The Problem With Your 2020 Goals And How To Fix It [LNIM193]

If you keep setting goals the same way, you will keep getting the same results. Mark shares a proven four-step goal-setting recipe that includes reconnecting with your vision, building 12-week execution plans, and developing the atomic habits that make achieving your goals inevitable.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why reconnecting with your long-term vision is the first step before setting any goal
• How to set measurable outcomes you can track and feel good about
• The 12 Week Year methodology for breaking big goals into weekly tasks
• How atomic habits create the daily behaviors that support goal completion
• What to do when you hit a roadblock and feel frustrated

Episode Summary

Most people set goals the same way every year and wonder why they get the same disappointing results. Mark offers a different approach. Before writing down what you want to accomplish, start by looking back. What went well last year? Which methods for checking in on goals actually worked? Which goals did you miss, and what was the opportunity in that? Taking lessons from previous years and applying this process will get you where you want to be.

Here is Mark's recipe for getting your goals accomplished:

Reconnect with your vision. Take a moment to remember what you are truly trying to achieve. What does your best life look like? What do you want for yourself and the people around you? Write it down and revisit it regularly. Be clear on what is fueling your journey and make sure your vision is still true. Every goal you set should connect back to this bigger picture.

Set a measurable outcome for the year. Think about your big picture goal and make sure it is realistic and measurable. Whether it is an income target, a number of products launched, courses completed, or books read, attaching numbers to your goals lets you evaluate progress objectively. You want to feel good when you look back twelve months from now.

Break your goal into four steps using the 12 Week Year approach. Drawing from the book The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, Mark recommends dividing your annual goal into four major steps. Under each step, write 12 tasks, one for each week of the quarter. This shifts your focus from the overwhelming annual number to just the current quarter's tasks. Instead of annual planning once a year, you plan once a quarter.

Develop atomic habits. Change very small habitual behaviors to build habits that support goal completion. One powerful example: every night, sit down with your planner and list the tasks you need to complete tomorrow. This nightly preparation habit puts you in position to win each day. These small habits do not just help you achieve your goals. They shape you as a person and help you grow.

When you encounter a roadblock, go back to step one. Reconnect with your vision. Do not be frustrated when you cannot hit every goal. Learn to adjust and trust the process. And always celebrate your wins, even if you only hit one out of ten. A win is still a win.

Key Takeaways

• Review last year's results honestly before setting new goals
• Every goal should connect to a clearly articulated long-term vision
• Make goals measurable with specific numbers so you can track real progress
• Break annual goals into quarterly plans with weekly tasks using the 12 Week Year approach
• Build small nightly habits like planning tomorrow's tasks to create compounding momentum
• When stuck, reconnect with your vision. Celebrate every win regardless of size

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this episode in January 2020, just weeks before the pandemic upended everyone's plans. The irony is that the quarterly planning approach he recommended became the perfect framework for navigating the uncertainty that followed. Entrepreneurs who were already working in 12-week cycles adapted much faster than those locked into rigid annual plans.

The 12 Week Year continues to be one of the most recommended productivity books for entrepreneurs. The complementary concept of Atomic Habits by James Clear, which Mark references, has become one of the bestselling business books of all time, with the core principles now deeply embedded in entrepreneurial culture.

The combination of vision-based goal setting, quarterly execution cycles, and habit stacking that Mark outlines in this episode represents a framework that has only grown more popular and validated since it was recorded.

Resources Mentioned

• The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

Related Episodes

If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:

• LNIM207 — Accomplish Your 2021 Goals in Nine Simple Steps
• LNIM196 — Coronavirus Online Business Tactics: How To Thrive And Survive

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.