In this article, I’ll introduce you to one of the most transformational books I’ve ever read and show you a simple productivity hack that has helped me implement the strategies and techniques taught in this book. The video in this post was taken from one of my past Facebook live episodes.
The Book: The 12 Week Year
I fond this book a couple of years ago and was hooked on the concept instantly.
I’ve always struggled with setting long term goals and accomplishing them. For me it was alway too hard to wait 12 months or 6 months to get what I wanted so I would eventual give up.
However, when I read this book for the first time it made perfect sense.
I could accomplish in 12 weeks what I was previously trying to accomplish in 12 months. I just needed a better strategy and more focused effort.
To solidify the concept, I had heard Brendon Burchard, some time before finding this book, talk about how he would work in 90 day spurts then vacation for a 30 days and then do another 90 days, etc.
I was just never sure how to accomplish that, until I read this book.
There are really two key things:
- Need to have Pillar Goals
- Broken down into weekly and daily action plans
Once you nail that, it’s just putting in the work!
My little “hack” is all about helping me create and get these action plans done!
My Productivity/Implementation Hack
Watch this video to see how I converted this notebook into a 12 Week Year planner.
Let me give you a little break down.
I have two focused goals, for which I have daily tasks.
My weight loss goal has the same daily tasks, which I did end up making an alteration to the plan about 30 days in, but that was so that I could get better results.
My business goal, might have the same type of tasks or daily actions, but they may also change on a daily bases. Depending on importance of projects or delivery/launch dates.
When I do my planning
I do my weekly plan on Sunday night. Which means I fill out the the next weeks action plan for each day.
Then, at the end of each day, before bed, I review the day and the following days and make any need adjustments to the week.
Although you have a plan, it is only a plan. You have to be ok with potentially scrapping your plan occasionally because something comes up. Life happens and you will fail on this journey, but there should be something you can do everyday, regardless of what pops up, that enables you to get closer to your goals.
How many goals should you have in 12 weeks
For this you should really read the book. I am not going to say there is a set number of goals. However, you only have 12 weeks or 90 days so don’t try to accomplish everything in the first 12 weeks.
Be strategic.
If college taught me one thing, it is that prerequisites are there for a reason. Sometimes one goal needs to be accomplished before you can accomplish another one.
PRO TIP: While I tend to have 2 main goals with accompanying action plans, I may have tasks that are unrelated to those goals but that are important. For example, little things I can do each week or day that help me improve my relationships with my wife and kids.
Mentioned in Video:
- Here is a link to the book, The 12 Week Year.
- Here is a link to the notebook I use, I usually get it from Walmart.
The Wrap Up
This book and concept have enabled me to achieve more in the past year than I did in years past.
Now with the planner, I am able to see my progress and identify where it is I failed so that I can figure out how to do better or how I need to alter my plan so I can be more successful.
We can either let our inbox and the millions of notifications we get dictate or days and what we do, or we can be intentional about our days and weeks so that we can be successful with life.
Read the book, let the next 12 weeks be your test run of this concept, and see how it works for you. I’d love to hear about your success and failures.