my Personal Planning Chart to track your accomplishments.

January 2008 Accomp-List

My Blog
[x] 18 blog posts
[x] encouraged 5 people to start blogs
[x] redesigned my blog

Mylinia
[x] Mylinia team retreat
[x] Mylinia backend complete
[x] find Mylinia frontend programmer
[x] write a letter to investors

My Book
[x] 12 people did 8 Principles of Purpose
[x] draft a writing proposal to Ode Magazine
[x] design my book cover
[20%] complete my book proposal

My Love
[x] live with my spiritual partner for 30 days
[x] create and lead a new birthday ritual for my spiritual partner
[x] co-create and share in a love ritual with my spiritual partner

My Rituals
[x] host a potluck
[x] pray every morning
[x] talk to my best friend weekly
[x] have lunch with a friend every week
[x] cook every week

My Job
[x] establish the ambassador program
[75%] complete the website
[00%] co-create a company retreat

Other Stuff
[x] support 4 people's dreams through coaching
[x] donate clothes
[x] facilitate 2 presentations to over 200 young people

Grocery List Goals

Have you ever gone grocery shopping, spent over $150 on a basket full of stuff with a receipt down to your ankles, got home, unpacked the food, and then looked in the refrigeration and felt like there was absolutely nothing to eat? This is what happens when we don’t go grocery shopping with meals in mind. Instead, many of us go the grocery store with a meaningless list. Though we buy everything on our list, they are mere ingredients and side dishes to the main course. As a result, our stomachs end up growling and unfulfilled.

Many of us live life in a similar fashion. We have to do lists without visions. We browse through the aisles of life and fill our baskets to the brim with canned good experiences that are supposed to satisfy our spirits and fulfill us. Oftentimes, our lists looks exactly like our parents’ list because we’ve bought into their definition of success. It is not until we start to hunger for life ourselves after years of pizza, ramen, and cereal, that we enter the cupboard of our own consciousness and realize that nothing we bought was purely our choice or purchased with a meal in mind. As a result, our spirits are left unfulfilled, growling for a healthy meal that will energize instead of enervate.

When grocery shopping, our main course should guide what we put on our grocery list and ultimately what we choose to buy. In life, our vision should influence our daily, weekly, and long-term goals and ultimately every choice we make. Don't go through life with grocery list goals; Have meals in mind. Begin with the end in mind…or else don’t mind the end.

1369 | people via Slideshare.net

Manage Time. Make Money (9)
Passions & Professions (121)
The Art of Networking (60)
The Circle of Purpose (187 + 892)

1199 | people via my blog

1,199 Uniques since January 1st

0195 | people via workshops

The Art of Interviewing for MLT Fellows (140)
Manage Time. Make Money for Girl's Conference (5)
Passions & Professions for MLT Prospects (50)
Feedback 101 for MLT Fellows (April)
The Art of Networking for MLT Fellows (April)
The CEO of You at NSBE Conference (March)

0010 | people via purpose readings

DS, KT, DS, AW, DD, MC, AB, LG, EO, SF

0003 | people via application reading

RP, MP, DD

0002 | people via life coaching

TS & SF

0000 | people via mentorship

None

0014 | people via Potlucks

None

0000 | people via Mylinia

Launching in April

0000 | people via YouTube

None

0000 | people via public speaking

None
_______________________
2792| people reached as of 03.10.08

How To Plan For Success
They say if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Well, I've created a tool called the Personal Planning Chart to help you track your success and facilitate a process I call the Circle of Purpose. The thing about New Years resolutions is that (if we even follow up on them) we don't follow up until we randomly find the document somewhere or December 31st of the next year when we're trying to write our new ones. The year isn't the only cycle in our life. The Circle of Purpose and Personal Planning Chart make it easy for you to break-down and measure your daily, weekly, and quarterly progress in a way that will make your year great. We spend our careers being accountable to someone else's goals so it's about time that we spend our lives being accountable to our own.

What's hot about the Personal Planning Chart is that:
1. It fits on 1-page
2. It's pretty much just a check list
3. It has an easy way to measure your daily, weekly, and quarterly goals

Download a blank Personal Planning Chart here and then click through this short PowerPoint to see how to fill it out.

| View | Upload your own

• Read for growth
• Eat fruits and vegetables

• Have dinner with a friend
• Blog
• Call mom
  

• Launch the new Mylinia.com website and invite 100 Mylinials to be part of it
  
• Complete 1st draft of my book on purpose-finding and have it read by an editor
  
• Complete 1st version of purpose-finder board game
• Host 3 potlucks in New York
  

5 Reasons Why New Years Resolutions Fail2008 is upon us and many of us don't want it to look anything like 2007. However, if the parents don't change then the appearance won't change, and we're going to give birth to some ugly twins! We're carrying forward the old goals from 2007 (which were carried forward from 2006, which were carried forward from 2005...) that we didn't finish (or even start for that matter) and we're adding new goals on top of those. Oftentimes, we don't know the 'why' behind our own goals and we just do them because they sound good and everybody is (saying that they are) doing them. Here are 5 reasons why most New Years resolutions fail, but keep in mind that the new year is a mind set, not a date set in mind. Hopefully you can avoid some of these pitfalls in your new year.

1. They aren't realistic

Solutions:

• Limit your goals to 3 major ones by eliminating the one's that sound good to others but don't sound good to you.
• Estimate how many days, hours, or weeks it will truly take to complete and plan accordingly.

• Type it or write and then put it next to your mirror.
• Laminate it and put it on the shower wall.
• Record an audio version and put in on your iPod.

• Find a partner for each goal.
• Exchange resolutions with your most on-point friends.
• Schedule monthly dinners or phone calls with that group of friends to discuss progress.

• Instead of saying "I want to lose weight" say "I want to lose 20 lbs".
• For the tougher to measure goals, create a fun measurement that's correlative (ie If you want to be a better friend, count how many times you call your friends to check on them even when they haven't called you).
• Make it a game and keep score for yourself.

• Give each goal a realistic completion date other than Dec. 31st 2008.
• Differentiate between goals that are daily (ie drink water), weekly (ie exercise 3 times), monthly (ie save $200), quarterly, and annual.
• Put monthly checkpoints on your phone, online, or paper calendar.

When we say “to do list”, we really mean “my have to do list” and when we “have to do” something, it implies that we really don’t want to do it. The items on our to do lists usually come from someone else (ie professor, boss, government, family) and are geared toward helping someone other than ourselves achieve their goals. Our to do lists become so cluttered with other people’s stuff that there is no room for our own. Why should our personal goals become our last priority? Instead of using the phrase “to do list”, use “I choose list”.

With an “I choose list”, you come first. It acknowledges that you made a conscious choice to accept the task at hand. Each action item on your “I choose list” should push you toward your purpose. An “I choose list” can consist of academic and career-related items. The “I choose list” just serves as a way of ensuring that you are shaping your academic and career experiences rather than allowing them to shape you. For many of us, we have to learn how to say no to certain things and be more vocal about what we want. “I choose lists” force us to ask ourselves why we are doing certain things and as result can reduce procrastination and stress.