To Do Archives - Pat Carroll PCCO - Chartered Accountants & Tax Advisors

Checklists: 101 They Achieve!

I am a great believer in checklists!

Sometimes, people write down their goals, especially arround this time of year, and then proceed to (part)  implement them.

Even before I list my goals, I have a checklist:

The Goals Checklist

When I prepare my goals checklist this is what i do:

  • list the headings under which i will prepare my goals

The Goals checklist I use is as follows:  (in no particular order)

  • Career/Job/Work
  • Financial
  • Tax
  • Family
  • My (special) Partner/Spouse
  • Health and Energy
  • Learning/Training
  • Travel
  • Personal/creative
  • Fun and Leisure
  • Other/Special (if any)

You do not have to put a goal under each one!  In the event you have a goal under each heading, then you are going to have to priorise which ones are going to be done first.

Be specific!

Goals get done when they are specific.  The following goal is admirable but unlikely to get done:  ’Exercise more regularly’.  What i like to do is be SMART…..

The Be ‘Smart’ Rule

I use the mnemonic SMART:

S    Specific   (‘I will lose 5kgs by exercising 3 times a week, at my gym, with a regular routine)

M  Measurable  ( ’5kgs’ is the goal and measurable!  Measure progress each day)

A  Accountable  (I will tell my partner (and my kids?) what i am doing, what my target is, and ask her to check in with me daily to see how i am                        doing, and so if I fall down and need support it is there for me)

R  Realistic  (are my goals realistic within the timeframe i am setting?)

T  Time Deadline  (set down a specific date to achieve the goal:  ’i will lose 5kgs by 31 March2012)

Now you have a list of achievable goals.

The next step is to prioritize them!