No matter where you are in the year, the best way to measure and ultimately achieve our desired success is to have goals and milestones. If you’re like me – optimistic (AKA over ambitious) you started the year with a huge list of BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals and then as the year progressed, they either fell by the wayside or more often than not, you got so involved in the day to day tasks of running your business, you forgot about them.

Want to change that?

Too often, we attempt to bite off more than we can chew and unless we have a degree in event planning, have mastered time management and have fairy dust as a back up, we always end up coming up short at the end of the year. But it doesn’t have to be like that.

If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve heard the old adage, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” No, you’re not eating an actual elephant! It’s an analogy of how to tackle a large task. No matter how many different things you do in a week or a month, there are only three tasks and/or activities that account for up to 90% of the value of the contribution you make to your business. This is known as the “Rule of Three”.

The Rule of Three is simple:

First, write down three things you want to accomplish today.
Second, write three things you want to accomplish this week.
Third, write three things you want to achieve this year.

That’s it.

Why does this work?

It requires you to narrow your focus. You can’t work on a dozen goals at once.

It forces you to work consistently on goals. With just three priorities, there’s less distraction and you are clear on what you or working towards.

You will see the results of your efforts. Working with a smaller number gives us the ability to see a finish line in a shorter period of time and as human beings, we love to be a winner!

Jeremy Anderburg has a great article on how to use the Rule of Three.

Give it a “tri”  *smile*

Now Go Get  Connected!

About Cathy Kuzel
An award-winning Leader, Entrepreneur and Business Development Consultant, Cathy teaches entrepreneurs how to let go of limiting beliefs and “Stand Up & Stand Out” to have the business success they dream of. Cathy is recognized across Canada for her expertise on “All Things Small Biz”. Named one of the Top Ten Mentors in Canada, Women of Worth Leader of the Year, the Founder of The Connected Woman Association, Author of “Are You a Collector or a Connector?”; “I’m on the Phone!”; the internationally known “Daily Espressos- Your Read it and Delete it Kickstart to Your Day” and is a networking maven. (whew!)