I promised… 2

This particularly inspired me. Enjoy. 🙂
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Dear reader,

You must have heard it a thousand times already – 6 months gone, 6 months to go – some sort of half time whistle in the 2015 game few people are paying attention to. So I’m not going to bore you by stating the obvious. I’m not going to tell you of how I have successfully attained all my objectives for the year either. In fact, I’m going to tell you just the opposite.

I set out this year with the focus of a gladiator, keeping my numerous objectives in steady sight and gunning for the kill zone. Judging from what I just said, you can figure out that I wasn’t looking for small achievements. However, life happened and six months down the trail, I’m yet to meet up with a large percentage of those objectives. Before you begin to feel sorry for me, let me tell you this: I’m still right on track.

Having arrived at the half-time and taken stock of my progress (or the seeming lack of it), I have been able to draw out 3 lessons to help me attain my objectives (or in this Perry’s parlance, ‘fulfill my promise) over the next six months. I believe you can learn from them too.

1. Be Consistent – Everyone I’ve seen achieve something that I longed to achieve were doggedly consistent. They showed up every day, every Saturday, every Thursday… whatever their routine was. So I’ve decided that for the next six months, I will show up.

To help me show up, I’ve adopted a calendar/timetable system that I intend to populate and stick rigidly to, which brings me to my next point.

2. Be Consistent – Consistency is only possible when you have a routine. I realized this at the end of June that I did not have a routine. By definition, a routine is consistent. What are the activities that you require to make that vision come true? Find those activities and do them every day at set times. Even the time you sleep should be on a routine. Likewise the time you pray. That’s what I’m doing now.

3. Be Consistent – Consistency is impossible when you’re distracted. There is only one phrase for distraction – Lack of Focus. I recently created a rule – Ife’s Rule of Project Management – and it states that ‘the duration of a project is directly proportional to the level of distraction of the project manager.’ Having many ideas is a good thing but as you will soon find out, pursuing all of them will leave you stranded halfway. In fact, this is one of the major reasons you and I may not attain our 2015 goals.

I’ve learnt to take things one at a time, focus my energy on one or a few projects/goals and achieve them. The momentum resulting from a single achieved goal is bound to cascade to the other projects I will be taking up subsequently.

That’s it. My 2015 story so far. Let’s talk again in December.

Ifeoluwapo MD (@Ifeodedere)

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