Do you have trouble making good on your New Year’s resolutions? Do you have a hard time staying focused on your most important work? Do you simply get overwhelmed by all the tasks on your plate, and worry about how to get them all done?
When I’m trying to stay on mission or on task, Excel is my best friend. That’s right: the lowly spreadsheet can be a powerful tool for accomplishing your goals. My latest blog post for the Harvard Business Review shares my 7-step process for achieving your goals, using Excel to help you focus on what matters.
Since this system is based on using a spreadsheet to sort and organize your tasks, I’ve created a multi-page Excel template that steps you through the process. Some parts of this process borrow from Stephen Covey (the idea of prioritizing tasks that regenerate you is analogous to his “sharpening the saw”) and David Allen (like the “someday/maybe” category). Most importantly, this process was inspired by my work with executive coach Jeff Balin, who kicked my ass until I finally had to acknowledge that simply putting something on my to-do list wasn’t enough to get it to done.
Download the Excel template: 7 steps to achieving your goals, and please feel free to share with friends.
Thanks for sharing this! I loved your article!
Thanks, I needed it, plus it will help my business this year, I tend to not put the right focus on things at times! 🙂
I’m a big Covey fan so the intro has me intrigued about the Harvard Biz article and the spreadsheet. Good timing, just finished a big project @socialcap and need to organize all the other stuff that’s built up!
Anyone still has this? I was reading the book, but all the links are no longer working. Would really like this sxcel sheet, though.