Boost Your Productivity and Achieve Your Goals in 12-Week Sprints
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What do athletes on the U.S. Cycling Team do that can teach real estate professionals about efficiency and productivity? The answer is periodization, a training process where athletes focus on one thing for a short, four- to six-week period of time and then rest. This cycle of rest and renewal allows the cyclists to work at their optimal levels. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Moran, author of The 12 Week Year, for my podcast, It’s a Good Life. Brian elaborated on the concept of periodization and outlined ways for it to apply to real estate professionals.
According to Brian, when you change your thinking, it changes your actions. Many of us set goals at the beginning of the year and try to achieve everything at once. No wonder so many people have tossed those goals aside by the end of the first quarter! Brian explains it’s not about working harder or for more hours of the day; it’s about changing the way you work so that you’re more focused. That’s why he proposes the 12-week year.
The concept of the 12-week year is simple: Take one thing—a task that is vital to the business, such as lead generation—and focus on it for 12 weeks. After you’ve rested for the 13th week, take another task and focus on it for 12 weeks. Instead of working the year like a marathon, you’re working in efficient sprints.
So, how can you incorporate the 12-week year in your life? Here’s how to start:
- Goal-setting. Choose a goal and narrow it to 12 weeks. Notice I said to choose one goal? In this case, less is more. What are the key goals you need to complete this year? Start with one and think about what you need to do in 12 weeks to achieve it. Your focus should be on the actions you need to take to get there.
- Plan. Once you have the goal, plan how you’ll achieve it. What are the activities you’ll have to do over the next 12 weeks? Be sure to quantify and qualify each tactic so you can track and measure your progress.
- Process control uses tools and events to create structure and support you on the journey to achieving your goals. This means creating a weekly plan. Try to win each week by focusing on an activity that will help you succeed. For example, if you want to generate 30% more leads, focus on an activity each week that will help you achieve it, such as calling your clients to touch base, asking your favorite clients to lunch, etc.
- Measure. When you measure your progress, you can adjust and control the process. Turn your weekly plan into a scorecard, giving yourself points for each action you achieve. This will give perspective on where you stand each week.
- Time. For many people, time is a barrier to achieving their goals. How many of us say, “Oh, I just don’t have time” or “there aren’t enough hours in the day”? We use time as an excuse for why we haven’t reached our goals. In order to be more effective, efficient and productive, we have rethink how we use our time. Many of us become caught up in less important or time-consuming tasks that keep us from doing what drives our business. When you’re planning, ask yourself three questions: 1. What do you want? 2. What matters most? and 3. Am I doing it?
Improve your chances of achieving the goals you’ve set for your life and business in 2017 by incorporating the run-rest process into your plan. Better yet, sign up for the next Blitz, if you missed it this time around. We’ve designed it with the rest-run cycle in mind, allowing you to focus on your lead generation for a set period of time so you can serve your clients and take care of business during your ‘rest’ periods. Instead of working harder, you’ll work smarter. Before long, you’ll not only be more productive, you’ll also be happy you’ve achieved your goals.
It’s a good life!
Brian
